While several countries in the world are reorganizing themselves during this period of self-isolation, those who work in Human Resources are on the front line to ensure business continuity. The tools and applications that make teleworking more fluid are the cornerstone of a successful transition, and remote recruitment solutions lie at the heart of these systems.
Confinement does not have to mean a recruitment freeze
Continuity of company’s business activities during the Covid-19 epidemic requires structured and well-anticipated recruitment management. In the technical sector, where applications from developers are already quite scarce, management of the flow of candidates’ applications must be maintained.
Recruitment is the backbone of any company’s growth. Stopping recruitment processes in the current economic climate would mean delaying the recovery process by several additional weeks, or even several months after the crisis has passed.
Dematerializing technical pre-qualification
At a time when greeting candidates for face-to-face interviews is no longer an option, remote recruitment solutions are growing exponentially. In the tech sector, the most important thing is to be able to dematerialize the two most central phases of the recruitment process: the technical pre-qualification and the HR interview.
Solutions for online assessment of technical skills enable an efficient initial analysis of candidates’ applications. The most relevant online technical tests are ones that are based on simulation. They place potential developers in real-life situations, asking them to solve concrete programming problems they might encounter in the company tomorrow.
Candidates take the test from home, and recruiters are then sent a comprehensive evaluation report that highlights the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. The analysis of the code is automatic, which eliminates cognitive bias within the short list.
Generalizing remote interviews
The second step is setting up remote interviews. Particularly during this period of anxiety, an essential point is putting candidates at ease and offering them optimal conditions for dialog. This is conducive for letting them express their fullest potential.
For tech recruitment, going further than a simple Skype interview is essential. Developers are often reluctant to have HR interviews that are far removed from their job, where they are asked to talk about themselves. They are often better able to express their personality through a medium they are familiar with: code
The “live-coding” solutions include a videoconferencing module as well as an integrated development interface that offers the possibility of exchanging remotely with a candidate using a technical approach.
It’s a bit like the whiteboard principle, where you challenge a developer on how he or she would approach a problem. Here, we try to analyze their thought process, as well as their ability to elaborate on the solutions they propose. There’s no right or wrong answer. Above all, this is an opportunity for open dialogue with the recruiter.
What are the benefits?
In most cases, remote recruitment solutions allow optimization of applications management, with an estimated 80% savings in time spent—particularly at the technical evaluation level.
Another positive point is that remote recruitment tools eliminate potential cognitive bias and broaden the pool of candidates.
We’re witnessing a positive rebalancing of the candidate-recruiter ratio. Atypical profiles and minorities can thus demonstrate their skills beyond the prejudices that might linger in the traditional recruitment process.
