THE HR RESILIENCY PLAYBOOK

First and foremost, I hope you and your families are healthy and safe as we continue working through the challenges of such an extraordinary time together.

The past five months have been rife with ups and downs across the country and around the world. Governments, businesses, and each and every person have had to continually pivot and accept a new normal of uncertainty in the wake of the pandemic. Along the way, countless jobs were lost, and many employers and workers are still reeling from a historically altered talent landscape.

The good news? Despite the difficulties of putting the economy back together, people’s commitment to adapt and forge ahead has never been stronger. My conversations with CHROs representing disparate companies and industries support this sentiment, as they work tirelessly to map out a viable future for their organizations and employees.

Here at Phenom, we have been innovating non-stop since COVID-19 hit, launching updates to our Talent Experience Management platform to help candidates, employees, recruiters, and hiring managers overcome instability across the talent landscape. That instability comes in different forms for businesses, and we are committed to producing solutions that address both the unique employment challenges we’re facing right now, and the ones we’ll face as the economy begins to recover.

To guide talent acquisition and management professionals through this unprecedented period, we created The HR Resiliency Playbooks:

• Accelerating Virtual Recruiting—Filling essential roles faster and remotely

• Establishing Employee Agility—Engaging internal talent

• Preparing for Talent Recovery—Building a community

Each playbook provides organized, actionable takeaways that meet your current business needs and can get you where you want to be. It is my hope that these tools will prepare you to move forward with the educated resolve needed to emerge from this crisis stronger and more resilient than ever.

Mahe Bayireddi CEO & co-founder Phenom

Foreword

2The HR Resiliency Playbook

Table of Contents

The State of the Talent Landscape ................................................ 4

The Virtual Candidate Experience ............................................... 5

Activating Your Internal Workforce ............................................. 6

Accelerating Virtual Recruiting Overview ...................................... 7

Establishing Employee Agility Overview ....................................... 9

Preparing for Talent Recovery Overview ..................................... 11

Conclusion .................................................................................... 13

About Phenom ............................................................................. 14

3The HR Resiliency Playbook

Introduction

▶ The State of the Talent Landscape

Only a few short months ago, the talent experience was a candidate-driven one. With plenty of job opportunities to choose from, job seekers held the upper hand in choosing where to work. Among employers, the competition for top talent was fierce.

Then the pandemic struck.

In early May 2020, more than 30 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits since the coronavirus pandemic forced the US economy to shut down in March. And it’s been projected that more than 1 billion workers worldwide could be out of work by the time it’s over.

Although the pandemic and subsequent virus prevention measures have elicited a colossal surge of unemployment across the country, the statistics don’t paint a full picture of the current—or future—talent landscape.

While many businesses were furloughing and laying off workers, employers across select industries such as health care, manufacturing, and food industries needed to ramp up hiring to fill critical positions on the frontlines.

As organizations were forced to either increase hiring efforts for essential jobs, freeze talent acquisition efforts, or furlough and layoff employees, we have witnessed a major shift in the talent landscape.

For the first time in decades, the supply for talent now surpasses the demand.

4The HR Resiliency Playbook | The State of the Talent Landscape

▶ The Virtual Candidate Experience

For organizations with in-demand services, the challenge is being able to hire quickly and effectively at scale, without putting recruitment professionals and the public at risk. With less recruiter overhead, they are being tasked to do more with less—while figuring out the ins and outs of virtual recruiting and hiring.

As the world reopens, many more companies will need to hire extensively and cost effectively to recoup lost revenue and stabilize their trajectory toward future growth. Consequently, the need to adapt or prepare new recruiting and talent acquisition strategies is critical. Fortunately, technology is already poised to help HR professionals support this shift and enable fast, productive hiring.

This is an opportunity to learn and prepare for the unknown future that awaits. As you work your way through this guide, consider how different capabilities and tools will equip your team to master virtual recruiting and hiring velocity when the time comes.

A CHRO’s job has never been more difficult. In order to protect employees and prepare our organizations for success, a redesign of the talent experience is necessary. Transformation must take place across the acquisition, management, and evolution of talent. We have identified the following core areas to focus on:

Hiring Velocity Meet hiring demands faster.

Employee Agility Enrich and match internal talent with critical work.

Talent Recovery Build an engaged alumni community.

Virtual University Recruiting Find the right fit in a remote world.

5The HR Resiliency Playbook | The State of the Talent Landscape

▶ Activating Your Internal Workforce

At the beginning of May, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 14.7% unemployment rate—the highest rate since the Great Depression. Just three months earlier, it sat at a steady 3.5%. With the economy and talent landscape flipping on a dime, many HR departments initiated hiring freezes, lay-offs, and furloughs to keep their companies afloat.

As a result, many industries are experiencing rapid, unplanned changes to their everyday operations. “On-site” employees find themselves working remotely and possibly unable to fulfil their typical functions. Project prioritization and workload distribution have been disrupted, making it difficult to meet objectives and maintain productivity. And organizations are discovering in-demand tasks that require new skills despite little-to-no budget for outsourcing.

How a company responds and mobilizes their workforce now will determine how they survive and thrive in the future. The key is reallocating existing talent from shrinking areas of business to fill gaps in growing or critical sectors.

However, simply switching people around during this super-fluid state of operation without the right tools and resources can make such transitions challenging and ineffective. Do current employees have the skills required? Can they be successfully upskilled—and if so, what do the stages of that process entail? Are there opportunities to empower internal teams with project-based work that also satisfies individual learning goals?

As you work your way through this guide, consider how the multi-faceted aspects of internal mobility can engage workers striving to keep themselves relevant, and equip your team with the agility to persevere. If managed correctly, the end result will be increased transparency, collaboration, and productivity.

6The HR Resiliency Playbook | The State of the Talent Landscape

Accelerating Virtual Recruiting Overview Meet current hiring demands by following these key recommendations.

▶ Identify a plan

Initiate change by identifying your goals, creating a vision, and establishing an MVP strategy.

Communicate change management to your teams. Ensure everyone hears a consistent, clear message.

Empower your teams by equipping them with the tools and information they need.

Encourage decisiveness and agility—teams should be driven to take quick action, assess performance, optimize what’s working, and continue expanding on the original vision.

▶ Update your employer brand

Refine your employer brand (update to reflect latest company changes & focus since the pandemic).

Review your candidate experience by going through your application process (from job board to career site to submitting an application).

Update external brand presence on job boards and social platforms.

Update COVID-19 related messaging on your career site.

Ensure consistent employer brand messaging and imagery across all channels.

75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job.

Source: LinkedIn

7The HR Resiliency Playbook | Accelerating Virtual Recruiting Overview

▶ Grow your pipeline

Host virtual recruiting events, including career fairs and virtual open houses.

Create social media campaigns highlighting available job opportunities (all or by category) and company culture that drive back to your career site.

Invest in paid digital advertising opportunities to reach a wider talent pool.

Experiment with new job boards that might be a watering hole for your ideal candidates.

Identify and focus efforts on channels that are driving the most traffic and qualified candidates.

▶ Engage job seekers

Stay hyper-connected with candidates by adopting conversational recruiting strategies and technologies—including SMS, messaging apps, and email.

Implement a chatbot on your career site to amplify and automate sourcing, screening, scheduling, and answering candidate FAQs.

Create informative, engaging content that showcases your company culture, including career site content, blog posts, videos, and employee testimonials.

Send regular targeted emails to your talent pools with relevant job openings, company news, and upcoming events.

▶ Interview candidates

Review & update your interview process by reviewing technology and incorporating video.

Create memorable hiring experiences including updating all communication before they start, their first day, and a 30-day check in.

▶ Onboard new hires

Create memorable hiring experiences that help new employees feel welcome.

Set up onboarding during orientation and address a virtual options.

Establish a strong virtual company culture.

▶ Track & optimize

Establish micro-level analysis to review ongoing career site performance.

Create 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day metrics review plans to identify successes and areas that need improvement.

Replicate what’s working and optimize areas that need improvement.

8The HR Resiliency Playbook | Accelerating Virtual Recruiting Overview

Establishing Employee Agility Overview Drive employee engagement and guide the organization through recovery by following these key recommendations.

▶ Establish a plan

Initiate change by identifying your goals, creating a vision, and establishing an MVP strategy.

Communicate change management to your teams.

Empower your teams by equipping them with the tools and information they need.

Encourage decisiveness and agility—teams should be driven to take quick action, assess performance, optimize what’s working, and continue expanding on the original vision.

▶ Identify skill gaps

Construct a skills inventory among your current talent.

Outline the skills required to maintain business continuity and prepare for future operations.

Identify skill gaps between existing talent today and what is required down the road.

The ability to spin up and crowdsource relevant gigs helps organizations mobilize their workforce, rally around opportunities for growth, and find the right internal fit faster to produce work that matters.

9The HR Resiliency Playbook | Establishing Employee Agility Overview

▶ Create opportunities for reskilling & development

Create a gig work plan by identifying goals and objectives and creating sample projects.

Educate managers to drive adoption by communicating program benefits and walking them through setup.

Share educational materials that employees can leverage for professional development.

▶ Promote internal opportunities

Create dedicated landing pages and notification banners with company updates, blogs, and articles from leaders to encourage professional development.

Share open gigs with employees by announcing via email and messaging apps.

Set up long-term campaigns to encourage adoption of your internal talent marketplace.

▶ Prepare for recovery

Build an alumni community of former employees.

Engage with alumni workers through email and SMS campaigns, as well as your chatbot.

Encourage employee referrals to build pipelines for when you start hiring again.

▶ Track & optimize

Establish micro-level analysis to review ongoing employee engagement.

Create 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day metrics review plans to identify successes.

Replicate what’s working and optimize areas that need improvement.

10The HR Resiliency Playbook | Establishing Employee Agility Overview

Preparing for Talent Recovery Overview Build an engaged community of former employees as you rehire talent by following these key recommendations.

▶ Identify a plan

Initiate change by identifying your goals, creating a vision, and establishing an MVP strategy.

Communicate change management to your teams. Ensure everyone hears a consistent, clear message.

Empower your teams by equipping them with the tools and information they need.

Encourage decisiveness and agility—teams should be driven to take quick action, assess performance, optimize what’s working, and continue expanding on the original vision.

▶ Establish an alumni community

Create a branded alumni resource page on your career site to stay connected with former employees.

Launch a talent recovery site to connect your alumni workforce with external job opportunities.

Leverage social media to create a private group, such as Facebook or LinkedIn Groups.

Identify alumni community managers to monitor and maintain communication.

Top 3 Driversof Alumni CommunitiesSource: SHRM

Brand Advocacy

Business Development

Talent Acquisition

86%76%

66%11The HR Resiliency Playbook | Preparing for Talent Recovery Overview

▶ Engage former employees

Communicate with former employees through email and SMS campaigns, as well as your chatbot.

Share frequently asked questions on your alumni resource page and share updates in emails and social posts.

Post external job opportunities to support former employees.

Post new internal opportunities as they open up to build talent pipelines.

Communicate with empathy and prepare regular check-ins.

▶ Build your alumni pipeline

Meet with hiring managers to identify key roles that will need to be filled.

Prepare outreach for employees who were furloughed, those who were let go, and those who left voluntarily.

Encourage and incentivize alumni referrals to support pipelining.

▶ Track & Optimize

Establish micro-level analysis to review ongoing career site performance.

Create 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day metrics review plans.

Replicate what’s working and optimize areas that need improvement.

12The HR Resiliency Playbook | Preparing for Talent Recovery Overview

Conclusion

As you continue to navigate the new normal of HR—whether you’re addressing new hiring demands, activating your workforce to drive productivity, or building a community of engaged former employees to bolster rehiring efforts—preparation will be key for effectively leading your teams through change. Leverage the guidelines outlined in these playbooks to suit your unique company’s needs, inspire action, and empower your employees to thrive.

13The HR Resiliency Playbook | Conclusion

How Phenom Can Help

Connect with candidates at scale, enrich employees, and prepare for recovery with Phenom. Our team has designed a suite of products specifically to suit your and your company’s business needs.

Meet Virtual Recruiting & Hiring Velocity NeedsReduce hiring friction on the frontlines, fill essential roles faster, and meet unprecedented demand with Phenom’s Hiring Velocity and Virtual University Recruiting packages, powered by our conversational chatbot and recruiter experience, featuring:

CONVERSATIONAL CHATBOTLeverage Phenom Bot—powered by AI—on any website to automate job search and discovery, answer frequently asked questions, capture new leads, and initiate screening and scheduling. Plus, live chat with candidates in real-time and deliver powerful campaigns that attract job seekers.

CAMPAIGNSBuild meaningful relationships with candidates through one-time email sends and automated drip campaigns that nurture job seekers over time. Communicate instantly with candidates one-to-one or at scale with SMS messaging. Follow up on interviews, arrange next steps, and launch campaigns to promote new job openings and upcoming events.

VIRTUAL RECRUITING EVENTSMaintain hiring momentum and create meaningful moments—wherever you and your candidates are. Create and manage end-to-end recruiting events, screen and schedule candidates, and conduct interviews using seamless integrated video technology.

Mobilize Your Internal WorkforceUnleash the talent within. Engage and enrich your internal talent, fortify your skills, and quickly counter crisis with collaboration using Phenom’s Employee Agility package.

GIGSEngage, mobilize, and reskill your workforce with an internal talent marketplace. Empower managers to publish and share flexible tasks and projects, which employees can discover in an internal portal.

HIRING MANAGER APPEasily create, edit, and manage gigs. Plus, match project-based work with the right employees to help counter crisis.

How Phenom Can Help

Connect with candidates at scale, enrich employees, and prepare for recovery with Phenom. Our team has designed a suite of products specifically to suit your and your company’s business needs.

Be Prepared for RecoveryFrom crisis response to economic return, Phenom’s Talent Recovery Package helps you serve your former employees, build your talent community, and prepare for recovery.

TALENT RECOVERY SITEPowered by the Phenom HelpOneBillion network of verified jobs, a talent recovery site is hosted on a customer subdomain and serves as a branded job portal, resource center, and lead source. Use it to serve your former or furloughed employees, helping them navigate unemployment, discover external job opportunities, sign up for company updates, and stay connected to your brand.

CAMPAIGNSBuild meaningful relationships with candidates through one-time email sends and automated drip campaigns that nurture former employees over time. Communicate instantly with alumni one-to-one or at scale with SMS messaging. Follow up on interviews, arrange next steps, and launch campaigns to promote new job openings and upcoming events.

RECRUITING CHATBOTEngage alumni and career site visitors with a conversational chatbot that connects them with best-fit job opportunities and answers frequently asked questions.

How Phenom Can Help

Connect with candidates at scale, enrich employees, and prepare for recovery with Phenom. Our team has designed a suite of products specifically to suit your and your company’s business needs.

About Phenom

Phenom is a global HR technology company with a mission to help a billion people find the right job. We do this through an AI-based SaaS platform, which we call Talent Experience Management (TXM). TXM is the holistic approach and platform that connects every interaction throughout the talent lifecycle and delivers hyper-personalized experiences for everyone. The Phenom TXM platform is built on artificial intelligence (AI), driving personalization, automation, and accuracy for candidates, recruiters, employees, and management. It eliminates multiple-point solutions, connects with quality candidates and employees through personalized experiences, and delivers top talent while driving ROI. This means candidates find the right jobs faster, recruiters are more productive, employees are able to evolve, and management gets the insights they need.

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