executive jobs recruitment

Should you be onboarding remotely?

Companies freezing recruitment could be delaying *ROI on new starters until June 2021

*Return on investment

A new set of hurdles

Recruitment in normal market conditions can experience several challenges but with COVID – 19 comes a new and unique set of hurdles. Positions left unfilled often have a direct impact on business productivity and revenue and when you take in to account the following factors you could be waiting up until June 2021 to see any ROI:


  • Depending on the position and the candidate’s willingness to move, it can take up to four weeks to present a shortlist of highly relevant candidates.
  • Two months to work manage the campaign including; Candidate selection several stages of interviews. 
  • Notice periods of up to three months and a remote onboarding strategy

The cost of delay

For example a business starting to hire in July would be looking at a potential start date of November/ December 2020. If the recruit is responsible for business generation then it can take 3-6 months to build a solid pipeline or; if they are learning new systems, training, and shadowing – this can also take at least 3 months.

Companies that find the most suitable candidates must act fast to remotely onboard new employees. Before Covid-19, 38% of job seekers in the current market averaged more than one job offer when looking for a new job and almost two-thirds (63%) had accepted another offer because they waited too long to hear about a preferred role.

According to an in-depth report conducted by the *REC a bad hire for a position with a salary of £42,000 can lead to a cost of £132,015 for the company to rectify, over 3 times the salary!

*Recruitment and Employment Confederation


Factors to consider in the current market

  • There is still a skills shortage – tech roles are still hard to fill!
  • Candidates may feel more loyalty to their current companies due to being furloughed or more remote/ flexible working and the ‘better the devil you know’ mentality.
  • Candidates are unwilling to move. Coronavirus has reminded us all of the ‘last in, first out scenario’

The long-term business impacts of losing preferred candidates during the recruitment process are obvious, particularly when it comes to building a highly competitive workforce, but there are also other negative side-effects to consider. Starting the recruitment process when we return to some sort of ‘normal’ will protract an already lengthy process which will continue to hamper team productivity in the short-term as well as increasing the overall cost of hiring. 


The opportunities

The positive from this is that candidates may be available who weren’t previously, and everyone has spare time to have the conversations, research businesses, and align their career goals. Instructing a recruiter now to headhunt a particular skill or qualification could produce very positive results with more candidates shortlisted than before.


CONTACT US

King Recruit is an independently minded recruitment and search agency, covering Exeter and the whole of the South West. For ambitious companies and professionals alike – the core of our mission is to help drive your success.

If you’d like to speak to King Recruit by video or telephone interview advice, please call us on 01392 790725 or email enquiries@kingrecruit.com to arrange a convenient time. There is no obligation. King Recruit is making a Covid-19 pledge to help anyone who needs advice, support and guidance.

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Useful content in King Recruit’s Covid-19 pledge series:

King Recruit’s Redundancy Guidance

COVID-19: FAQ’S ON FURLOUGH

‘Get Hired’ – Improve your LinkedIn Profile

How to survive the 30 second CV scan – Compiling a great CV

6 reasons to use Zoom for interviews

“Acing” the video interview

Covid-19: 16 ways to get productive

Covid-19: Redefining your business goals

Survive and Thrive: 9 Strategies for Businesses in a Crisis

5 Great Strategies for Remote Leadership

How to Keep your Furloughed Workers Engaged

Delaying Recruitment: The Real Cost

Survey Results: What’s the Real Impact of Covid-19 on the South West Employment Market?