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The Great Resignation left many gaps in the workforce, and businesses are struggling to keep up. At the same time, COVID mandates forced many companies to go remote – and employees aren’t willing to go back.
The most highly-qualified professionals know they are in demand. Does your recruitment strategy demonstrate that your business truly adopted hybrid? Or are you just substituting a few video calls for in-person meetings?
There’s no “faking” a hybrid work from home model – and in-demand talent knows that! A high-level digital workplace needs a hybrid talent strategy that maximizes physical and digital recruitment techniques to attract, hire, and retain employees.
4 pillars of a hybrid talent strategy
An effective hybrid talent strategy delivers the best candidates while giving current employees flexibility over their schedule and work location. Here are our four pillars that cover you from first contact to maintaining your employment relationship:
Hybrid recruitment
The first step is to define your geographic area. The size of your search location should depend on how often you want prospects to work at the office, public transit options, hybrid work schedules, and traffic conditions.
The size of your search area should be proportional to the time commitment required to come to the office. For people that live far away, a frequent commute can be a grind. Commuting one day per week may not be such a hassle. Visiting the office once per month might be a welcome day trip from home that employees actually look forward to.
State your expectations clearly in your job posting and include workplace flexibility options that make your organization more attractive to join. While job search websites and recruitment agencies are a great place to start, consider alternative options. Some companies post on social media or include a shout-out in their podcast. Other companies start their search by asking current employees for referrals.
The initial recruitment stage is an opportunity to give prospective candidates a glimpse into your company culture and how you approach hybrid work. Present your hybrid policy clearly and as early in the process as possible by combining in-person and virtual elements such as video, audio, and text.
Hybrid interviewing
Hybrid interviews should demonstrate the maturity of your remote work strategy. In other words, don’t claim to be hybrid but then require the candidate to come in for all of their interviews! Experienced candidates recognize the difference between a mature approach to digital work and “work from home” days that keep them out of the loop.
Take advantage of digital tools by combining remote and in-person interview steps that mix synchronous and asynchronous communication. This is your opportunity to get a multi-faceted impression of candidates through modalities that provide “low fidelity” and “high fidelity” signals.
The level of fidelity in a communication determines the number of cues you get from the candidate. Some synchronous and asynchronous examples of low and high-fidelity communication methods include:
- Low Fidelity + Asynchronous: online forms, assignments
- Low Fidelity + Synchronous: live chats, phone calls
- High Fidelity + Asynchronous: audio/video recordings
- High Fidelity + Synchronous: live video calls
Reserve live interviews after judging the candidate’s competence, work experience, and education. This is an ideal time to drill down to the details and evaluate how well they will collaborate with your existing team.
Hybrid onboarding
Onboarding remote and in-person components can be a challenge in a hybrid environment. Both are necessary: the remote part proves you have a mature hybrid work process, while the in-person component gives them a chance to meet other people, establish relationships, and develop cohesion.
Every business has unique onboarding requirements specific to the role, hybrid work environment, and team size. Some general questions to consider when developing the process include:
- Should they come on their own, or as part of a group?
- What documents can you send ahead of time?
- How can you demonstrate (and not articulate) your culture?
- What can be done asynchronously, synchronously, and in-person?
- Will you assign a mentor?
Create an onboarding process that leverages the best aspects of online and offline communication. Besides demonstrating the maturity of your hybrid strategy, it streamlines the onboarding process, makes it more efficient, and sets new employees up for success.
Hybrid retention
Attracting and hiring employees shouldn’t be the end of your hybrid talent strategy. Instead, consider it a work-in-progress where you make sure everyone is satisfied with the current model, and are willing to adjust as conditions change.
Many of us have been working remotely for years. At the same time, let’s consider how this is a new experience for most employees. Staying agile, flexible, and willing to pivot when necessary is essential to refining the process and improving the experience over time.
Your entire team benefits from an upgraded hybrid talent strategy
Remember the old days of commuting to the office, working a set schedule, and eating a boxed lunch at your desk? The digital workplace has freed us from all that, and has even made the physical office a benefit of the job.
Upgrading your talent strategy improves the experience by boosting your team with valuable new talent from a wider geographic area. Experiment with these ideas to unlock the potential of hybrid work for multiple benefits to your organization.
The Great Resignation left many gaps in the workforce, and businesses are struggling to keep up. At the same time, COVID mandates forced many companies to go remote – and employees aren’t willing to go back.
The most highly-qualified professionals know they are in demand. Does your recruitment strategy demonstrate that your business truly adopted hybrid? Or are you just substituting a few video calls for in-person meetings?
There’s no “faking” a hybrid work from home model – and in-demand talent knows that! A high-level digital workplace needs a hybrid talent strategy that maximizes physical and digital recruitment techniques to attract, hire, and retain employees.
4 pillars of a hybrid talent strategy
An effective hybrid talent strategy delivers the best candidates while giving current employees flexibility over their schedule and work location. Here are our four pillars that cover you from first contact to maintaining your employment relationship:
Hybrid recruitment
The first step is to define your geographic area. The size of your search location should depend on how often you want prospects to work at the office, public transit options, hybrid work schedules, and traffic conditions.
The size of your search area should be proportional to the time commitment required to come to the office. For people that live far away, a frequent commute can be a grind. Commuting one day per week may not be such a hassle. Visiting the office once per month might be a welcome day trip from home that employees actually look forward to.
State your expectations clearly in your job posting and include workplace flexibility options that make your organization more attractive to join. While job search websites and recruitment agencies are a great place to start, consider alternative options. Some companies post on social media or include a shout-out in their podcast. Other companies start their search by asking current employees for referrals.
The initial recruitment stage is an opportunity to give prospective candidates a glimpse into your company culture and how you approach hybrid work. Present your hybrid policy clearly and as early in the process as possible by combining in-person and virtual elements such as video, audio, and text.
Hybrid interviewing
Hybrid interviews should demonstrate the maturity of your remote work strategy. In other words, don’t claim to be hybrid but then require the candidate to come in for all of their interviews! Experienced candidates recognize the difference between a mature approach to digital work and “work from home” days that keep them out of the loop.
Take advantage of digital tools by combining remote and in-person interview steps that mix synchronous and asynchronous communication. This is your opportunity to get a multi-faceted impression of candidates through modalities that provide “low fidelity” and “high fidelity” signals.
The level of fidelity in a communication determines the number of cues you get from the candidate. Some synchronous and asynchronous examples of low and high-fidelity communication methods include:
- Low Fidelity + Asynchronous: online forms, assignments
- Low Fidelity + Synchronous: live chats, phone calls
- High Fidelity + Asynchronous: audio/video recordings
- High Fidelity + Synchronous: live video calls
Reserve live interviews after judging the candidate’s competence, work experience, and education. This is an ideal time to drill down to the details and evaluate how well they will collaborate with your existing team.
Hybrid onboarding
Onboarding remote and in-person components can be a challenge in a hybrid environment. Both are necessary: the remote part proves you have a mature hybrid work process, while the in-person component gives them a chance to meet other people, establish relationships, and develop cohesion.
Every business has unique onboarding requirements specific to the role, hybrid work environment, and team size. Some general questions to consider when developing the process include:
- Should they come on their own, or as part of a group?
- What documents can you send ahead of time?
- How can you demonstrate (and not articulate) your culture?
- What can be done asynchronously, synchronously, and in-person?
- Will you assign a mentor?
Create an onboarding process that leverages the best aspects of online and offline communication. Besides demonstrating the maturity of your hybrid strategy, it streamlines the onboarding process, makes it more efficient, and sets new employees up for success.
Hybrid retention
Attracting and hiring employees shouldn’t be the end of your hybrid talent strategy. Instead, consider it a work-in-progress where you make sure everyone is satisfied with the current model, and are willing to adjust as conditions change.
Many of us have been working remotely for years. At the same time, let’s consider how this is a new experience for most employees. Staying agile, flexible, and willing to pivot when necessary is essential to refining the process and improving the experience over time.
Your entire team benefits from an upgraded hybrid talent strategy
Remember the old days of commuting to the office, working a set schedule, and eating a boxed lunch at your desk? The digital workplace has freed us from all that, and has even made the physical office a benefit of the job.
Upgrading your talent strategy improves the experience by boosting your team with valuable new talent from a wider geographic area. Experiment with these ideas to unlock the potential of hybrid work for multiple benefits to your organization.
