Essential Employee Hiring Tips During COVID-19 from Konik PrimeStaff
While much of the recent work-related news has focused on remote employees and their new reality, we recognize many of our manufacturing, construction, and other employees need to be on-site to perform their daily duties. This creates a considerable challenge for hiring managers who need to identify new employees, while significantly minimizing the risk to their workforce and themselves. Local manufacturing, construction, and related companies are adapting their interviewing and hiring practices to adjust to the new COVID-19 realities.
After speaking with local companies about their updated process, Konik PrimeStaff compiled the following best practices to make hiring great employees as safe as possible:
- Identify Your Top Candidate with Video Interviews: Video interviewing became the new normal in 2020 to minimize risk to your employers. While there is no replacement for the in-person interview, this process allows you to interview several candidates without risk of exposure. Schedule a second video interview to confirm a strong cultural and technical fit. In our digital age, there is no shortage of tools, including Zoom, Webex, and Skype, to name a few. Zoom has emerged as the video conference industry standard with superior user interface and sounds/audio quality. If your current video conference software isn’t cutting it, check out this ZCNet article for other options.
- After Business Hours Interviewing: Understandably, many managers strongly prefer to meet the final candidate in-person. If this is required, we suggest meeting after work hours and weekends to minimize risks. This way, the candidate is allowed to meet their manager in-person, tour the operations, and get a feeling of the environment. This also creates a more casual setting to allow candidates back and forth conversation with your candidate, ensuring the position is an excellent fit for both of you.
- COVID-19 Risk Questionnaire. This one-page form requires the applicant to declare several statements related to their virus risks. This form will cover their recent travel, exposure to known infected persons, and asymptomatic confirmation. Feel free to use our Questionnaire here as an example.
- Pre-Employment Physical Exam: As an additional safety measure, we recommend whenever possible, to require your new employee to complete a physical exam before their first day. The exam will cover temperature, respiratory health exam, and an overall exam to detect underlying symptoms.
- Periodic temperature check for new (and all) employees: What started as an anomaly with Amazon and Walmart is quickly becoming the norm for manufacturing and construction companies as well. While these larger companies conduct daily tests, it might be more practicable for other companies to conduct these before the start of each workweek. On March 19th, 2020, the EEOC updated its guidance to allow temperature checks during a pandemic outbreak. However, be advised that employers must conduct periodic tests for all employees to eliminate discrimination risks.
- “Stay at Home” Declaration Form: This step allows your new employee to confirm they’ve followed their local “Stay at Home” order and have taken appropriate steps to minimize their exposure risks. A one-page document can be created requiring the new employee to complete before an on-site interview or their first day. Example questions include following local “Stay at Home” orders, avoidance of crowded areas and minimizing movement to critical locations.
We hope these steps will enable you to continue the hiring process and, thus, will allow you to meet your business objectives.
Additional Resources:
COVID-19 Webinar (April 8th), Successful Onboarding: How to Ensure a Good Start for a Great Journey, MN Deed and MN High Tech Association
Ways to Keep Your Manufacturing Employees Virus-Free, Industry Week
Interim Guidance for Business and Employers to Plan and Respond to Covid-19, CDC.gov
COVID-19 Workplace Tips for Employees, US Chamber of Commerce