Hire Different. Look Outside the Normal Places to Find the Talent You Need

We have spent the last several weeks and months talking about the impacts on our business from the COVID-19 pandemic. It may seem odd to write an article about hiring at a time like this. At this writing, unemployment is at more than a 60 year high. Many retailers and restaurants are on limited opening schedules, and still have people on furlough. However, hiring is something that can always be in play. Planning for future staffing needs and assessing your talent is something that can be done right now.

As businesses begin to open back up and start to redefine what ‘normal’ will be in the months ahead, this may be the perfect time to assess your associate and talent needs. Customer trends will change. How people shop, and what their expectations are will have been influenced and affected by what has happened worldwide over the past few months. Trying to return to exactly how things were in the past will not be a recipe for success in the future.

I do not want this to sound uncaring in any way, but now may be the time to reassess what your best employees will look like. Are the ones you previously thought of as your best people still match the profile you will need in three months, six months, or a year from now? The coming weeks ahead may present new opportunities to find different talent than was previously available. While I am sure most businesses have done everything they can to protect their best associates, in some cases that has not been possible. Those once hard to find great employees may now be available for your business.

Some things to consider:

• Recruiting likely will be different and challenging in the months ahead. So looking for alternatives will be necessary as you begin to staff your business for your new normal.
• Flexibility in scheduling and changing business hours should be a consideration for near-term hires.
• People may have fewer expectations on the number of hours they work, this could be an advantage to help fill in short gaps you have now and then expand their roles later.
• Talk to everyone and see who they may know that is looking for work. Customers are always a great resource for finding high quality people. Often someone who is a customer today wants to be (and becomes a great) employee for you tomorrow.
• Let go of old preconceptions. Think about what is needed for the future. Remove schedule limitations that may have been necessary in the past and think with an open field mentality.
• Observe and look for potential fits for your business when you are out shopping for yourself.
• Think about how you might overcome new challenges, such as people making more on current unemployment or government subsidies. What story will you tell to encourage them to potentially take less money in the short-term, but have a brighter future long-term?
  

Businesses, trends, and people are going to change and be in flux for the next several months as we all work our way back into whatever normal will be in the future. But now is the time to begin exploring the possibilities and finding the talent and team you will need to make those potential future opportunities a reality.

How and where can you recruit and find new talent that will help for a changing future?

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