Nearly 50% employers switch to virtual hiring amid COVID-19 pandemic

It is evident that the coronavirus pandemic has led to a drastic shift in office culture, hiring process, and workforce management. Virtual has become a new reality amid the pandemic. A lot of employers in India have preferred to hire virtually to sail through present challenges.

Job portal Indeed.com conducted a survey in the country in which it was found that 47 per cent of employers changed their hiring process to virtual mode amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The job portal spoke with 500 employers across 16 sectors and 12 cities to analyse the changing trend of the hiring process.

Indeed.com found that more than four in five employers have started virtual hiring during the pandemic. 64 per cent employers said that safety was the primary driver for hiring virtually this year. Further, 26 per cent of job recruiters found the virtual hiring process effective, 22 per cent believed that it was the right way forward, while acknowledging the present challenges.

Also, 31 per cent of respondents in the survey credited virtual hiring for giving them wider access to talent. Another 28 per cent said this approach allowed for flexibility and convenience, a priority for job seekers today. Nearly, 1 in 5 employers also said that virtual hiring reduced bias in the recruitment process.

Sector-wise, BPO/ITeS, media & entertainment, and telecom have embraced new-age technologies and hiring employees by virtual means. As per the survey, 95 per cent of virtual hiring took place in BPO or ITeS sector, 90 per cent in the entertainment and media industry, 87 per cent in telecom sector.

However, sectors such as construction and real estate, agriculture, retail, and manufacturing preferred face-to-face hiring methods only. Sectors like marketing & advertising, pharma, and financial services opted for a hybrid approach towards hiring, Indeed.com said.

The survey also revealed that there has been 362 per cent surge since March in searches for work from home jobs on its portal.  Indeed.com Managing Director Sashi Kumar quoted Gartner report and said 80 per cent employers permitted their employees to work from home, adding that, "This trend is pretty strong with new-age companies, ITes, media, telecom, startups who are also more open to embracing new technologies".

Indeed.com has launched Virtual Hiring Events (VHE) to help employers to hire virtually. On VHE launch, Kumar said employers across India can easily, and cost-effectively, create and promote their own company-sponsored virtual hiring event(s) where they can host open interviews, from a safe distance, and hire for a set of roles they need to fill.

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