The Rise of Direct Sourcing Platforms and What They Mean to Traditional Agencies and Recruiters
Originally published on the TimeSaved Blog
Direct sourcing platforms like Wonolo and OnboardIQ are shaking up the recruitment world. Competing with these platforms can be intimidating for recruiters, but understanding the strengths and weaknesses of these technologies is a great start to staying ahead.
The benefits of direct sourcing platforms
Quicker placement times
Apps like Wonolo and Staffy boast extremely fast placement times, counting in minutes instead of hours or days. This is possible because of the time these companies take to pre-screen their workers and curate their talent pools. Self-regulation is also helpful when it comes to speed. The pool can be adjusted to remove workers and recommend others based on review systems and employee feedback. Some platforms specialize in just one industry as well, which helps to streamline their screening processes and refine the app’s features.
Lower costs
Digital sourcing platforms are cost-effective choices for businesses thanks to their ability to reduce the labour costs of recruitment. The majority of screening duties are handled by the application while selection and job postings are handled by owners and managers in the business.
Access to data
The upside of technology platforms for any service is their ability to gather and use meaningful data. Sourcing applications are able to capture data around factors like supply and demand, work hours and finances. Platforms can even manage data related to the hiring process like driver licenses or bank account numbers. All this information can be extremely valuable — but it’s uncertain whether these platforms will make data like this available to businesses for their own analysis.
Staying ahead
Adapt to technology
Recruiters looking to stay competitive must be able to adapt to an industry that is constantly being shaped by new technology. Using tools like AI assistants, interviewing apps and modern ATS systems can help close the gap when it comes to screening quality, communication, and data availability. This doesn’t necessarily mean that agencies should try to beat out platforms on qualities like placement speed if this leads to a drop in the quality of service. Emphasis should be put on technological solutions that help to optimize the inner workings of the agency.
Understand your clients
Human beings are still better than platforms and algorithms when it comes to building relationships. Recruiters can make themselves indispensable to their clients by becoming experts in customer service and research. Doing so helps agencies curate their talent pools to be the best fit for the needs of the client. This is helpful because digital platforms typically can’t provide bespoke candidates to employers. They instead rely on either the employer or worker making the final placement decision. The key challenge here is the ability to make a process that works for every client. Recruiters should look into effective research techniques and communication processes to ensure that a client’s experience is always consistent and high-quality.
Prize your candidates
Digital sourcing platforms are increasingly putting control in the hands of temp workers. Candidates can see opportunities they’re interested in and set up their profiles with relative ease. The amount of needed communication is reduced too — but this is where recruiters can really shine. Recruiters should consider ways to improve the candidate experience by addressing some of their challenges. Improving work flexibility and communication are just a few ways to ensure that quality candidates are coming your way.
Competing with newly emerging digital platforms in the direct sourcing space is all about building on the strengths of agencies — recruitment wisdom, customer relationships and the ability to adapt to new circumstances. Agencies that can bring technology into their organizations while flexing their soft skills will find it much easier to take on the technology that looks to replace them.
