As the labor market rebounds, and employers resume “normal†operations –  the demand for top talent will skyrocket. Employers will be tasked with filling open roles faster than the competition. To do this effectively without sacrificing quality of hire, teams must use the right processes and tools, writes Corey Berkey, VP, Human Resources at JazzHR.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a shift in the labor market. Last year at this time, HR professionals faced record-low unemployment and high competition for jobs seekers across every industry. Now, these same teams face a radically different talent acquisition landscape: remote work is the new norm, joblessness remains highOpens a new window , and workers are experiencing unprecedented levels of burnout.
But as the vaccine distribution accelerates, there are signs of recovery. The 7,000+ small and mid-sized businesses that use JazzHR to hire, for example, have been creating jobs at an increasing rate since an April low. In addition to job creation, job seeker traffic is also rising. Following a COVID-induced dip in April, the candidate volume has jumped over 50%.
Number of job seekers applying to jobs grew by fifty percent since April: JazzHR
These trends provide a sneak peek into the post-COVID labor market and the accompanying hiring surge that lies ahead. As the economy looks toward eventual reopening, businesses are beginning to restaff and/or grow. On the other hand, employees who left the labor market — either by force or choice — are now once again joining the pool of job-seekers. For both parties, competition is high and speed will be key.
But with hurried hiring comes the risk of being distracted while trying to identify quality hires. In order to fill their open roles with the best talent possible, companies must act both quickly and strategically. This starts with the right tools and processes. Not sure where to start? Here are five best practices for maintaining quality as you scale your hiring.
1. Secure the Foundation of Your Employer Brand
 Your company’s reputation with job seekers has a direct impact on your ability to hire quickly. This is especially true during times of crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. More than ever, candidates are researching companies before applying to understand how they are supporting employees. To build trust, employers must communicate transparently at key touchpoints, including career pages, job descriptions, and in all communication.
HR technology plays a critical role in allowing businesses to present a consistent brand across these locations. Solutions like applicant tracking systems (ATS) and candidate relationship management software (CRM) empower companies to create cohesive brand experiences from one central location. Use these tools to create and share cohesive messaging that you can quickly distribute across all channels to showcase why your company is a great place to work. Don’t be afraid to leverage your company’s marketing team to help you form these — they are great storytellers and excellent at demonstrating value.
2. Cast the Widest Sourcing Net Possible
 Filling your open role with the right person faster than your competitors means getting in front of the right eyes from the start. Continuing to post your jobs manually through the same channels will severely restrict your reach.
Instead, partner with a recruiting platform that distributes your open roles to multiple places at once. With the help of technology, you will be able to create consistent postings that can then be sent through multiple sourcing channels, such as:
- Social media
- Internal referrals
- Job boards
- Email outreach
Embrace these tools and processes today to cast the widest net possible and build a more robust candidate pipeline faster.
3. Automate High-Volume Tasks
Much of the hiring process involves tedious, yet necessary tasks. Being able to get through these as quickly as possible is absolutely critical to competitive hiring. Your secret weapon in doing so is automation.
Leveraging recruiting technology to automate serves to create a better candidate experience. It also frees you and your team up to focus on more strategic recruiting activities, like assessing the quality of each candidate.
If you do not already, consider using hiring software to automate repetitive tasks, including:
- Educating candidates on the background of your company
- Scheduling interviews
- Responding to frequently asked questions
- Communicating with candidates as they move through your funnel
- Sending and receiving digital paperwork
4. Tap Into Your Existing Candidate Database
 In a perfect world, each role you open would attract a targeted group of highly qualified and relevant job seekers. But this is rarely the reality for talent acquisition professionals, especially with the current jobless rates.
Instead, the best-fit candidates for the role may not have applied proactively. They may, for example, be someone who applied to a past role, weren’t the right fit, and are now sitting in your candidate database as relics of past recruiting.
Now is the time to reconnect with past applicants and hiring technology can help. Common features, like resume keyword search and bulk emailing, make it easy to uncover and engage relevant candidates within your database. Taking time to reconnect with job seekers who are already familiar with your brand can help you to speed your time to hire, compared to competitors.
5. Analyze Trends to Improve Your Process
Aligning your processes and tools to hire faster sounds great in theory. But without a way to track your results, you will be left to anecdotal measures of success. According to LinkedInOpens a new window , the majority of recruiting teams still do not have the necessary tools to understand the talent pool and market from which they are hiring.
Arm your hiring team with recruiting technology that allows you to track key performance indicators, including:
- Time-to-hire
- Pipeline speed
- Quality of hire
By monitoring these trends, you will be able to identify bottlenecks in your process and iterate for the future. With these tools, your team will create a data-driven process that maintains quality as you scale.