We interviewed Nish to discuss how COVID-19 might shape the staffing industry. Here’s an excerpt from the interview.
Q: How will the current crisis impact customers?
Nish: As the economy deals with the fallout of the recession, customers will become more cost-conscious than ever before.
Q: What will HR automation look like post-COVID?
Nish: The staffing industry is already familiar with AI-driven automation for increased efficiency in attracting, qualifying, and screening talent. Post-COVID, automation will move 100x faster than it has in recent times.
Q: Rangam thrives in a culture of innovation beyond automation. What role will innovation play in the near future?
Nish: Keeping automation aside, adoption of any new innovation typically takes 7-30 years. The staffing ecosystem takes years to internalize new tools and technologies. With COVID-19, that’s going to change. We’ll see an accelerated adoption of innovation over the next 6 months-6 years.
Q: Human touch is an important part of talent acquisition. As the coronavirus crisis recedes, what should the staffing industry do to retain its core human element in a rapidly evolving digital world?
Nish: There’ll be safeguards in place to make sure we remember the importance of human touch and empathy in a business where candidate experience matters more than anything else. We have to find that perfect balance between automation and human interaction.
Q: How are you planning to put people back to work?
Nish: Over the next few months, we’ll continue to have challenges with contingent hiring for a handful of industries and job roles. However, once we have more clarity about the situation, we’ll be able to better manage the uncertainties and put more people back to work.