The Post-COVID-19 Future of the Hiring Industry

The hiring industry, like every industry the world over, has been forced to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and find unique ways to come out of this unprecedented period stronger than ever.

“The effect of this on the employment side has been, obviously, devastating,” said Bill Kasko, Frontline Source Group President and CEO. “This has been so much different than a recession that we can kind of see coming over the hill. As the clouds roll in, we can prepare for it, and we know what’s coming. This just hit us all out of the blue.”

For Frontline, itself, that’s meant adapting to remote work requirements, assessing the implications of returning to the office across a wide range of industries, and more.

While Kasko said the industry effectively “fell off a cliff” in the wake of the pandemic, six months later, there are signs of hope.

“I’m happy to report that, six months into this, recovery is happening,” he said. “It’s slow, and it’s in different sectors. … But I will tell you that Texas is very strong. Texas is back on the right path, and it’s happening. It’s just not happening like we want.”

In particular, the hospitality, restaurant and travel industries are still struggling to rebound, exemplifying a more widespread impact that previous economic events, which often targeted fewer sectors.

To continue working toward recovery, Kasko said the emphasis needs to be on the portion of the population still working and on the people, processes and service that have enabled some companies to weather the storm more effectively than others.

“There wasn’t a book on this, so we’re doing the best we can to get people back to work. … I told someone the other day, we’re at 11% unemployment,” he said. “That’s still 89% of the people working. We need to focus on that.”