Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues and is even escalating in some states, some companies must hire new workers to provide customer service or develop new products. States, counties, and municipalities are taking a variety of approaches to prevent the spread of the virus, and employers are faced with addressing the needs and concerns of their employees.
In this environment of fear and confusion, many employers are reluctant to hire temporary workers, whom they look at as an unknown entity, into their facility. While this might make them feel as though they are protecting their current workforce and keeping them secure, it’s a false sense of security. After all, no employer can know with complete certainty what any of their workers—temporary or permanent—is doing after work hours.
Rather than eliminate an entire class of potentially beneficial workers, try some of these suggestions for hiring during COVID-19:
Consider concerns over physical contact
Some states are reducing restrictions related to the coronavirus. However, candidates and new employees might still be worried about their proximity to others during interviews and those initial days on the job. You will want to do whatever you can to make these individuals feel comfortable and safe in the workplace.
Many companies are conducting interviews and the new-hire training process remotely on platforms such as Zoom. If applicants and new hires must come to the workplace, it’s a good idea to provide for plenty of social distance and to keep contact to a minimum.
Be thorough with onboarding procedures
Even though manufacturing jobs don’t lend themselves to remote work, some onboarding processes will often be done remotely. For that portion of the process that must be done in-person, space out the training to allow new hires to absorb the information and generate questions.
If you use virtual onboarding, communicate your company’s culture thoroughly. For those organizations whose reputation is linked closely with their culture, be sure to stress this fact with your candidates and new hires.
Let candidates and new hires know what you are doing to keep them safe
You will ease many minds when you inform them of your preventive measures, such as hiring janitors to continually clean high-use areas, checking the incoming workers’ temperatures, and asking each employee a few COVID-related questions upon arrival to make sure they are practicing safe behaviors. Perhaps you might consider paying for COVID-19 testing for every worker (full-time or temp) when someone gets sick.
Let everyone know you are respecting their privacy
As you try to ease fears, emphasize that you are making an effort to protect employees’ private health information. While you are permitted to conduct screenings, you must guard your employees’ results and prevent private information from being shared with other employees. Employees should be informed of any potential exposure to the virus without explicitly mentioning the infected employee.
Do you need help with the hiring and onboarding processes?
Talk to a staffing agency that knows all about them! Contact the professionals at Select Staff, a top recruitment agency in Dallas, Texas, and throughout the state.
