India Employer Forum

Hiring

Growth of Virtual Onboarding: The New Future Hiring Trend

  • By: India Employer Forum
  • Date: 31 July 2020

Share This:

Introduction: The Rise of Virtual Onboarding

After months of deceleration in hiring, virtual onboarding is an economically and logistically viable option for companies. It helps them move on from the freeze in hiring and return to a sustainable operational status quo even in a slimmed-down cost structure.

The Challenge of Virtual Onboarding

At times, virtual onboarding may feel as if the touch of a handshake is missing. But given the circumstances of the pandemic spreading rapidly to every corner of the globe, the caution is warranted. At every stage of business interaction, administrators and leaders now prefer the contactless variant of interaction.

The Role of Virtual Interviews and Gamification

Virtual interviewing and hiring have become indispensable to recruiters at this crucial juncture. Personnel and top executives realize that the evaluation of candidates’ competencies and potential for growth can be tested even as they are forced to break away from the tradition of face-to-face interviews. Gamification includes a wide variety of challenges that can be set across several rounds on different platforms. The insight into the abilities of candidates who get selected based on these tests is accurate and easily documented. Virtual interviews use AI-based scoring systems that can streamline the productivity of the recruitment team besides being scalable. From the perspective of the candidate, they offer the benefit of being inventive and adaptive (in terms of difficulty level), while being high on the element of fun. In the latter stages, this same model of gamification can be used during the induction activities.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Onboarding

Making news for some months now, the coronavirus pandemic spread to cities and then to smaller towns in India. But India has now taken a state-led approach to lockdown. Further, business leaders and administrators are encouraged to kickstart economic activity in a safe but proactive fashion.

Growth of Employee Online Onboarding Systems in India

Employee online onboarding systems have, as a result, gained new strength in India in 2020. There are virtual onboarding and operations software solutions like BambooHR, Workbright, CakeHR, and ClearCompany, among several others. Online onboarding software today can be interfaced with a mobile device, personal computer, or desktop. There are cloud-based logs to mark up meetings, work hours, leave requests, and more. The one-size-fits-all approach is gone for good as there are specific online onboarding processes recommended for startups and larger business entities based on the staff size.

The Benefits of Virtual Onboarding

Virtual onboarding is a welcome relief for taxed HR personnel as well as new hires who worry if their job offers are rescinded due to the lockdown and economic slowdown. Virtual hiring has reached the hassle-free, post-testing phase where candidates have successfully passed through several rounds of remote interviews and induction. They now contribute through remote working scenarios and make a difference in the operations of a business without being physically present.

Examples of Companies Adopting Virtual Onboarding

Deloitte India and Wipro are some of the companies that delayed onboarding as of June 2020, but others like Flipkart and Procter & Gamble (P&G) have powered forward with a promising set of recruits. The latter, in its capacity as a personal care and consumer goods firm, attempts to attain an ‘essential goods’ label so it can continue to serve its customers. As such, P&G continues to recruit through online job portals like Indeed.com for roles such as customer service executives and inventory management specialists. Side by side, P&G and several other conglomerates like Unilever acknowledge that logistical and personnel problems continue to weigh down.

Virtual Onboarding and India’s Multilingual Workforce

Online onboarding fits well with India’s dynamic, multilingual workforce. It is a clear pathway to economic catalysis and eventual return to financial viability in the new normal. For the people-led approach too, virtual onboarding is an inclusive, standardized set of tools to offer engagement and a sense of belonging.

References:

  • Sreeradha Basu, Companies make the shift to virtual onboarding of new hires, ET Bureau, May 18, 2020
  • Ayan Pramanik and Anandi Chandrashekhar, Onboarding delayed for newbies at IT companies, ET Bureau, June 09 2020
  • Sagar Malaviya, P&G in talks with state governments to earn the ‘essentials’ label, ET Bureau, April 21 2020

Related Articles

IEF Editorial Team

Top Industries Hiring and Trends in India for…

The Indian employment landscape continues to evolve, offering new challenging opportunities each year. In 2024, the impact of Artificial Intelligence and automation was inevitable, causing a dynamic shift in hiring...

IEF Editorial Team

Top 10 Emerging Job Roles in 2025

By Dr. Sarmistha Roychowdhury When I reflect on my experience in the past two decades, I see that the evolution is robust, and the function of the human resources department...

IEF Editorial Team

Job Ghosting or Phantom Postings: The New Job…

The job market has always sent employees screaming for help, and one of the more baffling trends of late is the rise of ghost jobs. These are roles that companies...

IEF Editorial Team

Festive Hiring Surge in E-Commerce: Driving Growth and…

With the festive season upon us, the e-commerce sector is experiencing a remarkable boom, not just in sales but in hiring. The demand for goods, fast deliveries, and seamless customer...

Post an Article

    Subscribe Now



    I've read and accept the Privacy Policy.