Choose staff smartly for your business

The pandemic and the new normal of social distancing that we are aspiring to have been a catalyst for accelerating trends of change, and it’s time for the HR to step up and put on their thinking caps and find new ways on how to choose staff smartly that add value in this new world.

HR will have to evolve with technology and enable organizations to unleash the full potential of their employees. With the pandemic dealing a paralyzing blow to businesses across the world and bringing the global economy to a grinding halt, it’s time for a paradigm shift.

To alleviate the damage caused by the pandemic HR teams will now have to meticulously review the cost of its employees, not just in terms of salary, but also the cost involved in the day to day function of the organization, for instance, space occupied by the employees, the equipment they use like phones, computers, printers, papers, other stationery items, also the cost of the telecom minutes and broadband used by them. And find ways of better managing these facilities to optimize productivity and enhance the profitability of the organization.

Instead of basking in the glory of past achievements, HR will now have to focus on how to tap into the present possibilities and future options.

The present work environment which is undergoing a complete makeover on the backdrop of a pandemic is much more challenging with its social distancing norms; it has given the HR responsibility to choose staff smartly for some more taste of success.

Engaging the labour force under the social distancing guidelines and at the same time mitigating the loss of the organization by ensuring no shrinkage in productivity; is the new challenge posed by the pandemic.

The role of the HR team in an organization is similar to that of music conductors, who coordinates with all the musicians in the orchestra with their silent gestures, to create a symphony. In the same way, the HR although not directly involved with the company’s operations, makes sure smooth functionality by setting up the right teams, for the right job.

A good soccer team does not comprise of players who can play in every position, instead, they have strikers in the frontline defenders in the rear line and midfielders in-between them; each of them specialized in their particular role. Proper player selection is the key to a team’s success and that is what the HR does for the success of an organization.

With the onslaught of COVID-19, social distancing and personal hygiene have become absolutely paramount, this has changed the whole equation. Let’s discuss some of the points on how HR teams have to adapt to new situations and rewire their recruitment policies; to attract the right talents for the relevant positions.

Covid-19 is playing the role of a harbinger of new work ethics. The headcount of manpower has taken a direct hit, as social distancing warrants more space. So instead of hiring talents only specializing in one particular field, fast learners capable of multitasking is the need of the hour.

3 things while choosing a staffs

To hire a talent basically 3 things are assessed.

• Brain (IQ or ability to learn and comprehend information and leverage that information).
• Heart (personality and talent).
• Toolbox (past experiences, education, things they learned working in previous organizations).

Conventional HR practice is to look at the toolbox and come to a conclusion whether to accept or reject an applicant, now that practice has to change, as multitasking and fast learning is the new flavour of the season.

The first thing contemporary HR teams should look at is the heart, that is with due respect to the applicant’s speciality, they first need to know the candidate’s personality, if they can blend into the work culture of the new organization and their willingness to learn new things. An amicable personality will make a great team player and elicit the best from other team members.

The next thing they need to check is the brain to see if the applicant has the ability to learn and apply the knowledge. Talented candidates having the willingness and ability to learn new things, can shoulder new responsibilities and go up the corporate ladder adding value to the organization.

Last but not the least, a peek into the toolbox will give the HR team a fair understanding of the candidate’s strengths and achievements. This inspires confidence in the applicant’s potential to face future challenges.

An efficient HR team or a  Staffing Services would be able to identify if the candidate has the talent needed to be successful in the position they are being hired for and also if they can fit into the work culture of the organization. Since the information on the resume is not enough to recognize if the candidate has the required talent needed for the position, the HR team should draft a smart questionnaire; so that the answers to those questions can reveal what’s not mentioned in the resume, enabling the HR team to find out if the candidate has, what the organization is looking for.

Highly effective HR teams know exactly what they are looking for in a candidate to be successful in a certain position, and also the flip side of the quality they are looking for. For instance, if a candidate is required to be empathetic, the HR team should be aware that generally emphatic people have difficulty making decisions.

Hiring the right talent for the right job in a competitive economic environment has been the biggest challenge for HR teams or Recruitment Services; now that bar has been raised, with the advent of COVID-19, and it leaves no room for error. In these difficult times, HR teams need to do a bit of introspection, so that they do not reject a good talent, for the sake of entertaining an illogical personal prejudice. The two magic words, that can save them from being unconsciously biased is, ‘SO WHAT’.

Many times HR teams have rejected candidates for having one drunken picture on Facebook, so what, that does not mean the person will come drunk to work.

Many times HR teams have rejected candidates for having a weird hairstyle, so what, Albert Einstein had the most wonderful brain under a weird hairstyle.

To overcome these difficulties company HRs should look for such Employment Agency or Manpower Agency who can provide the correct fit for the correct job.

Owing to this unconscious biases many HR teams have thrown away diamonds in the rough, thinking them to be mere pieces of glass; today on the backdrop of COVID-19, HR teams have no other alternative but to drop this discriminatory inclination like excess baggage.

After all, our individual differences and similarities help us build our collective strength, and that is the only way we can overcome hurdles in lifelike COVID-19.