How Recruiters Can Drive Results From Technology

Just about any kind of business, whether large or small, would clearly benefit if digital transformation projects are implemented successfully. 

This is why digitization is quickly becoming the backbone of businesses operations, especially in today’s information age. Repetitive, manual processes - and the business models behind them - are giving way to more efficient cloud-based systems across the board, from the finance function to HR. 

The desired result? That employees would spend more time on tasks that improve key performance indicators and facilitate results. 

How digitization has affected talent 

Cloud-based software solutions have allowed businesses to centralize information, ensure more accuracy, and scale operations seamlessly. At the height of the pandemic, executives told McKinsey that their companies “accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations by three to four years.”

This rapid digitalization- along with creating opportunities to bring innovative digital products and services to the market - is pushing business leaders to hire and train individuals with relevant tech skills to make these innovations a reality. Additionally, as enterprises collect and store more data,  governance responsibilities will increase, and skilled professionals would be needed to mine the data and help meet security standards in various nations. 

Although the initial concern around process automation was that it would mostly eliminate blue-collar and other low-skilled jobs, the reality is that the pace of digitalization is affecting all workers. A global survey of workers by PwC found that 60% of respondents worry that automation is putting many jobs at risk. In this regard, acquiring new digital skills is key to helping some workers stay relevant in the workforce. 

Apart from offering upskilling opportunities, employers are also looking to hire new people who already have the digital skills needed. Web and app development, data analysis, design, and digital marketing skills are among the top 10 that tech companies are looking for today.  

The Role of Recruiters

There is still however, a major gap between the number of jobs in these areas and the skilled professionals available to fill these roles. A Korn Ferry study predicts that by 2030, the global human talent shortage will exceed 85 million people and translate into about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues. If you had any doubts that people - not technology - are a company’s most valuable asset, here is your proof. 

Given this outlook, recruiters are more important today than ever. Oftentimes, theirs is the first impression a candidate gets about a company, which naturally sets the tone for the rest of the interview process. Recruiters also ensure that companies quickly attract and hire top talent who are the best fit for an organization and can help the business grow.

The adoption of technology in recruitment is critical to their success. It offers an advantage in the increasingly complex process of making lasting hires, particularly as hybrid and remote working arrangements and online recruiting trends make the candidate search more complex. Let’s take a closer look at how recruitment technology can alter the way that applicants, job listings, and clients are managed.

Pain points in the hiring process

Recruitment can be easily described as a mix of art and science. The basic process of posting a job listing, identifying candidates, reviewing applications, and managing interviews is repeatable and can be standardized across an organization. 

The other aspects of hiring are more intangible. Developing relationships with candidates, ensuring a positive interview experience, and securing the right fit for a vacant job consistently can only be described as an art form. Unpleasant experiences at any stage can jeopardize the entire hiring process. 

In areas where talent shortages are particularly critical, recruiters must work exceptionally hard to entice highly-skilled professionals away from their current jobs and consider new opportunities. 

With applicants holding the upper hand, a positive interview experience is crucial. Simple factors can put off an applicant during the process and after they have accepted a position with a company. Some of these include:

1. Inconsistent communication from a company about where an applicant stands in the process or the status of a job listing;
2. Vague descriptions or misrepresentation of the company culture or the demands of the position (i.e. lack of flexibility);
3. Inadequate onboarding or lacking training resources;
4. Unclear expectations or irregular feedback from management;
5. Misaligned values/ideals with the company.

Once a company or recruiter makes these negative impressions on an applicant it can be near impossible to reverse. 

From the recruiter’s perspective this clearly means that the pressure is on to deliver. The rapidly developing global, digital economy is making our world hyper-connected. Plus, the increasing number of channels for jobs has widened the pool of applicants, while intensifying the competition for coveted positions. 

These days, it is no longer a single-channel game or a one-way street for applications. With job boards, social media and even employee referrals, it has become crucial to monitor several channels at once for a variety of open roles and sift through exponentially higher volumes of resumes to find the “right fit”. The manual methods of the past are inadequate to handle this amount of work. Errors that result in relevant candidates “falling through the cracks” can have real consequences for professionals who miss out on opportunities, businesses that waste time and money on long-drawn talent searches, and recruitment agencies that appear less effective than other firms.    

The introduction and widespread use of technology in the recruitment space is streamlining the more repetitive and tedious aspects of hiring. This empowers recruiters to focus on building relationships with strong potential candidates and improving the applicant experience while they interview and onboard. Issues caused by human error are significantly reduced and it becomes faster to identify professionals who are the best fit for a job. 

With technology comes good data - the source of truth for many business leaders who need to make quick and informed decisions. Data generated by recruitment technology allows recruitment executives to analyze their team’s activities to make improvements for the future. 

Manatal enables this decision-making capability through our applicant tracking system, allowing users to customize communications, notifications and reports to maintain consistent communication with candidates, align with your objectives, and keep a close eye on the KPIs that matter the most.

 In today’s competitive job market, enterprises can’t afford to miss out on great candidates for any reason. Technology is allowing them to improve recruitment outcomes.

POPULAR: The Ultimate Guide To Applicant Tracking Systems

POPULAR: 10 Signs You Need An Applicant Tracking System

Overcoming talent shortages

While technology can help organizations make significant strides toward successful hiring for high-skilled jobs, it would be unwise to underestimate the impact of global talent shortages we see today. 

Despite efforts from corporations, universities and governments to reduce the shortage, there still are not enough professionals to take on the new roles and specialties that help businesses capitalize on their competitive advantage. 

As the Korn Ferry study referenced above indicates, the issue will likely get worse before it improves. In Hong Kong for instance, the local banking association says that lingering zero-COVID policies are worsening existing talent shortages in the sector. 

The manufacturing sector is another great example of the extent of the issue. The Workforce Institute at UKG found that more than half of US and multinational manufacturers they surveyed reported trouble finding candidates with the right skills, compared to 38% before the pandemic. 

Technology adoption in the recruitment space will be essential in helping employers and recruitment agencies succeed in their talent acquisition efforts. Team members can work from anywhere and collaborate seamlessly on projects. Maintaining candidate profiles in a centralized, cloud-based platform - rather than a spreadsheet - makes it simpler for recruiters to match them with relevant job listings. 

Recruiters can also spend more time pursuing passive candidates, who might be a great fit for a job listing and not know it yet. Technology reduces the time it takes to build the profiles of these candidates so that it is available for future reference. This allows recruiters to devote their time to building relationships. With significantly more passive candidates than active job seekers (70% of the global workforce consists of passive candidates vs. 30% active), this is a valuable use of time. Advanced solutions and user-friendly job boards can also reduce the time it takes to apply for a job. Then once candidates apply, recruiters can focus on creating positive, personalized experiences during the interview process - rather than on the process itself.  

Improving recruitment outcomes

Stronger competition for fewer high-skilled candidates has raised the stakes to make a successful hire. This is of tremendous importance for a couple of reasons. 

First, the search to fill an open position takes up company time and resources. The longer it takes to fill job vacancies, the greater the cost to employers. If an applicant rejects the job offer, the search is essentially back to square one. Throughout this time, companies need to compensate for the reduced headcount. 

Second, once an applicant accepts a job, the objective is to keep them employed with the company for the long term. Voluntary separations within the first year of employment also hurt organizations, as employers have not yet recouped their investment in recruitment, training, and compensation for the employee. That doesn’t even take into account the cost to company morale and productivity.

Tracking recruiting metrics is an important way of gauging the effectiveness of recruitment activities. Technology is instrumental in capturing and tracking these metrics accurately. The most common metrics that recruiting teams monitor are:

• Time-to-fill: The time it takes to hire from the moment a new job is posted to when the candidate accepts an offer.
• Time-to-hire: The time it takes to hire from when a candidate applies to a job to when they accept an offer.
• Source of hire: Tracking the channels that attract candidates with the most success.
• First year attrition: Employees who quit in the first year of employment.
• Applicants per opening: The number of candidates who apply to job listings.
• Cost per hire: The total cost invested in making a new hire from advertising the vacancy to onboarding.

These metrics provide a clear picture of the following:

1. Whether or not job listings are effective;
2. If the process is as efficient as it can be, and;
3. Which recruiters are high performing.

Administering surveys or requesting feedback during and after the interview process can also provide valuable insight into the candidate experience. 

YOU MIGHT LIKE: Top Talent Acquisition Metrics 

The Ultimate HR & Recruiter Toolbox: Browse our collection of email templates, job descriptions and more.

Recruitment technology features

Tech solutions for the recruitment space - namely applicant tracking systems (ATS) - have matured rapidly, making it possible for recruiters to conduct faster candidate searches, make higher quality selections, and reduce the overall hiring time. Recruitment agencies also benefit from tailored CRM solutions that help these firms manage candidates and clients on the same platform. Managers gain an instant view into what’s happening to make predictions about future hiring trends with real-time information.

It does not take much effort to imagine how advanced hiring tools can impact daily recruitment activities. With Manatal’s cloud-based platform, leaders can manage their team’s performance and customize notifications to stay updated on specific activities. Meetings and correspondence during a candidate search are also visible in one place, which keeps the team organized and up-to-date. Hiring tools like ours also make engagement with candidates smoother throughout their interview process, strengthens relationships and enables teams to customize communications. 

Digitizing recruitment operations in general brings a tremendous improvement over a manual database, which is only as good as the regularity and accuracy of team updates. This benefit for recruitment teams extends to the entire organization. An ATS improves how recruiters identify quality candidates, which helps to speed up the search. Manatal’s AI recommendation feature, for example, also shows recruiters the best candidates for a job, which makes the selection process easier for employers.

With all of the data collected in the hiring process, recruiters must ensure that personal identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive information is protected in compliance with global cybersecurity standards. Manatal’s solution helps recruitment organizations maintain compliance with regulations across regions. Users’ data is encrypted and backed up daily to deliver the highest level of security. Learn more about the security and compliance measures we adhere to here.

The inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI) in ATS elevates platform capabilities by automating the most repetitive aspects of recruitment - particularly candidate screening. Qualified candidates can be matched to relevant job listings in minutes, based on predetermined keywords or attributes such as work experience or education. This speeds up the overall hiring process and translates into higher productivity. 

For recruitment agencies competing fiercely for clients, this is an advantage that facilitates more business and higher profits.

Business benefits of recruitment technology beyond HR

In addition to improving hiring outcomes and the efficiency of recruitment teams, recruitment technology gives HR leaders a headstart to developing and refining their position as outstanding strategic partners for an organization. As a business unit or standalone enterprise, adopting an ATS solution with a recruitment CRM lowers operating costs and improves margins. It also creates a solid foundation to scale operations without increasing the size of recruitment teams.

Improving the hiring process, and the candidate experience, translates into fewer employees quitting after a short tenure and helps to reduce overall turnover. Future recruitment efforts also receive a boost with positive candidate experiences. Not only do these employees share their experience with their network, but they may also be a source of referrals for other job listings.

Enjoy better recruitment outcomes with Manatal

In a competitive global workforce, ATS and recruitment CRM solutions are no longer optional. With enterprises of all sizes engaging in rapid digitalization, manual processes can no longer keep pace with hiring needs and data protection requirements.

The question isn’t whether technology can make a difference. It is whether businesses, large or small, can implement the latest solutions fast enough to transform their hiring processes and beat out other companies for top talent. Manatal users report that deployment of the ATS is quick and easy for teams to learn, and also see a noticeable difference in recruitment activities in a short time.

To learn more about Manatal, get your free 14-day trial here.