“If your business still has the need, appetite and capacity to continue hiring right now, here’s some help and guidance on how you can still make things happen in these unprecedented times. Obviously, we have a vested interest in keeping the wheels moving in recruitment, in what are very tough market conditions for everyone right now. Job board aggregators such as Indeed and Adzuna are the canaries in the coal mine for the economy, the numbers of permanent vacancies being posted by clients and recruitment firms has fallen dramatically across the world as the majority of companies have cancelled or postponed hiring plans. Engineering and manufacturing are among many industries to see a notable decline in March. These are the facts, we are in no way looking to take advantage of the terrible situation people find themselves in. Commercially you are in a very strong position if you continue recruiting right now because there are certain things in your favour. Less jobs advertised, less competition for the skills you require. We have seen a rise in people applying for roles on our website. With fewer companies recruiting, the competition for the best talent is not as fierce as it was 3 weeks ago. Many industries are in dire straits – the uncertainty will be unsettling staff in these sectors, who are going to start looking around, who otherwise would not. While others may be unfortunately being made redundant. What is the solution? Run a virtual recruitment process. Yes it’s a new way of doing things, yes it’s a bit scary – but it is possible to interview, hire and onboard someone virtually and Precision can help you. There are a number of paid and free video conferencing tools which are stable, feature rich and easy to use. Here at Precision People we can set up a Zoom meeting between all your key stakeholders and the Precision team to discuss your requirements in detail, also the profile of your ideal candidate in terms of team fit. The Precision team will take that understanding, go to market and present you with a shortlist as normal.