Adapting to new hiring practices is a necessity for any business or recruiter to thrive in today’s competitive job market. One of the things that is constantly in flux is the role and importance of pre-employment reference checks in the workplace. Zoho Recruit is teaming up with SkillSurvey to optimize your reference check process to suit your modern hiring strategy. While checking references doesn’t always generate the sort of fanfare and attention that other talent acquisition activities do, they present a key opportunity to improve your new-hire experience.

With the SkillSurvey integration for Zoho Recruit, you’ll be able to:

• Improve efficiency and fill positions faster 
• Target an exact mix of competencies and intangible skills in candidates
• Tailor how reference checks are conducted for different jobs
• Cut costs associated with time-to-fill and high turnover  

“We’re thrilled to partner with Zoho to make hiring easier and more informative for recruiters and hiring managers. With just one click, they can start reference checks from the Zoho Recruit platform and deploy a fast and easy process for candidates and their references. Then, in just a day or so, a detailed, report is available that provides valuable feedback on the relevant soft skills which are so important for a job candidate’s success and long-term retention” said Tracey Azer, Vice President of Alliances at SkillSurvey.

Between transitioning to remote work overnight and supporting employees through the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was quite a hectic year for HR professionals. You were at the forefront of coordinating with employees from different departments and making all the necessary arrangements to keep your businesses going—all this on top of any personal struggles that may have arisen for you amidst it all.

As we step into the New Year, understanding what priorities are driving the HR industry will help you devise strategies to improve employee experience despite the hardships of 2020. With adequate planning and preparation, you'll be able to sail through 2021 by adapting quickly and easily to all the latest trends. Here are some of the top HR priorities that will shape the global workforce in 2021:

The pandemic has emphasised the importance of reinforcing employee wellness strategies. To sustain and grow, organisations must continue to prioritise employee's physical, mental, and emotional well-being, even in the post-COVID world. Consider incorporating wellness programs that strengthen immunity, encourage physical activity, promote mental health, prevent burnout, and improve work-life balance. Start by understanding the current wellness needs of your employees. Define a few wellness goals for the whole year and track your progress continuously. 

Many organisations shifted to remote work suddenly without prior planning. However, long-term remote work will not succeed if the core organisational values like empathy, leadership, transparency, and flexibility are not consistent with remote work practices. That's why many organisations are starting to focus on fostering their remote work culture to keep employees engaged, improve productivity, enhance collaboration, and provide a smooth remote working experience. Otherwise, attracting and retaining talent will become challenging. Establishing a healthy remote work culture can be difficult in the beginning as employees are isolated in different locations. But with the proper virtual communication tools in place, you'll be able to succeed.

2020 saw some major movements in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). Customers and employees now expect their organisations to engage in DE&I initiatives. According to a survey by PwC, 76% of business leaders, HR professionals, employees, and diversity and inclusion drivers have stated that DE&I is a priority area for their organisation. Another survey by Manifest has also revealed that 70% of candidates value an organisation's commitment to DE&I. So in 2021, many organisations will take measures to increase diversity and develop an inclusive work environment. 

According to a recent Gartner survey, almost 68% of the HR leaders who responded rated building critical skills as their number one priority. Organisations will need to continue identifying skill gaps among their employees and building in them the skills and competencies needed to thrive. This will help organisations to perform better, survive through difficult times, and adapt to changing scenarios easily. Delivering continuous learning and development opportunities through the right learning platform will help you stay organised and offer training to more employees at once, no matter where they're working from. As remote work continues, online learning will become more prevalent than ever before. Adopting a step-by-step approach that involves identifying the skills you need, defining training goals, and measuring the impact of learning on performance will help.

2020 was all about change, resilience, anxiety, and ambiguity. To overcome the challenges brought about by the pandemic, it's necessary to refocus your people management strategies according to these new workplace realities. What do you think is the most important priority for HR this year? Let us know in the comments section below!

The report stated, “Zoho Recruit can significantly reduce candidate drop-off and contribute to maintained engagement throughout the employee lifecycle once a candidate is hired, subsequently reducing employee flight-risk. ”

The criteria for shortlisting vendors relied on the offering having diverse and comprehensive functionalities that enable organizations to maximize their return on investment and the resources to help organizations deploy large-scale applications. Vendors had to make their case with tangible examples from customers on how a certain solution delivers greater functionality and usability than their competitors.

Read in-depth analysis in the full report here.

Nucleus Research is a global provider of ROI-focused technology research and advisory services. Following an ROI case-based, investigative approach, their research delivers factual analysis and insights present financial, and operational value of a technology solution that help organizations.