Navigation during a hiring freeze can be challenging. Although the freeze likely was initiated to provide economic relief, it can create issues for hiring managers and HR.

Employees and applicants often feel uncertain about how a hiring freeze might impact their future with the organization. As a result, employees might not perform their best, and applicants might drop out of the hiring process.

Fortunately, you can take steps to support employees and applicants during a hiring freeze. These methods can help.

Choose among these strategies to help navigate during a hiring freeze.

Communicate with Employees

HR could prepare an informative, reassuring message to send to all employees before making an announcement to applicants. Then, managers could maintain open lines of communication with their teams for enhanced transparency about the hiring freeze. Providing clarity and addressing employee concerns increases alignment and employee morale.

Ongoing communication between managers and employees should include consistent check-ins to gather feedback, discuss challenges, and resolve issues. Managers also should provide regular updates to keep employees informed on the status of the hiring freeze.

Reassess Team Workloads and Priorities

Managers should ensure employees have just enough work to stay busy without feeling overwhelmed. Managers also should avoid taking on new projects unless their teams have time to handle them.

Employees who are pushed beyond capacity typically experience disengagement and lower performance levels. Also, ongoing exposure to high amounts of stress often leads to burnout. These factors increase employee turnover, worsening the effects of a hiring freeze.

Stay in Touch with Applicants

Hiring managers and HR should maintain connections with the applicants with whom they already established relationships. Enhancing these relationships encourages applicants to remain interested in working for the organization.

Building on applicant relationships shows that their interest in working for the company is valued. These relationships can be even more beneficial if an employee leaves the organization and a role quickly needs to be filled.

Hiring managers and HR can use these applicant relationships to create momentum when the hiring freeze is lifted. Managers and HR can contact these applicants for interviews and continue to move forward in the hiring process.

Is It Time to Start Hiring Again?

When the hiring freeze ends, turn to Morris Bixby Group for help with finding the agricultural professionals you need to add to your team. Contact us to learn more.