Connexis Search Group conducted a survey of over 3,000 hiring managers to find out how they are dealing with COVID-19. The changing environment of business has caused some companies to rescind employment offers while others have no choice but to change how they do things, especially how they handle hiring new employees.
The focus group included managers, directors, vice presidents, and presidents from all regions of the US, with a few participants located in Europe. Company sizes ranged from fewer than 25 employees with the largest group employing over 300. The majority of respondents reported that they are directly involved in the hiring process.
Questions revolved around individual hiring plans during these turbulent times. Here's what we found.
In 2019, 17% of the companies surveyed brought on no new hires. 83% hired at least one person, with 33% of those bringing on five or more new employees. The figures shifted slightly for 2020 projections, but only in the number of employees, each business expects they will hire for the year.
Again, 17% still has no plan to hire anyone new in 2020, with at least 83% saying they will definitely be hiring. 50% of those with hiring plans reported that they expect to bring only one to three people on board, however. That's up from 37% hiring less than three new employees in 2019. Only 12% said they will hire as many as four to five new employees and 21% expect their budgets will allow them to welcome more than five newcomers to the company.
It will be business as usual in 2020 for approximately 1/3 of the companies we surveyed. 35% have no plans of slowing down and will be interviewing and hiring as per normal. The remaining 65% will take more of a "wait and see" approach to their previous hiring strategies. Still, 15% of those with plans to hire said that they will not be doing anything for at least three to four weeks, at the earliest. They want to hold off until they know better what to expect. 25% of respondents have no plans for new hiring until at least the third or maybe even the fourth quarter. Another 25% reported other, unspecified plans where hiring is concerned.
With stay-at-home orders still in place in many areas, most interviewing must happen remotely. Video conferencing also makes it possible to interview potential employees no matter where in the world they live. 69% of those doing the hiring said that they would be willing to conduct a final interview without face-to-face interaction. The remaining respondents admitted to not being comfortable making a hire without first meeting a candidate in person.
In that same vein, 88% of respondents said that their companies have the ability to handle the onboarding process remotely and feel comfortable doing so.
Some employers said they would be willing to offer delayed start dates in hopes that COVID-19 issues would have passed before new hires would be expected to report for work. Of those surveyed, over half said that they would give candidates the option of beginning work four to six weeks from the date of hiring, as opposed to the typical two weeks.
Most companies expect to experience changes in their hiring procedures overall. Some of the most common expectations include a delay in the entire process and extended training periods. Some said that although they were putting hiring on hold, they would still honor offers that had been made prior to the COVID-19 crisis. While not making any new offers, many felt they should continue to interview for select positions.
A few reported not expecting any real changes. Those managers did say, however, that they would continue to virtualize most practices to get closer to where they needed to be and that they may continue to have some employees working from home. For in-house positions, 18% said that they expect things to get back to normal in five to six weeks. 2% said they fear it will be longer than 9 weeks before any sense of normalcy returns to their businesses.
The direct consequences for some companies involved downsizing, putting all positions on indefinite hold, and a long-term hiring freeze lasting at least until 2021. Some believe that companies will experience pressure to only hire critical individuals.
See the full survey for more information on how COVID-19 is affecting hiring practices.