Our priority at Talkpush is everyone’s safety. As the world comes together to stop the spread of COVID-19, we outline a few tips of the Talkpush platform to leverage digital communications during times of self-isolation, as well as government mandated quarantine.

In the midst of a global crisis, industries from every sector have joined forces to mitigate the health consequences of COVID 19. With safety at the forefront, we thought it would be helpful for our users to know a few best practices when it comes to taking their recruitment operations completely online. We know that quarantine has posed economic hardships on businesses throughout the world, and while health is the top priority in this case, we want to help our users get the most out of Talkpush during these tough times.

Like any new process, employees will experience a learning curve as they get used to working from home — but we can tell you from experience that there’s many benefits. Productivity increases (no commute), time management becomes of the utmost importance, and a goal focused strategy can help you achieve more than ever before.

But, for recruiters it’s a little different. Talent Acquisition is such a human endeavor, that taking it completely online can seem daunting. Can we still connect with our best candidates through a computer screen? What will happen to our hiring quotas? How will we make the best decision?

We’re here to put you at ease. Digital recruitment is where the industry has been heading for years, now it’s the time to put all you have learned to good use. With the right tools you can still make smart choices, establish personal connections, deliver a top-notch candidate experience, and get to know your candidates — remotely.

Download this free white paper packed with info on how to meet your hiring quotas while working remotely! Discover the tools you need and how to use them to hire the best talent no matter where your recruiters, or your candidates are.

Our Customer Success team got together (via zoom),  and outlined a few best practices they considered important during this stage.

1. Response rates are more important than ever

Users are encouraged to respond to all candidates who have messaged them. If you have hundreds (or thousands) of candidates, this is easier said than done. Here’s a little hack: In the Talkpush platform you can use the "pending reply" search criteria to filter candidates who have sent you a message but whom you haven’t responded to.

2. Pay extra attention to inquiries

Value those candidates who show interest in your company, even if they haven’t applied yet. Our suggestion is to assign a dedicated person to all inquiry campaigns, as well as the unassigned folder. This person’s job should be addressing all the concerns from those leads and converting them into bona-fide candidates.

3. Make sure all your messaging platforms are up and running

Alternative communication channels (Facebook Messenger, SMS, Email, WhatsApp...) should be activated. Now is the time to go through all of your message templates and ensure they are saved according to each channel. Pro tip: if you’re trying to format beautiful emails, check out this html editor, CoffeeCup, it’s got a basic free version and a subscription fee for those looking to do more in depth coding.

4. Shift from the recruitment center calendar booking to individual recruiter calendars

Since you won’t be booking any appointments onsite, recruiters can instead send a link to candidates for self scheduling to a video or voice conference — on the individual recruiter’s calendar. Talkpush has a calendar sync feature, which shows candidates available slots and automatically makes an event on the calendar for the recruiter to see. Plus, it sends reminders to both parties as the date approaches.

5. Update your FAQ list

Your candidates have a lot of questions surrounding remote work policies right now. They also want to know if you have any special operating hours. Make sure you have accurate answers that address the COVID-19 concerns according to your region and local stipulations.

6. Integrated Assessments

If you’re using 3rd party assessment platforms feel free to jump on a call with your CSM to see how you can integrate it to your Talkpush workflows. If you don’t have much time to get the integration going, here goes another little hack: if you’ve got a static link you use for assessments you can save it as a quick reply or include them in the message templates. Once this is done your bot will automatically send them out to your candidates.

7. For Custom Bot Users: Delayed Messages

Did you know you can request for a “delayed messages” feature? These are messages which are triggered based on certain times (for example, one hour after being shortlisted). You can use these for a variety of reasons, like reminding your candidates that they booked an appointment via the automated calendar, or to gently nudge them forward by asking those who have been researching the company if they have any questions. This will help you extend the messaging window of the candidate — which according to new Facebook policies, you’ll need to do if you want to message candidates 24 hours after the last interaction.

We hope this little list helps you run smoother operations as we all band together and stay home! There’s no need to panic, by taking the recommended precautions we’ll all be back at the office soon. In the meantime, we’re glad to offer a digital solution. Our technology was created to empower humans to establish meaningful connections at scale, using automation. We’re happy it can also help our users stay safe without compromising their candidate experience.

Got questions? Shoot us an email at hello@talkpush.com and we'll gladly help you adapt your operations to remote policies.