Are You Commoditizing Human Beings?
We recently attended a Recruiter’s Roundtable meetup in San Francisco to meet experts in the industry. Going into the event, we wanted to learn more about how companies source candidates, interview, and ultimately, close the deal with strategic hires. Turns out the roundtable was actually designed to build community and provide recruiters with support for the challenging and often thankless work they do. Even so, we walked away having built great relationships with the recruiters there and we learned a lot about the challenges they face every day.
Conversations centered around Applicant Tracking Systems, employment branding, and the growing need to remember that candidates are still humans. Some of the feedback we heard:
“Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are a necessary evil for staying organized, but they often encourage recruiters to commoditize human beings.”
Although technology usually helps save time, cut costs, and optimize for efficiency, it’s easy to let the system take over. Recruiters are struggling with the issue of “deep vs. wide.” Is it better to review thousands of resumes or spend more time on a select few? ATS systems have taken out the human element of recruiting in the name of “efficiency.” — tweet this.
“The current system is not a method for getting good candidates.”
Hiring is about finding the right fit, so it’s important to get the right people in the room. To evaluate fit, recruiters not only need to understand exactly what position the company is looking to fill but also what motivates each candidate being interviewed. Personality and culture counts as much as hard skills when it comes to employee retention. — tweet this.
“Closing a candidate takes a lot of little steps; building a great relationship is essential.”
How do recruiters really get to know someone? The first step is to break down the interviewer / candidate power dynamic that often makes candidates feel uncomfortable and keeps them from opening up. It’s important for recruiters to ask good questions, show empathy, and let candidates know they are human, too.
“Candidates who get rejected go out and talk poorly about the company to others.”
How do recruiters think about employment branding and mitigate fall out when a candidate gets rejected? Even if a candidate isn’t a good fit, it’s important to make sure the relationship ends on a positive note. Most candidates talk to their friends and family (maybe even strangers) about their interviewing experience. It’s important for recruiters to make sure they are doing everything they can to avoid developing a bad reputation from rejected candidates.
After meeting these recruiters and listening to their pain points, we wanted to know more about how they were trying to solve these existing problems. Many recruiters said they had tried taking candidates to dinner, giving away company swag, or sending gifts, but all of these solutions were expensive and time consuming.
After learning that recruiters were already in the habit of gifting, we decided to introduce them to our platform, Luvtap; an easy way for recruiters to gift tasty treats from local, artisanal retailers frequently and cost effectively. The response was overwhelming. Not only did they believe Luvtap could help them add a personal touch to the hiring process, they also started using our platform to gift friends, too:
“I gifted a gourmet coffee drink to a professional colleague who later emailed me her thanks! I think Luvtap can be useful in my recruiting business, especially for potential clients, as it demonstrates thoughtfulness without the expense of flowers or a gift basket. I’ll use it again!”
So what kind of gifts can you send with Luvtap? We’ve partnered with twenty-three iconic retailer in the Bay Area, including Ike’s Place, Craftsman & Wolves, and Saint Frank Coffee, just to give you a taste. We offer a variety of gifts, but below are a few of our favorites.
We make it super-simple to track internal budgets and gift candidates one at a time or all at once. See our full menu of tasty treats. At this point, you’re probably wondering how much of a difference a sandwich or boba can really make, but guess what? Candidates love receiving Luvtaps. Seriously.
A huge thank you to the recruiters we met last week, who have helped us find new ways to impact the world through Luvtap. We’re looking forward to seeing how more recruiters use Luvtap & can’t wait to hear their feedback.
Ready to try it for yourself? Gift a candidate today.
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