Written by: Jacqueline Kuhn
Earlier this month, I spoke at the first ever Talent Acquisition Technology Conference in Austin, Texas. The message must have resonated with the standing room only audience, as no one left before the talk was over.
The basic message was that the recruiting process and role of the recruiter has changed, and the technology needed to support this change is not your legacy applicant tracking system (ATS). Candidates today are consumers, and they expect an experience that is like other online experiences. While the ATS is still needed for tracking applicants, they are not built for marketing to consumers, thus today, a candidate relationship management (CRM) tool is needed.
With a focus on upfront sales and marketing of the company, not just a specific opportunity, reach-out activities are not subject to OFCCP audit, thus enabling a pipeline of candidates to be built. These candidates can be invited to apply, once an actual requisition for a specific job is approved to be filled.
This upfront marketing does rely on having the recruiting function as a view into the talent planning and future talent needs of the organization. While not marketing for specific jobs, recruiters do need to know the types of people that the organization will be looking for, or have some idea about hard to fill jobs, upcoming new business that will spark a hiring event, and risk of loss of key talent that, if lost, would need immediate replacement.
This also means that the requisition is no longer a trigger to start the sourcing process, rather it triggers the hiring process. With a strong pipeline of potential candidates, the requisition should be the trigger to invite those in the CRM to apply for the opened job and set up interviews with them immediately if they apply. Not only will this shorten the time to hire, it should also reduce the total cost of hiring, as reliance on third party search firms and costly ad’s on job boards should significantly decrease or no longer be necessary.
The change in how a candidate looks for a job and the consumer centric technology that is required to support this change is just the beginning. In order to truly be successful, the Talent Acquisition team, must embrace their role as Sales and Marketing professionals, selling and marketing the company employment brand.
At HRchitect we can assist you with either selecting new technology or optimizing your current technology to allow you to attract, connect, and hire the best possible candidates.
About Jacqueline Kuhn
Jacqueline is an HR professional with over 20 years’ experience in Strategic Planning, Systems Management, Project Management, Services Delivery and General Human Resources. Throughout Jacqueline’s career, she has worked with organizations such as, Sears, Beam, OshKosh and Johns Hopkins to create strategic plans around their Human Capital Management systems, as well as leading selection and implementation projects for Talent Management, Talent Acquisition and HRIS systems.
In her role at HRchitect, she oversees our HCM strategic consulting group which encompasses HRchitect’s HCM systems strategic planning and evaluation and selection practices. Jacqueline spends much of her time with HCM vendors being briefed on their technology offerings, ensuring that we provide the most current information to our clients who are looking for a new solution. Jacqueline enjoys working with organizations to impact their HCM strategies through the utilization of technology.
Jacqueline is a Certified Professional of Human Resource Information (HRIP). She also works extensively with IHRIM and is a Summit Award Winner, is currently on the Board of Directors for the HRIM Foundation, after serving as the foundation’s President where she developed educational courses on HR technology use and best practices.
When she isn’t working with HRchitect clients or IHRIM and the HRIM Foundation, Jacqueline enjoys dog training and is also a classically trained Pianist.