Digital Transformation is not a new thing.  In fact, it began for many companies long ago as they realized the importance of data.  By digitizing information, you can easily gather, sort, and create reports to analyze.

From the migration of paper to digital and written forms into online forms, digital transformation continued to expand.  E-commerce has taken front and center as Covid-19 completely shut down in-person access to many businesses and events.

All around the globe, organizations have had to suddenly reevaluate their business plans. The need to create a memorable digital experience for your customers has never been greater. Having the luxury of delaying your digital transformation is gone and could mean falling behind your competitors while they fully embrace theirs.

This has never been truer in the world of recruiting and staffing.  The evolution of hiring has taken us from classified ads in the newspaper to online job boards and ATS systems that filter and track applicants.  The next stage that was accelerated by the pandemic is virtual hiring and hosting online job fairs or hiring events.

Not that this strategy is completely new, but the tools and platforms to do so have evolved tremendously.  For example, on the Premier Virtual platform recruiters can host and attend a virtual job fair from the comfort of their desk.  Applicants can participate from anywhere in the world.  Recruiters can quickly glance at resumes, enter a chat, and invite job applicants into a video interview, in a matter of seconds.

The platform streamlines the screening process and reduces time to hire from an average of over 30 days, to under 7 days in many cases.  That type of functionality was not possible before platforms like Premier Virtual when all companies had access to was MS Teams or Zoom.

Maybe the most crucial feature of remote hiring events is again the data that brings us back to digital transformation.  At one time, resumes were collected on paper at these events and taken back to the office to sort.  Now all resumes can be downloaded with a click of the button.  Recruiters can keep notes during the event and download reports to follow up accordingly.

Businesses and organizations continue to recognize the importance of virtual hiring but have fluctuated from in-person to virtual based on the current climate.  If there is a new variant, and covid cases spike, we see an immediate return to virtual.  One recent Forbes article according to Burbio, a firm that monitors school data, more than 2,000 schools were prepared to close for at least one day, due to Covid-19 concerns for the first week of January. There are about 21 states with at least one school district closed or transitioning to remote learning this week. Reuters reports that thousands of U.S. schools have delayed this week’s scheduled to return to classrooms, following the holiday break, or switched to remote learning, as the Omicron variant spread.

As 2022 begins, many New Jersey school districts are going virtual to deal with the ongoing spike in Covid-19 cases and the staffing shortages it has caused. The data shows that the vast majority of these are poor, underserved children. This is a disaster for both the children and parents.

Just in the last week, we had 3 schools, Richland School District 2, District 5 Lexington and Wade County Public Schools that had to pivot from in-person job fairs to virtual.  Because they have a license with Premier Virtual, they had the virtual job fair set up and ready to go in the event they would not be able to move forward with the in-person event, and that’s exactly what happened.  The results were extremely positive with hundreds of applicants attending virtually and many new hires and connections were made at each event.

The stark reality is that Covid is here to stay.  We must plan for a world that mitigates this challenge the best way possible, and integrating virtual hiring is a key component.  There is no more time to wait or consider if virtual is right for you, it is right for everyone.

We see more and more candidates choosing to apply and attend virtually and looking for remote or virtual job opportunities.  The better prepared your company or organization is to offer these options, the more talent you will attract and retain.

If you are still wondering if you need to add virtual to your hiring strategy, do not delay the decision any longer.  The sooner you put a platform like Premier Virtual in place, the sooner you will set your company staffing needs up for success.

To schedule a free demo with Premier Virtual please visit our website.