Virtual work is nothing new — if you’re in a particular industry. But if you’re in a retail business like a brick and mortar pharmacy, it’s definitely not the norm.
Which makes it even more remarkable that CVS hired nearly 60,000 people virtually, basically overnight, in response to the #covid19 pandemic. That’s 6x more hires than they’d make in a normal month.
With Q1 revenue way up as people flocked to their local CVS to stock up on medicine, cleaning products, healthcare items and other essentials, the company’s executives were worried about supporting their front-line staff. Basically overnight, CVS created a virtual talent acquisition process.
When people say to me, “Sam, we’re hiring again and I know I need a virtual HR process, but it will take time to put it in place,” I point them to CVS as a case study in a quick pivot.
One of the innovative steps CVS took was to partner up with hotel and hospitality companies who were some of the first to have to lay off employees.
HR people are efficient and creative. When the pressure is high, they get things done.
What has your team done to make virtual hiring work?
