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    How Recruiters Can Adapt to Major Shifts in Candidate Attitudes

    This past year has greatly altered the dynamics of the U.S. labor market, including job seekers’ expectations of employers, according to a new 2021 Job Seeker Nation Report from Jobvite. It is predicted that many of the changes experienced will be here to stay, bringing about what many believe to be the rise of the optimized workforce. As a result, talent leaders and recruiters must understand how to adjust efforts for the job market today and into the future.
    Remote work & company culture.
    The pandemic has created profound changes in workplace preferences for job seekers, including the desire for remote work. Per the Job Seeker Nation Report, 35% have declined or would decline a job offer that required them to work full time on location, in an office, or at a worksite, and 100% remote work is preferred by 33% of workers.
    Despite an increasing number of employees working remotely, the importance of company culture in applying for a job has continued to rebound. Nearly half of workers believe company culture is very important in their decision to accept or reject a job – a 21% increase since 2019.
    Employers need to implement a hybrid and culture-centric work environment to lure top-quality talent. Likewise, talent leaders must incorporate these company values into the hiring process. This can be accomplished by implementing a cohesive recruitment marketing strategy that includes social media, as more than 33% of job seekers use social media networks to learn about an employer’s culture.
    Diversity hiring is vital.
    With this year prompting many Americans to reflect on what is important to them, it is fitting that those beliefs and priorities are being brought into the job search. This year’s report found a significant number of workers (42%) would turn down a job if the company lacked diversity in its workforce or had no clear goals for improving diversity in hiring.
    Separately, 49% have inquired about employer’s goals and efforts around improving diversity in the workplace during interviews. Based on these results, it’s evident that recruiters need to embrace diversity initiatives, as it significantly influences workers’ decisions to apply, accept, or even reject a job.
    To do this, recruiters must create employment opportunities for all regardless of race, religion, color, gender, identity, age, ability, location, or creed by mitigating challenges in the job-seeking process due to unconscious bias. This can manifest itself in how a job description is written, how a job opening is marketed, what schools an organization recruits candidates from, how a candidate is interviewed, and much more.
    Balance in today’s always-on workforce.
    The majority of surveyed workers report increased stress levels since the onset of the pandemic. In today’s world of competing priorities and unexpected distractions, remote workers are also struggling to transition between “work time” and “home life.” In 2021, 42% of surveyed workers said they are working longer hours compared to the year before.
    Employers must deliver a more thoughtful approach to helping employees achieve a more balanced life based on workers’ individual needs. Talent leaders can then highlight how the company supports its employees through these practices, both now and into the future. This can be delivered through information and videos on the employer’s career site, which continues to be one of the most powerful recruiting assets.
    Interviewing tactics & preferences.
    Here’s the good news for recruiters. Over the past year, an overwhelming majority of surveyed workers consider their most recent candidate experience to be primarily positive. Excellent communication from recruiters, ease of scheduling, and easy job application process were the top reasons for positive candidate experiences.
    A preference for texting is also on the rise. This year’s report found that a majority of job seekers prefer texting for scheduling interviews in comparison to email or phone. This is especially true for workers with children, as 30% are comfortable participating in an interview via texting. Like consumer behavior, candidates have renewed expectations of their job-seeking experience, especially while on a mobile device.
    However, lack of access to adequate technology or Wi-Fi has negatively impacted 35% of job seekers’ ability to participate in a video interview. Recruiters need to consider how this may affect a candidate’s participation and outline strategies to overcome this challenge, as virtual interviews continue to be leveraged in the recruiting process.
    The Rise of the Optimized Workforce.
    The expectations of job seekers and employees have changed forever. As a result, recruiters need a complete understanding of how to adjust efforts to meet the demands of varied realities for today’s workers. To do this, talent leaders must equip themselves with the right skills, knowledge, and strategies to effectively navigate the current reality and engage high-quality talent.
    Kurt Jones is a Senior Manager of Product Marketing at Jobvite, a leading end-to-end talent acquisition suite provider that serves thousands of customers across a wide range of industries.
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    Keeping Company Culture Alive in Remote Work & Hiring

    With the transition to remote work, one intangible yet critical element of an organization that may unintentionally get lost in the shuffle and needs to be reconfigured is company culture, especially if the team worked together in-person previously. From an HR perspective, fostering the core of what makes a company’s culture is that it enables teams to adapt and feel supported during a major shift in the way they work. From a talent acquisition perspective, our 2020 State of Remote Work Report found that candidates’ main concern while interviewing remotely is not gaining a true understanding of a company’s culture. For both remote work and hiring, allowing  people to have an authentic and genuine experience of a  company’s culture is critical to both employee and candidate engagement.
    During an episode of our Talent Talent to Me podcast, Jolie Loeble, VP of People Ops at Daily Harvest, joined us to discuss how the company has been able to successfully foster an in-person company culture and recreate an in-person candidate experience while being completely remote. 
    Lost in translation
    There are various considerations companies take into account when transitioning from working in-person to remote, especially so nothing is overlooked in the process. For companies who have already adapted to having a more distributed team with remote employees in addition to maintaining their in-person HQ, translating the work dynamics for the whole company may not feel as daunting. With that being said, it will still require People managers to be intentional about how teams collaborate,  are supported and, most importantly, feel connected while being distributed.
    Loeble comments on how when you walk into an office space — whether you are a customer, candidate, or employee — you can and should be able to feel a company’s culture. An office space is a living, breathing organism that is about more than just a space for collaboration–it is a space that embodies the company’s brand and that usually holds the people who drive the vibrant culture. To work and hire remotely, Loeble mentions how Daily Harvest is committed to recreating that feel of the culture.
    Standard practice
    Being intentional with how to create a work culture and foster it as a company scales matters–this is crucial to employer branding, attracting candidates to work for the company, and employer retention and productivity. Loeble says that Daily Harvest aims to create a candidate experience that matches the employee experience, both of which should mirror the customer experience. This is and should not be unique to these COVID-19 times, she states, but rather standard practice especially given these times for all People teams to be mindful of.
    Scaling culture
    Being culture conscious throughout growth periods can also help companies stay true to their roots as they scale. Loeble shares that keeping traditions from the early stages of Daily Harvest alive makes sure that the team remembers its humble beginnings. In a way, doing so pays tribute to the grit and hard work that it took to get to where they are today. Continuing traditions that are unique to a company from its inception is how culture is carried through and stands the test of time and organizational change.
    Building community
    It is important for people who interact with the company to get a feel for the rich and vibrant culture, especially for this remote world. With respect to remote hiring, Daily Harvest offers candidates they’re interviewing the opportunity to interact with its products in their homes so they can engage with the brand directly. What candidates may not be able to physically interact with right now, virtual tours of the workspace and photos or videos of experiences the team has with each other can showcase a hospitable, welcoming team waiting with open arms to celebrate with prospective employees. 
    Finally, staying connected to their mission, brand, and each other, beyond just work-related reasons is how Daily Harvest has successfully grown their business during a time of economic uncertainty. With two launches during lockdown, their team is not only productive but they are enjoying how they get to work and who they work with. They operate as a team that exudes a work culture that you want to be a part of, and in turn it’s translated to business success.

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    White Middle-aged Men Can’t Call the Shots for Much Longer

    Is your company culture vibrant and engaged? Does it draw in talented people from different backgrounds, minorities and age groups, to out-think and out-perform competitors? Or is it guilty of tired ‘top-down’ management, sleepwalking into disharmony, under-performance, and lack of competitiveness, all because of a continuing failure to engage existing and new talent using smart […] More