Let’s be honest for a second: When was the last time you examined, or even saw, a printed-out cover letter? How about the last time you delivered hand-written notes to higher management? Made a physical chart of which applicant to hire?
So, if we’re being real, on some level we are all aware of the fact that we rely more heavily on technology than ever. Sure, it might not seem like things have been changing day to day. But when we look back at ‘ye olden days’ of hiring (aka 15 years ago), it’s easy to see that, somehow, everything has changed.
But how exactly is tech impacting talent acquisition, and just how quickly can we get rid of all paperwork? Here are 5 ways technology is continuing to affect the hiring process.
Speed and efficiency
This one comes as no surprise, but improvements in AI technologies continue to save us HR folk remarkable time during the hiring process. Gen Z may never have heard of a time when classified ads were posted on newspapers, or when resumes had to be mailed out through the (gasp!) postal service, but this, of course, is not what we mean.
What we mean is that, even since online applications have long become the norm, the process has been getting smoother and quicker. Applicant Tracking Systems help you automate everything from job postings to the interview process, while online onboarding systems can help you automate the integration phase of your new hires’ life in the company. These are still fairly new developments and are continuing to improve our lives each year.
Social media as one of the biggest players
Remember the times when social media was for ‘outside work hours’ only? Social media as an agent of talent acquisition isn’t necessarily a new concept, but it’s one that’s gaining more and more traction. And it makes sense – why not use something we spend so much time on, that we’re exposed to almost every day, as a way to fill vacancies and to find people their dream jobs?
Through social media, jobs can be advertised on apps like Instagram and TikTok, reaching a wider audience and giving the process a less formal feel. This is especially useful for companies looking to hire junior employees who might be more familiar with these apps.
Not only that, but by reaching only relevant people through the carefully curated algorithm of social media ads, you will be more likely to get applications from better suited and more interested candidates.
An A+ if you use social media ads to hire social media managers!
Blockchain and security
Remember our post about how digital security isn’t just the IT department’s problem anymore? Well, this is part of the way that technology has been changing the talent acquisition process. Where once we would have used anti-virus softwares and called it a day, we are now paying extra attention to what we put on the internet or even on our own personal laptops. Being connected to public wifi can pose a potential threat, just as inputting all applicant data on an online system can cause potential security breaches. Blockchain is what helps protect all of this data.
Without this extra measure, we would not be able to use AI softwares to enhance the recruitment process. Because if we didn’t know that all talent data would be stored securely, we would not be able to trust the programmes into which we input them.
In other words, the more blockchain improves, the more efficient and secure digital recruitment processes become. And the more we can continue to develop them and rely on them.
Robots that can talk
More and more companies are opting to use chatbots on their recruitment pages, and for good reason. Chatbots can save you valuable time, money, and sanity.
By being programmed to answer general questions that potential candidates might have prior to submitting an application, chatbots allow HR managers to avoid having to answer a plethora of calls and emails about the vacancy. And by opening channels of communication with the company, they allow candidates to feel part of the process from the very beginning.
Now this is what we call a win-win.
Big Data, Huge!
Not physically larger, of course, but just data which is greater in variety as well as volume. By receiving a bigger flow of data, companies are now able to better understand the talent they are hoping to recruit.
Getting a better sense of potential candidates allows us to build the job applicant process in a way that keeps candidates front and centre. It’s no surprise that applications can now be made over social media, or that questions can be answered instantaneously by AI – these are all things that candidates have been drawn towards, and that companies have delivered on.
What we all want, after all, is to make the recruitment process as seamless as possible. What can be more seamless than maximising your success rates by generating more applications by more qualified applicants? With the use of big data, we are now able to calculate how quickly and efficiently vacancies will be filled, exactly whom to target, and how to make the position more desirable.
These are the 5 main ways in which technology is affecting the talent acquisition process, but stay tuned – we expect there will be more soon!