Hiring in a Pandemic

In 2020, potential is valued well beyond years of experience when considering the current volatility and rapidly changing environment.

By ROBERT COTE, Hire Priority & Executive Search

This is most likely one of the best times to secure top talent for your organization. While many, if not most, business leaders may read this statement with skepticism, read on to consider an almost limitless opportunity in from an unforeseen economic tragedy, an opportunity to build a leaner, stronger organization while keeping human capital costs in check.

It can be downright difficult to avoid negativity these days. The country is reeling from exponentially escalating infection rates. The economy remains a fraction of its previous boom-self just prior to COVID-19. Community leaders are deeply divided on when and how to fully restart the economy, our schools, favorite bars and beaches, just about everything. And, we can all agree it’s time to drop the “new” from the phrase “new-normal”. Still, there is a silver lining to be found. For hiring managers, it is all about leveraging an unimaginable negative into an incredible talent acquisition bonanza.

This is most likely one of the best times to secure top talent for your organization. While many, if not most, business leaders may read this statement with skepticism, read on to consider an almost limitless opportunity in from an unforeseen economic tragedy, an opportunity to build a leaner, stronger organization while keeping human capital costs in check.

Some Industries Are Better Prepared Than Others

It was clear, almost immediately, that many industries would face massive layoffs when the pandemic hit, while very few others would be able to weather the storm, unchanged. The hardest-hit industries include the airline industry, hotels, restaurants, retail, health care and other sectors where stay-athome orders evaporated a customer base. Top talent from these affected sectors have since gone looking for opportunities of stability within organizations likely to be pandemic proof. The multifamily industry is one of those industries.

Talented professionals with customer service, sales, marketing and technology experience all dovetail nicely into both onsite and corporate roles in multifamily. As well, these talented individuals match perfectly with many supplier partner opportunities.

Smart human resources professionals and hiring managers would do well focusing on recruiting from these industries to secure talented individuals who would have an immediate, positive impact on their companies. Even where there are limited open positions, special consideration to acquire these top performers could bring additional expertise and massive creative energy to teams suffering from the “caution fatigue” of this prolonged pandemic.

“We regularly consider talented individuals from outside of multifamily when hiring, appreciating these hires can inject creativity and unique perspectives into our teams. We see the current employment environment supportive of this strategy as we provide an inclusive and empowering culture for our professionals and the best communities for our residents,” Partner for Alpha Barnes Real Estate Services, Hugh Cobb, said.

The multifamily industry is not without its pandemic problems. During this crisis, property managers have been forced to up their protocol prowess in providing their staff and community members with a safe living environment. Some of these protocols are likely to stick around for the unforeseeable future to ensure the public health and safety of residents and employees. These protocols have created new positions that oversee public health and safety standards in multifamily communities. These new positions could be filled by candidates from outside the industry, possibly by those who have experience overseeing health and safety standards. This enduring industry will be amongst the winners in obtaining top talent looking for their next opportunity.

Look for Potential In Lieu of Experience

Many hiring managers may be reading this and thinking, “How can my company benefit when I have someone who may have relevant and relatable experience but has worked outside the industry?”

It’s helpful to understand the paradigm of hiring top talent is changing. In 2020, potential is valued well beyond years of experience when considering the current volatility and rapidly changing environment. Consider Amazon, a company that has targeted the aforementioned industries and the military to find new talent.

According to the Harvard Business Review, these four key attributes help identify top talent potential in any new addition (experienced or newbie) to your organization: 1. Curiosity: A penchant for seeking out new experiences, knowledge, candid feedback and an openness to learning and change. 2. Insight: The ability to gather and make sense of information that suggests new possibilities. 3. Engagement: A knack for using emotion and logic to communicate a persuasive vision and connect with people. 4. Determination: The wherewithal to fight for difficult goals despite challenges and to bounce back from adversity.

Another factor to be considered are the repetitive tasks that the candidate performed in their previous roles and how those tasks correlate well to what your company is looking for. As an example: If a management company is hiring a director of health and safety, looking at candidates with experience overseeing quality control makes perfect sense.

Many health care professionals have been displaced in the pandemic. In an article published by the WashingtonPost.com it was reported that, 1.4 million health-care jobs disappeared in April, according to the latest monthly government jobs report. Those included nearly 135,000 jobs lost at hospitals, more than 243,000 at physician offices and more than 503,000 at dental offices.

These professionals would make excellent health and safety directors and fit well in many other positions that require interaction with people, training, problem solving and establishing or refining protocols.

Utilizing Remote Technology to Interview and Hire

With technology that makes it easier to work from home, such as Zoom, G Suite, Slack, it would be a mistake to avoid hiring until the pandemic passes. As companies have adjusted to the pandemic, as they strategize for the post pandemic normal, remote working environments have been joined by remote recruiting, remote hiring and even remote onboarding procedures. No longer is in person the only way to find the best person and the best fit for your property or company.

In times of high stress, there may be an urge to play it safe and to wait to see how things turn out in the business world. But, brave, creative and proactive hiring managers will attract and secure top talent in 2020. It is a widely held belief that the deepest talent pools provide the highest results. If your property or company expects to soar into 2021, now’s the time to act on this unprecedented windfall of available talent. Get to hiring!

Robert Cote is the Chief Operating Officer at Hire Priority Staffing & Executive Search. In a career spanning more than 20 years, he has worked in a variety of leadership roles in multifamily while serving for the Houston Apartment Association and the Texas Apartment Association. Hire Priority has been a leader in multifamily search and staffing since 1990, providing temporary, temp-to-hire, payroll hire, permanent placement, training and career coaching. He can be reached at rcote@hirepriority.com.