The pandemic has devastated huge swaths of American business, from retail to restaurants, airlines to advertising. The thought that companies should now begin to implement rehiring strategies might seem wildly counterintuitive. Actually, this is exactly the time to start if you want to maintain a competitive advantage in the talent market.

When we emerge on the other side of the COVID crisis, it will be a company’s hiring brand — not its service or product brand — that matters most. With an unprecedented number of employees furloughed or fired, companies will need to quickly scale up to meet customer demand.