How Video Interviewing Is Helping Businesses Stay Afloat Amid the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak

The Effects of An Epidemic On the Workplace

When such an outbreak occurs, businesses cannot simply come to a halt. Yet the word “pandemic” evokes fear. Many people are reluctant to come in close physical proximity to others. Facebook has restricted any non-essential or social visitors from their offices. Even standard business greetings like the classic handshake are being replaced to avoid spreading the virus.

With the rise of the virus, international business has become more complicated. Managers and HR reps are wondering what to do about employees who have been travelling abroad. The phenomenon of the “stranded employee” is coming up for many companies for the first time.

While no one wants to get sick, many employees struggle with taking time off work. Sometimes that’s because the employee doesn’t want to offload work onto coworkers or be seen as not a team player. Other times, it’s because they want to save up sick time for a confirmed illness. And, in many other cases, they simply cannot afford to take unpaid time off work. There is no such thing as “paid potential virus incubation leave.”

Both employers and employees are facing a catch-22 situation. On one hand is the importance of minimizing the spread of COVID-19 and, on the other, is the lack of policy to make a straightforward decision about whether or not to come to work.

 

Moving Interactions Online as a Precautionary Measure

Rather than waiting, it’s best for businesses to proactively establish company-wide policies and best practices for times like these. Having a plan in place is vital.

As the outbreak develops, more tips to create a contingency plan are being published. Such tips include identifying critical employee groups or individuals who are difficult to replace on short notice, as well as speaking to suppliers and clients to ensure they also have a backup plan in place so things continue to run as smoothly as possible.

However, these are just the first steps. Large companies like Google, Twitter, and Coinbase have announced their decision to ask that most, if not all, employees work from home, and some companies are converting large scale live events to online events.

 

Video Interviews: Keeping Business Running Smoothly—Despite the Coronavirus

While the methods described above help protect current employees, what about those who don’t work for you yet? Just as the virus can’t freeze business operations, it also can’t stop you from hiring employees and building your business. In fact, as illness spreads, there may be an increased need to hire replacements. As a smart precaution and workaround, video interviewing can be a major part of a business’s contingency plan in times of viral outbreak. Just look at companies such as Amazon and Square, which have stopped all in-person interviewing in favor of the online alternative. A sophisticated video interviewing platform like VidCruiter eliminates the need to meet in person—while still providing ample opportunity to connect face-to-face. Video interviews protect both current and potential employees, and it’s especially helpful for hiring teams spread out in multiple locations. The standardized digital ratings make it easy for groups to interview and consolidate feedback on job applicants—even at a distance.  

Prepare, Don’t Panic

Other infectious incidents such as H1N1 and SARS (which is born of a virus in the coronavirus family) are evidence that coronavirus is not the first—nor will it be the last—viral outbreak our society experiences. As with previous epidemics, developing and implementing a smart strategy for prevention and containment is crucial, both for the health of employees and the business as a whole. In uncertain times such as these, online hiring software is a simple, realistic adjustment to your existing hiring process. It’s helping companies all over the world keep operations running smoothly despite the outbreak.