For its latest study, Is Remote Hiring the New Normal? A look at how the coronavirus pandemic is changing the nature of hiring, Addison Group surveyed 500 hiring managers across the U.S., asking questions about hiring adjustments they’ve seen in the workplace since the pandemic began.

Its findings provide the insights and guidance hiring managers need for hiring amid a crisis, as well as its aftermath.

Workforce changes were sudden and dramatic. Addison’s report found that 58% of respondents implemented hiring freezes, while 32% reduced their recruiting staff. Additionally, 31% of respondents decreased their overall hiring budgets, and 33% turned to internally filling positions.

Despite these changes, hiring managers were able to successfully adjust their strategies to meet company needs. In fact, since stay-at-home orders went into effect, 51% of respondents have interviewed a candidate remotely, and 42% extended a job offer. And despite economic and perhaps technological setbacks, 25% of the hiring managers surveyed expedited their hiring efforts.

While workforce culture was already undergoing many changes, the global crisis accelerated this process for many organizations. The pandemic introduced flexible work-from-home policies and expanded parental leave benefits sooner than planned for many organizations, but they have proven to be easier to implement than anticipated.

In fact, 33% of respondents consider fully remote working options to be the most significant benefit implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 48% see virtual interviews as the top benefit. Additionally, 20% of hiring managers surveyed believe these two additions will be permanent to the workplace moving forward.

“The future is not entirely clear for many organizations, but the pandemic has put a spotlight on what aspects of the hiring process work and do not work amid a crisis,” said Tom Moran, CEO of Addison Group. “Some of the workforce changes we deemed temporary necessities unveiled new successes and gains in both productivity and work-life balance that will inspire permanent changes to the hiring process for the foreseeable future. It’s now on business leaders to ensure their hiring managers can successfully attract and secure top talent so, even amid uncertainty, operations can move forward with confidence.”

Tom Moran

Other key findings from the report include:

• 24% of hiring managers plan to focus hiring on part-time, contract-to-hire and freelance employees
• 53% of hiring managers believe skills training is the most challenging aspects of the remote onboarding process
• More than a quarter of hiring managers are now prioritizing remote technology skills in new candidates
• 23% of hiring managers are looking for candidates with the ability to work in a self-directed environment

For additional insights, download the full report here.