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BLOG: COVID-19 means there has never been a greater need for empathy

A computer has the words 'be kind' showing on it

Be kind and compassionate during the coronavirus

Macstaff MD urges the recruitment industry to be kind, compassionate and show empathy during the COVID-19 crisis but says ‘let’s be courageous and face adversity head on’

The recruitment industry has never before had a greater need for empathy than now.

These are unprecedented times for all of us and while some crazy and dangerous things go on around us, we must all try to be caring and compassionate.

We must also be courageous and face adversity head on.

While we deal with the obvious health challenges, our goal is also to stimulate the economy and keep things moving when we can to make it easier for clients and candidates to get through these difficult times and come out on the other side.

All of the fears associated with the coronavirus have also come at the end of a long spell of uncertainty which also hit the hopes of economic growth in the UK.

First there was Brexit and then the wait for the election.

There was actually a real pick-up in January and a spike in business. There were a lot more placements and vacancies appear than there had been for a while.

But now, the coronavirus is pulling the curtain down and we need to show resilience in the industry.

We want to keep filling jobs that appear with no blockages and no deterrents whenever we can.

Help for business with empathy

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has released some unprecedented levels of help for businesses and they are really positive. That’s important for the recruitment industry and it’s important to keep people in their jobs.

While that financial stimulus is important, practically speaking, by offering support and working remotely, we can reassure people that things can keep moving to some extent. You don’t have to meet someone face-to-face for an interview for example.

There is good online software to aid many processes and there is even software now specifically to help conduct interviews like: Hinterview, Odro and Shine. We are currently doing trials to work out the best fit for Macstaff customer requirements. If any clients or candidates have opinions feedback or preferences I’d be interested to hear.

The past 7-10 days has seen a testing financial effect across the industry. Take construction for example, sites shut down, there is no temp work needed and on-going contract renewals get affected. People simply cannot do their jobs.

For some people, this is the first real slow down in the economy they have seen. Unfortunately, I am old enough to have been through the problems created in the slow down and recessions of 9/11, 2001 and the 2008 financial crashes.

Latest crisis

As a result, I have learned some valuable lessons from that and can apply what I have learned to this latest crisis.

We have to try and have a balanced approach to it all.

Be clear and do not be frozen. Don’t have analysis paralysis. Set long-term objectives and say to yourself that you want to better at what you do when we come out of this.

What can we learn and how can we put that into practice to make our services, industries and businesses better when the situation begins to improve and the economy picks up again?

In the mean time, let’s take care of each other and support each other with care and compassion.

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Watch: VIDEO – Macstaff introduce flexible fees amongst more new products to help boost the recruitment industry…