How To Manage Your 401k Plan
How has COVID affected the hiring process in small businesses? What’s different now than how things used to be? COVID has affected all businesses in one way or another. It’s flipped the workforce on its side and forced us all to rethink our processes and the best way to maintain productivity. Read how the hiring process and work environment has changed and how having an on demand, virtual solution to help with your HR obligations, organization, and accessibility is imperative in today’s new work from home culture.
The process of hiring an employee has seen its fair number of changes for small business owners during the COVID era. From interviewing to onboarding, employers and employees have been forced to adapt to a new normal and turn to new processes, payroll, time/labor and HRIS along with other tactics to ensure a successful work life. Prior to COVID, the interview process for a job was pretty standard. The applicant preps for the interview at home, puts on the nicest outfit from head to toe and then drives to the desired location. After waiting to be called into the office, it’s time for a long interview, being asked question after question by multiple different people.
Fast forward to present day, the COVID era. Applicants are preparing for video calls instead of in person interviews. Instead of choosing an outfit from head to toe, the nicest shirt and favorite pajama pants are selected because the bottom half won’t be in view of the camera. Finding the right background and lighting for the video call is imperative as well. Take if from Claudia Birgy, a young professional who was interviewed and then hired into her role in February of 2021. “Setting up an “appropriate” background during an interview was stressful. Also, letting people you’ve never met into your most private place - home - was oddly intimate.” She did, however go on to point out some positives of having a remote interview, “Being able to line up video call interviews in one day because you don’t have to drive all over was extremely helpful and saved on stress with getting lost or finding parking.” Not only has the interview process during COVID been an adjustment for potential employees, but for business owners as well.
While employees discovered new-found perks of working from home, employers were faced with darker days. Small businesses were faced with new challenges such as trying to keep employees engaged while maintaining a steady workforce. Employers had to figure out the best ways to effectively communicate and keep normal procedures going with employees being remote.
The work from home culture has become normalized during COVID and employees enjoy the perks that come with working remotely. Twenty-six year old Mary Hanna was hired for her role in 2021 and enjoys the fact that due to COVID she is able to work from home. “My job is fully remote and the onboarding process was really smooth, too. I miss being in the office with my coworkers like before COVID, but I enjoy the flexibility and normalcy this role has given me.”
While working from home does have its perks, it also has its challenges. For current employees it’s having processes in place to maintain a steady work flow, and for new employees it’s having a smooth onboarding process. Having the right partner that allows businesses to stay on target to carry out these processes is important to both the company and its employees. A solutions provider like Workforce PayHub is just the right process to be put in place for businesses. Workforce PayHub provides excellent customer service which offers payroll, HR, and timekeeping in one solution. It makes managing your workforce so much easier. Workforce PayHub provides personalized payroll, time/labor and HRIS, along with some of the most experienced people in the industry to help ease your HR obligations.
Due to the nature of employees now being hired remotely in the COVID era, it has forced some small business owners to outsource the onboarding process not only for efficiency but also to limit potential liabilities. Onboarding an employee takes a lot of time and energy and it’s important to have the right tools to ensure the right, most qualified candidate is brought onto your team. Having an applicant tracking system, such as Workforce PayHub, is vital in this process.
Mike Kestly from Kestly Development understands the importance of having the right tools to help get the right person to the job. He helps companies hire and develop their people by using online “Job Match” assessments and other online programs. Mike explains, “In today’s world, hiring the right person is more important than ever. And being able to use some sort of validated pre-employment assessment will help hiring managers select the right person. If you’ve ever hired someone that didn’t work out you know it can be very expensive to replace that person and start over.”
Hiring in the COVID era has been challenging and has been quite an adjustment, but it’s also had its perks. We have seen the growth of new technology and potential partners, like Workforce PayHub, ensuring smooth workflow for employers. Yes, the hiring process during COVID has been different, but it has helped continue to grow and help businesses be the best, most productive version they can be for themselves and for their employees.
