The expectations of the recruitment processes are constantly evolving. The benefits of modern technology are encouraging a new breed of recruiters who are expected to be methodical, savvy and confident in their ability to hire the right candidates for the job.
With these technologies at hand, organizations are not giving Human Resource departments much room for error. As a result, many HR professionals are shifting gears and exploring technological assisted talent acquisition strategies that will deliver the best results.
Predictive Analysis
HR is responsible for shaping the business brand and contributing to its growth. HR must be committed to these expectations every step of the way; from hiring the right candidate to ensuring high engagement and positive employee experience. By using technology that utilizes predictive analytics, HR can offer insights that will restructure the way job applicants are evaluated before recruitment and during their tenure in the organization.
“Using analytics in HR, parsing through the available data has become much easier and time-saving. This not only allows HR leaders to take decisions pertaining to the immediate issues at hand but foresee future concerns to be addressed. This serves as an extra edge that manual decision-making processes could never achieve,” says HR Technologist, Arjun Pratap, CEO of EdGE Networks.
The use of predictive analytics simplifies and provides valuable insight into fundamental recruiting steps that successfully contribute to the company’s growth. The data helps recruiters predict who will be more likely to stay dependable and helps weed out the risk of applicants not showing their true selves.
“Data-driven recruiting, informed by predictive analytics and then re-tested in strengths-based interviewing, has been fundamental to us making sure that the people we select are the right people for the right roles; that is that they will enjoy their jobs, perform well and stay with the firm,” says Stephanie Ahrens, EMEA head of talent acquisition at Morgan Stanley.
“Having algorithms analyze and score multiple data points makes it difficult for candidates to over-prepare or [be] fake, both in the blind application and the in-person interview. The organization gets to see the ‘real’ candidate coming through and unconscious bias is significantly reduced.”
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers HR professionals the ability to identify suitable candidates faster and more systematically.
AI makes use of algorithms that imitate human intelligence to perform rational functions and resolve problems through communication, visual assessment, learning, reasoning, natural language processing, and development.
“AI is creating major efficiencies for recruiters and offering an improved candidate experience. Machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), the ability of computers to understand and respond to human language, are examples of AI technologies that are ‘hot’ in the recruitment space right now, she notes,” says Allie Jeanty, director of development and analytics at Atrium Staffing in New York City.
In the first stage of the recruitment process, AI has the ability to perform a preliminary analysis of a prospect’s resume, such as cross-checking claimed competencies against the skills of effective employees with the same job title. An AI interface, such as a chatterbox can take care of simple recruiting tasks, such as routine questions about age, location, experience, education, etc. It also helps eliminate human bias process, thereby encouraging an impartial and all-inclusive workplace. To do so, the AI analyzes only at the relevant components included in of résumés, such as skills and experience.
When there are hundreds of applicants for a single opening, sifting through all the résumés properly can be very time-consuming, and many good candidates may fall through the cracks. AI automation can do it in a fraction of the time it would take humans, which ultimately gives HR the much needed time to pick out the most suitable candidate.
Texting
Odds are that most of your best job candidates already have full-time jobs. According to Lifewire, the average American office worker receives about 121 emails a day, so your email can easily get buried in a candidate’s crowded inbox. A candidate looking for a new job doesn’t feel comfortable checking their emails on a work-issued computer, and especially don’t want to want to publicly search for jobs around prying eyes. Communication via text message is a great way to discreetly reach a candidate whenever and wherever.
According to the latest report from IDC Research, people check their phones an average of 80 times a day and spend an average of 87 minutes communicating and using social media on their phones during the workweek.
Studies have also shown that the average text response time is about 90 seconds, a job candidate can be screened in just 4.4 minutes after a text exchange, and a hiring manager can conduct 10 times more text-based recruiting at the same time it would take for traditional call based screenings.
“SMS messages have a 98 percent open rate, are read within three minutes or less, and have a response rate three times higher than e-mail,” says Cliff Holsenbeck, senior director of product management at iconectiv. “Unlike e-mail marketing efforts, which often end up filtered into a junk or spam folder, mobile marketing initiatives have a proven track record of success.”
Holsenbeck, also says his company uses text-based technology called “short codes” in their recruitment because “short codes are unique, personalized five-to-six-digit numbers that make text-messaging campaigns possible.”
“They enable instant outreach for recruitment and allow recruiters to increase the list of potential candidates in a way that’s familiar to consumers. Short codes are especially useful for job recruitment in industries that experience a high turnover rate, like seasonal and customer service positions,” he says.
Sending texts also reflects favorably on the company and greatly improves the applicant’s satisfaction experience. The timely manner of texting also has the added benefits of setting expectations and putting applicants at ease in cases any changes or logistical issues come up.