In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many things have to shift in the work place in order to better cope and adjust. A simple yet transformative change is the shift from traditional to a more mobile-friendly recruitment process to fit with growing smartphone usage. This advancement has already been apparent in recent years following the advent and continued growth of technology. However, its importance has been made all the more stark by current changes wrought by the pandemic. Thus, a mobile-friendly recruitment process like a website, texting and video- conferencing, is becoming one of the most crucial HR trends to follow. It needs to be easy to read, quick and user- friendly. If it is hard to read, slow and difficult to use on the phone, then it increases the risk of losing out on qualified candidates who abandon the process (Snook, 2020). So as an HR department, ensure that candidates can go on their phones or tablets and be able to search for the perfect job on your company\u2019s platform (Krumrie, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working with statistics, not only has it\nbeen found that 70% of job seekers use their smartphones to search for jobs,\nbut also, for nearly every 1 in 5 U.S adults, the smartphone is the single\nsource of internet at home (Hedreen, 2019). Extrapolating the cost of internet\nand technologies to access it, this number is likely higher here in Kenya. Furthermore,\nit is estimated that 75% of the world will have access to the internet\nexclusively via smartphone by 2025 (Hedreen, 2019). Mobile technology, therefore,\nis increasingly becoming an essential in people\u2019s everyday lives and\nsubsequently a sure way to reach out to potential candidates as a significant\nportion of talent can be found on the phone. More candidates also means higher\nchances of drawing in top talent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owing to its simplicity as compared to the\ntraditional methods of recruitment such as physical interviews, mobile-friendly\nmethods speed up the recruiting process because candidates are able to respond\nquickly to both job advertisements and recruiter questions at any time of the\nday. This saves time as there is no need for scheduling specific times for\ninterviews, looking for appropriate venues to cater for all the potential\ncandidates and spending hours on hours looking for the best hire: \u201cAn overlong\nrecruitment cycle will result in the loss of talent from your pipeline.\u201d says\nPaul Beard, Skywater Search founding partner (Krumrie, 2020). Additionally, it\ncan be done from anywhere, even when travelling or moving in between meetings\nin the workplace. So it saves time and money for the company, recruiters and\nthe candidate while, increasing the chances of both parties finding what they\nwant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It makes the recruitment process more\nconvenient for the candidates. Phones are always on the person or near them and\nso are not difficult to reach at any given moment as compared to computers. It\nis precisely this aspect of flexibility coupled with the ability to have one\u2019s\ndocuments like the resume and certificates just a few clicks away that make\nsmartphones appealing to use for just about anything, including job\napplications (and recruitment!). Add to that the fact that many people are in\ncareers or industries that require them to be on their feet most of the time,\nlike engineering, medicine and sales, it provides candidates with an easier,\ncheaper and less stressful way to search and apply for jobs. Moreover, \u201cmillennial\nworkers have shown that they want a different application experience, one that\nbrings jobs to them quickly and easily.\u201d according to founder of former CEO of\njob- matching app Switch, Yarden Tadmor (Hedreen, 2019). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile-friendly intergrations make the company look modern and up to date which attracts more candidates because it demonstrates the company is willing to adapt and cares about the experience of its candidates and employees. Also, making mobile applications available drives traffic to the careers site, bringing more attention to the company in general. For that reason, the career site should also be mobile-friendly in order to facilitate the process. For instance, it should be easy to navigate and straightforward. Besides, the brand image should be reflected too, to have the most impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brandy Awuor<\/p>\n\n\n\n