There has been a dramatic shift in the way HR approaches talent acquisition. Talent shortage and the rapid consumerisation of HR technology have compelled HR departments to treat their candidates like customers. High performing organisations are putting the candidate experience at the front and centre of their recruiting strategy. And technology is a key driver enabling this shift.
Most of us might have at least one negative recruitment experience where the recruiter disappeared after the interview or worse, after filling up a hundred forms and interviewing for a day, you're told that you've not made it. No further explanation provided.
However, HR technology is changing that.
From helping recruiters make faster, more objective decisions to providing real-time updates to candidates, HR technology is helping organisations make recruiting a more candidate-centric process.
Let's look at how HR technology is helping organisations make recruitment more effective:
Recruitment Marketing
The talent landscape today is much more competitive than ever before. The days of placing an ad and waiting for candidates to pour in are long gone. Today, recruiters must sell jobs to candidates in order to fill positions faster. And candidates are more likely to have multiple offers when they are interviewing. Which makes it critical for recruiters and organisations to invest in building a strong employee value proposition that encourages candidates to choose their organisation over others.
Online presence coupled with active social handles are one way to building a great employer brand. Dedicated technologies for employee advocacy or recruitment marketing can help organisations tap into diverse, richer talent pools and hire top talent. Many HCM or ATS solutions also provide modules for career page development and optimisation which is also a big driver of successful recruitment marketing.
Most HR tech solutions also offer some level of automation, helping organisations with smaller budgets and HR teams remain competitive in the talent market. Email marketing and drip campaign capabilities offered by HR technology vendors can prove to be invaluable branding and marketing tools. Again, these capabilities can be offered as in a bundle with suite solutions or stand-alone offerings.
Smarter sourcing
The one area in recruitment where technology has had the most pronounced effect is talent sourcing. Access to Internet in the country is on the rise. Social platforms, job boards and CRM platforms are enabling recruiters to tap into a rich pool of talent. ATS and HCM software typically provide capabilities for talent sourcing and help recruiters automate sourcing on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Indeed, and Monster.
Objective Talent Assessment
Unconscious bias has been a major hurdle in effective recruitment however, technology is helping recruiters overcome it. Talent assessment tools help recruiters make an objective, data-driven decision about a candidate's potential fit for an open position.
Talent assessment tools help ensure a fairer recruiting process and deliver a positive candidate experience — helping build the employer brand and position organisations competitively in the talent market.
HR technology is transforming how organisations think about talent acquisition. It is helping recruiters become enablers of the employment experience rather than perform only transactional activities.
The writer is Vidhya Sam, HR Head, Adrenalin eSystems
