Covid19 has disrupted many established practices on its whirlwind tour of last year. From infecting the population worldwide to sinking major sectors of the economy, it has brought almost everything to a near grinding halt – except for e-commerce. However, e-commerce is yet to crack the code on challenges pertaining to gig workforce onboarding.
Due to continuous lockdowns, restrictions, and social distancing norms, e-commerce has emerged as the backbone to support large populations. From food and groceries to clothing and furniture, this industry has ensured to deliver almost everything under the sun to our doorstep.
Hang on. Let’s take a step back here.
What keeps this industry going like well-oiled machinery? Is it funding? Is it next-gen technology? Or is it just good old business sense?
Well, it’s simple – A Reliable and Genuine Gig Workforce, aided by all of the above.
A major chunk of the e-commerce workforce consists of blue-collar workers who mostly work in the logistics and supply chain division – by far the largest department in the e-commerce industry. Most of these employees interact with your patrons on a daily basis. Their behavior and conduct play a key role in generating business.
However, mainstream media reports of misdemeanors by e-commerce delivery workers have been on the rise lately. This requires companies to be far more cautious in recruiting them.
Back in the day (before the pandemic), hiring processes in e-commerce were carried out in person at an actual onboarding location. This allowed Human Resources to vet the candidates personally in addition to conducting physical verification of their whereabouts and backgrounds. But the post-pandemic era or the ‘new normal’ seems to have crept up with unforeseen challenges in vetting a candidate before hiring them.
Here are four major gig workforce onboarding challenges faced by the E-commerce industry during the pandemic.
- Challenges in running Onboarding Centres
The industry had figured out a modus operandi for hiring gig workers. Open an Onboarding Centre, start a recruitment drive, get people to apply at the center, submit documents, and collect their kit. The pandemic has made this system redundant and downright dangerous. Companies are now having to hire gig workers remotely, without any compromises on ID checks, background verifications, and address checks. Thankfully, there are solutions that are helping some of the best e-commerce companies do this safely and smoothly.
- Education Credentials
While this criterion is not all that important in the e-commerce sector, it is advisable for candidates to have basic abilities to read/write and speak for better coordination with customers. However, in an attempt to land a job, candidates are prone to forge this information too. This becomes impossible for the employer to gauge remotely.
- Criminal Record
Given that many of these gig workers come in direct contact with customers often at their homes, e-commerce companies cannot afford even a single error when it comes to checking criminal records for their workers. The workers spend a lot of time on the road where traffic rules and other laws/regulations need to be followed. With the courts being shut and local police being available only for essential services, there’s limited access to police databases, online court records, criminal cases, judicial processes, and registered FIRs. Therefore, the employer faces the risk of negligent hiring.
Related Read: Onboard Two Delivery Executives Every Minute. Contactless.
- Psychometric Assessment
Due to contactless processes during and after the lockdown, there is no means of ascertaining a person’s psychological attributes, such as their personality, values, interests, opinions, temperament, character, and integrity for the job. Employers need to beware of the fact that character references and employment certificates from their previous employers can be forged.
But with the challenges associated with gig workforce onboarding during the pandemic, come unique IDfy solutions.
If you are an e-commerce company or engaged in a business that requires hiring gig workers there are ways to ensure your business and customers stay safe. IDfy’s Zero Touch Onboarding solution is ensuring this for companies like Amazon, Delhivery, among others.
For more information, please visit the Partner Verifications section on our website.
If you wish to know how you can safely hire gig workers, please reach out to shivani@idfy.com
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