Steve Ward from Universum led ISE’s Campus Recruiting from a Digital Distance webinar. Here he explains why it’s important for employers to engage talent virtually, beyond Covid-19.

The future of work sure has rattled on at pace over this last month. For many this is a great thing, for others it’s as scary as the situation we are all going through with the coronavirus and its effect on health, business and humanity.

The reality though is that the next generation of talent has already rocketed ahead of us.
As organisations embedded in methodology, we can often be pretty tough old buses to turn. When I say to a seasoned professional, ‘virtual’ – a sneer or a haze is a common response. Talk ‘virtual’ to a 21 year old, and they are expecting you to be ready. They are already there.

It is really hard to evolve, but it is essential. Especially now, competitive organisations are charging ahead with technology and distance solutions in the wake of the pandemic, and they will be stronger because of it, and they will be leaner.

Virtual engagement should be an integral part of your student hiring strategies. Here’s why you need to make it the norm, not just a response to the pandemic:

Attractiveness

When I presented the Universum virtual campus programme example in my recent ISE webinar, an insight that I hadn’t presented was that 80% of its attendees said that they were now more inclined to apply for the company as a consequence of the virtual programme. In a candidate-driven market, that is golden. The exercise not only served to reach the best and most relevant talent, but it also enhanced the attractiveness of the organization due to their demonstration of forward-thinking innovation.

Students are used to multichannel engagement

Virtual engagement is not about replacing and killing-off old methodology, its about augmenting existing structures and creating the dynamism of multi-dimensional engagement opportunities at the early to middle stage of the attraction funnel. Our incoming graduates are used to multichannel engagement, and they are used to choice.

Brand opportunity

Virtual engagement is also a brand opportunity. It’s presenting more doors to open. It enables employers to diversify point of entry and therefore embrace wider demographics of talent, and that will serve companies well in their diversity and inclusion perception and goals.

Moving past the uncertainty

The adoption of new ideas is hard, but truly this process is easy. Needless to say, Universum is there to support you all of the way from a marketing and tech element, but in simple terms, the complexity is minimal. It’s a fast and low barrier route to talent.

Watch ISE’s Campus Recruiting from a Digital Distance webinar