3 Ways Recruitment Automation Will Change the Way You Hire
The world will never again be the way it was two years ago. The impressive tech advancement in the past decade made it clear that humanity could soon coexist with artificial intelligence (AI), but that still looked like a distant future.
But the pandemic reduced physical interactions and made us more dependent on technology. Without virtual tools, it would be more challenging to go through the lockdowns, social distancing, and work from home.
Most tech giants maximized their efforts and started producing more intelligent, personalized, and comprehensive products and services. Companies across industries started increasingly using chatbots, robots, and autonomous vehicles to ensure patients receive contactless support, people can see their loved ones, and stores can monitor their grocery stocks.
According to a Kearney article, COVID-19 accelerated the rise of automation, and that change will likely be one of its principal impacts that will shape the future. Moreover, a McKinsey report found that the pandemic speeds up e-commerce, remote work, and automation trends by seven years.
However, this transformation will be the most visible in work arenas with high physical proximity. Although that will decrease in-person interactions, it will also reduce the number of manual tasks. Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis popularized the recruitment automation concept.
It has also been said that tech tools help them with workflow and outreach improvement, candidate pool evaluation, and job applicant qualification. Automation will likely spread across most fields in time and start a new revolution.
Even though that brings many benefits, not everyone is happy about it. Many people doubt how the global adoption of automation will play out and affect humanity and the world of work.
After all, we often fear the unknown and how it will transform our lives. Because of that, it’s crucial to understand automation and remove the daunting veil of mystery.
What is Recruitment Automation?
Recruitment automation represents advanced technologies that companies use to automate hiring assignments and workflows and boost productivity among their recruitment teams. It also helps speed up the time needed to hire an employee, lower cost-per-hire, and enhance a company’s human capital performance.
This technology falls in the subgroup of Human Capital Management (HCM). Companies already use recruitment automation as software-as-a-service (SaaS) for workforce management.
Therefore, this isn’t an entirely new or foreign concept. However, the recruitment automation businesses use today is likely different from the one they will use in the future.
Here are the principal characteristics of automation:
Process Mapping
Automation includes process mapping, a mechanism that enables large-scale process optimization. It also helps present demanding workflows as a simplified map with a visual context.
Automated Workflows
Although most companies manage their workflows virtually, they often struggle with efficiency and need help to maximize productivity. That’s where the automated workflow tools enter the scene.
They enable business and HR leaders to streamline their processes, work faster, and maintain ongoing communication with stakeholders.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
RPA is a mechanism that develops bots that complete tedious, repetitive, and time-demanding tasks automatically. Thanks to that, recruiters and hiring managers get rid of manual assignments and get more done in less time.
Document Generation
Document generation helps create and fill contracts, sales orders, and forms without hassle. Thus, recruitment teams can avoid worrying about compliance because this mechanism uses pre-approved and verified business templates.
Process Intelligence
Data is among the most valuable assets of every company. However, it requires accuracy to be efficient and lead to stellar results.
Process intelligence tools give companies insights into key metrics and team performance. That way, analytics became meaningful reports that provide context and visualization to recruiters.
Should Recruiters Fear Recruitment Automation?
Although many companies already use this technology, some are still reluctant and fear that it could eliminate humans from the equation. However, its advantages show that’s far from true.
Here are the principal benefits of recruitment automation.
Productivity Boost
Typically, recruiters spend around 14 hours per week manually completing tasks that a machine could finish much faster. As a result, the value of their contributions could decrease significantly.
Even though some companies might be reluctant to adopt recruitment automation out of fear it could replace recruiters, this technology can help their teams do more in less time. These tools thrive at removing inefficiencies from the hiring process.
Recruitment teams can use the capabilities recruitment automation provides to eliminate labor-intense tasks and become more productive. Moreover, this technology empowers recruitment and gives them the necessary support to increase their performance.
Instead of completing dull assignments, they can focus on those that add more business value and accelerate their decision-making. For instance, recruiters can leave resume evaluation to AI and focus on improving the candidate experience.
Better Quality-of-Hire
Recruitment automation provides more than just efficiency and speed. It also helps recruitment teams with valuable insights, meaningful reports, and in-depth analytics.
These advantages improve decision-making and make it easier for recruiters to target their job ads more accurately and attract the right audience. As a result, they can reach more qualified candidates that fit the company culture, team, and job requirements.
Moreover, AI algorithms offer well-measured suggestions, highlighting the most compatible job applicants. These technologies match a candidate’s skills, experiences, and motivation with the company criteria and help recruiters choose the best individual.
That leads to a better quality of hire and an increased retention rate in the long run.
Candidate Experience Improvement
Although recruitment automation provides multiple advantages for recruitment teams, it also benefits candidates. AI tech tools allow recruiters to reduce the number of manual activities and focus on developing connections with job applicants and nurturing their engagement.
Thanks to that, candidates have better treatment and feel that their job application makes a difference. Recruitment automation has a substantial impact on candidate experience. It also helps recruiters be more attentive and address job applicants’ needs.
Inclusion and Reduction of Recruitment Bias
Inclusion boost is among the most significant advantages of recruitment automation. Recruiters can use AI tools for candidate sourcing and screening and allow machine learning to identify the most compatible job applicant, fostering a meritocratic approach.
Recruitment automation technology sees everyone equally. It only focuses on skills, experience, and relevant credentials as set by the recruiter.
When recruiters rely on top-notch technology for the selection process, they can avoid worrying about unconscious favoritism, stereotypes, and prejudices. AI doesn’t see faces, ethnicities, and nationalities.
Instead, it only acknowledges one’s capability of performing the job and the potential to grow with the company. As a result, workplaces become more diverse and thriving due to the multiple different perspectives joining the team.
Decreased Time-to-Hire
Finding and hiring the most compatible candidate often takes weeks, if not months. That affects candidate experience, consumes too many resources, and profits and revenues.
Because of that, recruiters need all the help they can get to identify top talents in no time and onboard them. However, they often must handle multiple tasks simultaneously and remain focused despite all the responsibilities requiring equal attention.
As a result, recruitment teams could settle for candidates that don’t meet the job criteria. However, some people might leave the selection process due to waiting too long for an update.
Recruitment automation streamlines the hiring process and provides the necessary tools for faster decision-making, hiring, and onboarding. Thanks to that, recruiters can reduce the time-to-hire and direct their efforts toward welcoming the new employee to the team.
What you should consider when adopting recruitment automation
Lack of Recruitment Team Preparedness & Buy-In
Business and HR leaders should check whether teams are ready for recruitment automation. That requires a straightforward approach and transparent communication.
Recruiters should know details about the program they will use, including its security framework. Moreover, companies should also provide training for employees if the platform complexity requires it.
Thanks to that, they will have the buy-in from recruitment teams and stakeholders, which is necessary to maximize the recruitment automation potential.
*First published on Manatal.com.
*To read the full article, click here.
Manatal is an end-to-end recruitment and onboarding SaaS platform trusted by thousands of brands in over 135 countries worldwide. It is an AI-powered Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool that allows companies to hire faster, better and save costs.
