Stocking Up on Talent | SHRM | Roy Maurer

Despite the economic hardships of COVID-19, there is a segment of organizations (even those who haven’t experienced growth during the pandemic) that are proactively investing in talent acquisition and focused on hiring. For these organizations, the pandemic is an opportunity to assess their talent needs and build relationships with workers from hard-hit industries who are suddenly looking for work. This article highlights how the pandemic has given organizations unprecedented access to an expanding talent pool. Aside from it being a “buyers market,” there are other factors that have broadened the available talent pool, such as  1) greater receptivity to remote work at scale is helping to remove (or at least shorten) geographic obstacles to attracting talent, 2) many workers have spent time during the pandemic reevaluating what they want from work, life, and their careers–and are more receptive to new opportunities, 3) due to travel restrictions and the greater use of video communications, organizations can more easily engage and build relationships with candidates 4) organizations are increasingly shifting from role-based recruiting and focusing more on transferable skills that go beyond boxes on an organizational chart–thereby expanding their talent pool. Regardless of an organization’s specific situation, in general, it is a good time for talent acquisition teams to build relationships with both active and passive candidates for future opportunities, especially in areas that organizations are expecting to have an increased need for in 12 to 36 months.