It is inevitable that the coronavirus outbreak will cause significant disruption both to business and to our everyday lives.

In these unprecedented times, the public’s health must be the number-one priority.

But retailers, and the thousands of businesses that enable their operations to function effectively, have a vital role to play in the national response. People will need to eat and purchase other supplies and, so as far as possible, we should try to maintain a sense of normality in the face of a challenging and constantly evolving set of circumstances.

The same goes for recruitment. We have the technology at our disposal to continue with the day-to-day meetings and interviews that keep the wheels of the jobs market turning.

“Historically, the retail sector has not used communications technology to its full potential where recruitment is concerned”

At Anthony Gregg Partnership, we’ve already started holding candidate interviews over FaceTime and Skype, and are using these same channels for meetings and appointments that might otherwise have been carried out face to face.

We’re also planning for people to be able to work from home and carry out their day-to-day tasks in as seamless a way as possible.

Historically, the retail sector has not used communications technology to its full potential where recruitment is concerned.

In academia, where people move fluidly between different countries and institutions, remote interviews are already commonplace. In retail, there remains a culture of needing to ‘press the flesh’ to get a real sense of a candidate’s suitability for a role.

But with a rigorous selection process, including psychometric testing as standard, this no longer need be the case.

Just as necessity is the mother of invention, so an enforced period of working remotely may provide the impetus for digital communications to be seen as an opportunity, rather than a measure of last resort.

From a candidate’s point of view, the time saved travelling to and from a face-to-face interview can be more productively spent on other tasks. It’s less costly, too.

“I’m confident our sector will find a way through the fog and come out stronger on the other side”

For recruiters and their clients, holding meetings remotely rather than travelling to office locations, coffee shops and restaurants can boost productivity at a time when every human resource available will need to be optimised.

Retail is going through a transformational period with the shift to online. But many retailers have already shown an impressive ability to adapt.

The next few months will require a different kind of adaptation.

No doubt there will be challenging times ahead. But I’m confident our sector will find a way through the fog and come out stronger on the other side – just so long as we open our eyes to the possibilities around us.

Content provided by Anthony Gregg Partnership.

anthony gregg partnership

You can call Tony Gregg on 020 7316 3146 or email him at tony@anthonygregg.com.

Founded in 2003 and located in central London, Anthony Gregg Partnership specialises in the consumer search market space.