Manpower has partnered with the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Central Maine Human Resources Association to host an informative webinar for Maine employers covering Recruitment Marketing in the New Normal.
-What Are the Current Challenges
-Who Your Available Workforce Is
-What Are Candidates Expecting
-How to Strategically Recruit
-How to Retain Talent
Free for CMHRA Members
$15 Chamber Members
$20 Non-Chamber Members
All proceeds go to the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
The thought of finding a job or going back to work during a pandemic can be downright anxiety-inducing. In addition to adjusting to a new environment or getting back into the groove of your daily routine, you’re probably thinking more about safety than ever before: What can I do to minimize my risk of exposure? How do I plan for a safe return to work?
Keep reading to learn more about some simple CDC-recommended methods you can use to keep yourself safe while transitioning back into the work environment.
The CDC recommends washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. If soap and water aren’t available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. While washing your hands is always a good idea, doing so is particularly important before and after your shifts and breaks, after using the restroom, before eating or preparing food, after putting on or removing a face mask, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth – especially with unwashed hands.
The more often something is touched, and the more people it is touched by, the greater the risk of it becoming contaminated with things you don’t want to introduce to your body. Make a habit of periodically wiping down your workstation, phone, keyboard, doorknobs, or other frequently used tools and materials. If possible, avoid using other people’s phones, desks, tools, and equipment. If unavoidable, be sure to clean and disinfect them before and after use.
If a tissue isn’t available, use the inside of your elbow. Dispose of used tissues and wash your hands immediately. COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets, so if you are unknowingly infected, your coughs and sneezes may pose a real threat to others around you. Following this tip is easy to do and will help reduce that threat.
Since COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets, it makes sense that creating a barrier between your respiratory tract & those droplets can offer some protection from COVID-19. When possible, wear a face mask, and be sure it covers both your mouth and nose for maximum protection. If you choose a reusable cloth face covering, washing them daily is recommended. You should throw disposable masks away after one use.
Avoid large gatherings and maintain a distance of at least six feet from others when possible. Being in close proximity with others increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission – and the risk is further amplified when in close proximity with a large of number of people or for an extended period of time. You should avoid congregating in groups near the water cooler, break room, or other common areas.
Reducing exposure to COVID-19 helps keep everyone safe, so stay home if you’re sick. Notify your supervisor if you have a sick family member at home – it may be necessary to quarantine even if you aren’t experiencing symptoms, depending on the specifics of your situation. Always be honest with your employer about your symptoms and whether you have been exposed to someone that is sick, because it is better to err on the side of caution than risk putting yourself or others in harm’s way. And as always, if you are feeling unwell or are unsure if you should be quarantining, check with your healthcare provider. You can also call 211 for more COVID-19 related information.
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Ask Manpower:Employers are finding lots of ways to adapt to their businesses to the COVID-19 pandemic so that they can keep employees, customers, and the general public as safe as possible. We have provided examples below to help give you an idea of some steps that employers can take to minimize risk of exposure and help ensure workplace safety during COVID-19. Keep in mind that every work environment is different, so not every company will follow all of the steps below – and some employers may take additional measures that aren’t even listed here. The way each company responds to the COVID-19 pandemic will vary greatly depending on the exposure risks of that particular workplace.
When returning to work, it is perfectly acceptable to inquire about what safety measures are being taken to protect your health. The same goes for when you are looking for work – keep an eye out for employers that advertise their enhanced safety measures, because it is a sign that the company is proactive in prioritizing employee health. If the company doesn’t advertise such information, it doesn’t mean they aren’t prioritizing safely – simply ask to learn more.
Some common safety measures that a company may implement include:
What is the level of transmission in the local community? Where and how might employees be exposed to COVID-19 at work? How can normal business operations be adjusted to reduce or eliminate exposure? As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, companies continue to ask themselves these questions to ensure that employee and customer health remain top priorities.
In job environments where contact with customers or coworkers is difficult to avoid, many are doing their best to enforce social distancing. The exact method of distancing depends on the nature of the job and the setup of the facility, but some common methods employers have used are: setting up plexiglass barriers at checkout stations, rearranging work stations to increase physical space between employees and customers, adjusting operating hours or employee schedules to minimize the number of people in a facility at any given time, and providing customers with curbside options so that close proximity in an indoor setting can be avoided.
When used consistently and correctly by covering the mouth and nose, face masks or shields offer great protection. Many employers are providing face masks or shields and training on proper usage to make it easier for employees to stay safe in the workplace.
Employers know that clean hands help keep employees, customers, and the general public safe, so many are providing hand sanitizer dispensers throughout their facilities, and setting up hand washing stations where possible. As with PPE, the idea is to make it as easy and convenient as possible for employees to maintain a healthy and safe environment.
Some facilities, especially high-volume production environments that require large numbers of employees to carry out day-to-day operations, have implemented daily health checks in which they take employee temperatures and inquire about symptoms. This goal of this safety measure is to detect signs of illness as soon as possible so that exposure risk to other employees can be minimized.
Employers are encouraging sick employees to stay home so that their coworkers and customers can stay healthy. In addition, they will likely ask employees to notify them of exposure to sick individuals so that they can assess risk and take appropriate steps can be taken to keep everyone safe.
Regular sanitization of high-traffic areas is a great way to minimize contamination and keep work environments healthy and safe. Many employers are ramping up their regular cleaning schedules. This includes disinfecting high traffic areas multiple times throughout the day.
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The good news is, you are doing it. You are managing unexpected change at an unprecedented speed. You are adapting, you are innovating, and you are using every resource at your disposal. These actions are helping to both sustain, and grow, your business. Now that you have laid the foundation needed to keep your employees safe, you can work on growing your business. Hiring the right people to carry out your work is key to growth. And, hiring success in the new normal is possible.
Manpower has been helping to staff Maine businesses for nearly 60 years, and with that being our sole focus, we are able to leverage our experience & knowledge to help you successfully hire no matter what is happening around you. Read on to learn more.
Step 1: Identify the ChallengesBefore placing an advertisement, you need to first fully identify the challenges you will face when it comes to hiring. To effectively hire you must take an honest assessment of your organization. How competitive are you with compensation packages? It is no secret that the CARES Act has substantially increased unemployment compensation. While we know modifications are forthcoming, no one knows what the changes will be.
It is easy to blame unemployment for all the current hiring woes; the reality is there are many other challenges including market uncertainty, lack of candidates, the general population re-evaluating their priorities, and your overall employment reputation.
It is up to you to find a stop-gap in order to overcome the challenges you face. You will either succumb to the market or you will rise. Adjust your process just like you have with COVID, and dominate the hiring scene.
Naturally, every employer looks at staff as an investment and wants the most bang-for-their-buck. Ask yourself the following questions: who is my available workforce? What are the characteristics of my available workforce? Have I clearly defined what skills and experience are a must have, and which are simply value added? Where can I offer flexibility?
Painting yourself and your hiring managers into a corner is not doing you any favors. In all actuality, you could be costing yourself a significant amount of money and business productivity by having unnecessarily strict hiring requirements and an unrealistic view of the available workforce. When you expand your reach to include untapped markets you can take smart, calculated risks and reap huge rewards.
Based on a 2018 report on demographics of employment and unemployment in Maine by the Department of Labor and US Census, 46.2% of the population has a high school diploma or less – yet according to a study by Georgetown University, 60% of job postings require an Associates Degree or higher. Have you looked at your education requirements? Are they realistic of your market? Is the level of degree necessary for performance?
Another untapped group is foreign born & veteran workers, who consist of 11.3% of the population in Maine. The lack of hiring related to this group is indicative of simple communication challenges. This includes: understanding terminology on resumes of veterans, aligning their skills with the private sector, and bridging communication challenges that come with candidates for whom English is a second language. The best employers find ways to overcome simple communication barriers and in return benefit from the strong work ethic, ability to handle stress, and teamwork that this group of people is well-known for.
While the general population is re-prioritizing their lives, many find themselves furthering their education, balancing family, or exploring business options, and with that comes a desire to seek out part-time work. Have you considered work-sharing, or part-time status as an option? Might it be beneficial to offer part-time status?
The final untapped group that you may want to consider is the long-term unemployed. Often, those that face barriers to employment have a more complicated history including mental health issues, a checkered work history, or a questionable background. Many employers are moving towards second-chance employment and are experiencing increased productivity, loyalty, and an enhanced employment reputation. The key to tapping into this market is being able to identify those that genuinely have the desire to succeed.
In today’s ‘new normal,’ candidates are approaching the job search with their own expectations. Candidates are demanding transparency, and if you aren’t providing it – someone else is going to provide it for you. Everyone is watching, listening, and judging what employers are doing right now – with so much information out there and knowing what other companies are doing, candidates are making decisions based on that information.
Common trends we are seeing include offering ongoing flexibility with remote work options where possible. We have seen what employees are capable of when we had no choice but to trust their ability to work from home. The option was offered because it was necessary to keep business running – but now, as offices are opening back up, employees – especially the highly-accountable – are wanting that same level of trust and flexibility.
Employees have always wanted to know that they are more than just a number to an organization. Now you must be able to demonstrate that you take your employee’s health and safety seriously. When you arrive at your workplace, is it noticeable that you are following CDC-recommended guidelines such as sanitizing stations, physical distancing where possible, use of masks where it isn’t possible, and signage indicating policies? You can say that you follow guidelines, but are they enforced? A candidate will quickly be able to tell when they arrive at your facility, and you very well may be judged for that.
As unemployment benefits became more lucrative than some jobs, employees started to be vocal about wanting incentive pay (or what others may call hazard pay). The mindset has been that they are deemed essential, and for some people, their wages don’t seem to compensate for the risk they are taking. This all boils down to having confidence in your compensation package. If you have the ability to even temporarily incentivize staff (hiring bonuses, pay rate increases, attendance bonuses) you will have a hiring advantage over many organizations.
If you were to advertise your product/service, would you talk all about you, or would you talk about what the end user wants, needs, or longs for? Advertising your job openings should take the same approach.
Recruitment Marketing is an art & science. You need to meet candidates where they are, speak to their needs, create a compelling reason to invest their time into your employment opportunity, and then deliver. If you are simply posting a job description using the same old job board and getting the same old results, you are missing out.
Build a positive candidate experience. Start by ensuring that you are effectively communicating your value proposition in your advertisements. Identify the sizzle in your position (all positions have them) and speak to it – make sure your hiring managers can speak to it. Identify your target audience. How do you reach them? Are they proactively applying, or do you need to reach out to them?
Do your advertising resources deliver hires? Have you measured your recruitment advertising ROI? Chances are likely that your leading source of hires probably isn’t the same as your leading source of applicants. Measure. Analyze. Modify. Repeat.
And finally, is your screening process helping or hindering? The more hoops a candidate has to jump through, and the longer the hiring process takes, the more likely you are to have quality candidates drop off. Which hoops are necessary? Can you use technology to speed up the process? Do you have an overall timeline to hire with built-in checkpoints to ensure you are on track, or is your hiring timeline fluid? A poorly defined timeline can cost you quality hires.
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