Hire authority and future of work expert Ira S Wolfe has a dire warning for business leaders: With many parts of the United States gearing up to reopen following the pandemic shutdown, as many as 36.5 million unemployed Americans will flood a fragile talent pipeline.That's a 650 percent increase (36.5 million vs 5.5 million) compared to just 2 months earlier...and that's not even counting workers who might become unemployed after Paycheck Protection Program money runs out. Wolfe is worried and warns Talent Acquisition and Human Resources professionals, "it will feel like you're shoveling out of a blizzard with a teaspoon."

Wolfe's company works mostly with small and mid-sized companies. Candidate sourcing and screening processes were already fatigued prior to the pandemic. He cautions."Going back to the way it was for sourcing, screening, and selecting employees will conclude with an epic fail. Many struggled with swift, efficient, and accurate screening in a low unemployment economy. They aren't prepared to deal with the imminent, unprecedented tsunami of job candidates crashing toward them."

The 2019 way of doing things produced a lot of collateral damage too. According to The Talent Board's 2016 Candidate Experience Research, candidate resentement increased 40 percent since 2016. "And that was at a time when unemployment was only 3.5 percent and companies needed to woo candidates to apply," added the Thinkers 360 #1 global future of work thought leader.

During a recent interview, Wolfe shared an example about how overwhelming recruiting and hiring will be in the "new normal." As late as February 2020, his client would receive 40-50 applications from the job board Indeed. "With a tight labor market, he was pleased with that response," Wolfe said."Last week he received over 1300 applications for the same job opening in less than 24 hours. His people and systems were crushed. He cancelled the job posting and is still sorting through the emails."

Wolfe worries this is just the tip of the iceberg. Management is preparing to ramp up business but is ill-equipped to process the flood of candidates and still ensure quality hires. 

The best selling author recommends leveraging HR technology to take the "robot out of the human!": to automate as much as possible. But he insists "technology is not the panacea. HR tech must be selected diligently and applied judiciously. "Technology should be used to accelerate screening time and free up recruiters to spend more time communicating, engaging, and interviewing qualified candidates. 

During the pandemic Wolfe has been busy helping and advising his clients and Googlization Nation community about how to recruit in the Age of Googlization. He recently presented "Keeping the Human in HR" and "Recruitment Marketing for the Accidental Recruiter" at the virtual 56th Annual Indiana HR Conference and scheduled for more virtual presentations to SHRM and business groups through June. 

For media interviews about future of work and job trends, keynotes, and meeting presentations, you can reach Ira S Wolfe at 800-803-4303 or schedule a call.