The Corona crisis has forced employees in numerous service companies to work at home. This is also true for us at Mercuri Urval. But is this really just a temporary setback, or does it not also represent an opportunity for the future? There's no doubt about it, working in an office and interacting with experienced colleagues is important in many industries and professions. And direct contact with clients will never be entirely digital. But we also see that many things are possible that we thought weren’t until recently. We now communicate with clients and candidates primarily from our workplace at home and thus via various digital conferencing solutions instead of in personal meetings. This works well and is also accepted by companies. A special survey carried out by the Federal Association of German Management Consultants at the end of March and beginning of April showed that the acceptance of video-based selection procedures for staffing has increased considerably. Digital selection procedures - such as online assessments or diagnostic procedures - are also being used more frequently.
Basically, it is hard to believe today that a few months ago climate change was the dominant topic in our society. And whether it was still morally acceptable to fly on every occasion. At the moment, airports are reporting a decline in aircraft movements of more than 90 per cent and several runways are being used as parking areas for aircraft tied to the ground. But the current crisis shows us that you don't always have to get on an airplane and meet people in person to drive the business forward. When the economy picks up speed again after the end of the lockdown, the issue of sustainability will be back on the agenda. The megatrend of digitalisation, which has already affected so many sectors of the economy and created new business areas, will then also become even more prominent in Executive Search. After all, it is much more efficient for all those involved in the process to dispense with the odd business trip or two and conduct conversations from their office. Many other business meetings will also take place digitally instead of in person. This will enhance the environmental balance sheet of companies and thus their position vis-à-vis various interest groups.
Despite the current corona crisis, I am currently working on a project, among other things, together with a mid-sized company to find them a managing director. Due to social distancing regulations, we have conducted interviews with all key stakeholders, including the CEO, CFO and investors, via online channels. An assessment with the final candidate, which lasted several hours, also took place online. In the end, the hiring decision was made without the parties involved having met personally so far. Only a short time ago, I would have thought something like this unimaginable. But thanks to the latest video call tools and our Mercuri Urval Online Assessment, it is possible.
Against this background, we will have to replace personal talks with new instruments not only during the acute crisis. Rather, once the Corona pandemic is over, there will be no turning back the clocks. However, this will require organisational and personnel adjustments in the companies when it comes to the necessary skills of managers and employees.
In the past, as Head of Recruiting in an international group, I set up a central recruiting department in Poland and at that time I was still very sceptical that Europe-wide recruitment decisions could be made via video conferencing. Now, a few years later, I realise that it is even feasible at management level. From my point of view, this should not become the rule and the personal interview should continue to play an important role in the application process. But it is good to see that digitalisation helps us to continue to work successfully in such times and to be able to offer solutions to our clients.
We will have to keep our distance from each other for quite some time yet. We can use this enforced social distancing, which would be better described as physical distancing, to anchor New Work in the company and adapt the processes accordingly wherever possible. Mercuri Urval is leading by example, helping companies to get the right people on board for a change of strategy, or to support managers in doing so.