In today’s working world, the employee experience is in trouble. Employees in the U.S. are up to twice as likely to be disengaged at work.

And this disengagement can cause problems. Gallup finds that organizations whose employees are actively engaged reap substantial rewards (vs. unengaged peers) such as 41% lower absenteeism, between 24 and 59% lower turnover, and 17% higher productivity. Clearly, organizations simply cannot afford to ignore the importance of the employee experience.

2020 started with the promise that it was going to be my best year yet as an HR professional. I was going to accomplish every resolution this year. From launching a new training program for managers, initiating a diversity & inclusion program, and my personal goal of reading every book I could find on being a first time dad. That all changed when the COVID-19 Coronavirus put much of our lives on pause. The idea of "social distancing," toilet paper hoarding, and sanitizing delivery boxes were completely foreign concepts just a month or two ago. The lifestyle inconveniences turned into real fear as I started witnessing the early effects of this virus that we still don’t have any solutions for. 

Organizations that embrace diversity are more innovative and do a better job of meeting community needs. A lack of diversity can inhibit your organization’s creativity and even make you the focus of public criticism.

The markers of diversity are diverse. There’s race, ethnic group, gender, cultural background, age, disability, and more. Valuing diversity also means welcoming those with a range of experiences, perspectives, education, and ideas.

With all that to encompass, how can you change your recruitment approach to cultivate a more diverse workforce?

When recently surveyed about the impact of Coronavirus on HR, 89% of public sector respondents said that keeping employees healthy was their biggest concern. Given that 92% still have some portion of their employees working from the office, that means the majority of HR professionals are being forced to rethink how they conduct daily operations in their physical environments.

As the world addresses the widespread impact of COVID-19 from a physical and mental perspective, many things remain uncertain. However, less uncertain is the fact that public sector employees continue to be responsible for providing a safe work environment as this dire situation continues to unfold. Whether some of your staff are now telecommuting or will be soon, inevitably there will be public sector employees who cannot perform their critical functions remotely. Doing everything we can to make these employees feel supported, informed, and safe is a top priority.

As we approach a month since the first COVID-19 stay-at-home orders were put into place, HR professionals in the public sector are still waiting for the dust to settle from the upending of their daily operations. Transitioning employees to remote working, maintaining critical services to the public, and concerns about layoffs or shuttered departments have all been top of mind as we continue to confront uncharted territory.

A recent survey of HR professionals by Gartner found that 88% of organizations have encouraged or required employees to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In public sector and higher education organizations, however, there are unique challenges to successfully implementing a work remote program for employees while also maintaining critical services. Whether it be utilities, police and fire, online schooling or other various functions deemed essential, working remotely may not be as simple as it is for private sector companies.

Hiring in the public sector today is becoming increasingly difficult, as high retirement numbers are causing jobs to open up a rate the public sector can’t keep up with and the near-record low unemployment rate making competition for talent tough. One way to lessen the current talent gap is to grab job seeker attention through engaging job promotions.

The public sector is struggling to recruit effectively throughout the entire application and candidate selection process. One area that can easily be improved is the interview. At our CONNECT user conference, we asked hundreds of public sector HR professionals to share their favorite interview questions they use to gain better insights into candidates and determine whether someone is the right fit for the position.

We compiled some of the best ones into a list of 99 Questions to Ask Public Sector Candidates. Here are some of them: