IDOC sees increased efficiency in virtual hiring approach amid coronavirus pandemic

Rush says IDOC facilities across the state are in need of correctional officers, and that the transition to virtual hiring initiatives has allowed them to fill positions in 20-30 minutes when an in-person hiring event would have taken several hours.

The allen county jail.

During the covid-19 pandemic virtual job fairs have become the go-to way for groups hiring to reach potential employees.fox 55's jeremy masukevich tells us why a local sheriff says the shutdown has made the hiring process more efficient in jails.

Nat mickey 37:25this speeds up the process of getting the person to the application.

Mickey rush with the indiana department of corrections says the transition to virtual hiring events has made it easier for them to fill staff openings.sot mickey 36:14going to the virtual job fairs we are utilizing less staff and less man hours.

Rush says there is a need for correctional officers at allprisons across the state.

They're having a virtual job fair at 11 a.m.

Thursday to help fill those positions.sot mickey 37:11nothing in our training department has changed.

You are still going to receive the training that we have always offered.noble county sheriff max weber says at the noble county jail theyfilled all of their openings duringthe covid-19 pandemic.sot max 31:27we are full.

We actually hired our last one here a couple weeks ago.

He has already started his training.

Weber says the reduced number of inmates during covid-19 has streamlined the process of training new employees at correctional facilities.sot max 31:48when you have minimum inmate levels, like what we have, you are talking about a facility that can sustain about 170 down to about 100 inmates.

It makes it a lot easier to train new people.the noble county jail will continue to screen each inmate or visitor upon arrival.

Additionally, weber says they are isolating each new inmate for a two week period during the pandemic.

Sot max 34:01 33:30i think it has made everyone a little more aware.

We don't want to bring something into this facility that's going to cause issues later on.in fort wayne, jeremy masukevich, fox 55 news we reached out to the allen county jail but were unable to get a response on how covid-19 has affected operations.the allen county department of health says it's up to each facility that has a positive covid-19 case, to share that information