HR tools can be a great help in the recruiting process – and here we explore the benefits of three key modern HR technologies.
Three Types of HR Technology Revolutionising Recruitment
Ripples from the pandemic have changed the job market, perhaps permanently – leaving employers to find new HR tools to attract top talent. Fortunately, these technologies have undergone impressive improvements over time, helping companies to save time while identifying ideal candidates for onboarding.
The range of HR technology and software is broad. Many excellent products have been produced by well-known companies, while other bespoke solutions are also proving to be useful. The methodology of talent software can also combine multiple approaches, potentially including elements extending from social media to data analytics and more. Here we highlight three particularly noteworthy examples of modern HR technology, with a focus on how they help with the all-important recruiting process.
Recruitment Chatbots
This feature streamlines initial communications, replicating the way recruiters interact with candidates in real life. They allow for a more efficient hiring process while collecting the information needed for candidate screening. The automated system generates message responses to applicants through a company’s career page, which then filters the results into a recruitment pool.
These chatbots help the organisation as well as its candidates to simplify and solidify the recruitment experience. The bots can collect general information from candidates such as their contact details, as well as data from their CVs such as key skills and past experience, which facilitate the screening process.
For candidates, bots can provide useful information regarding job details and benefits. They can also answer FAQs and initiate the subsequent steps of the recruitment process, such as setting an interview schedule and adding candidates to the company’s talent database to keep them informed of future job opportunities.
For recruiters, chatbots can help the talent acquisition team by reducing direct talking time with candidates, while also gathering key information needed for talent matching. It is worth noting that AI-based Virtual Assistants and informative Virtual Reality tools can serve many of the same purposes, by helping organisations and potential candidates learn more about each other before they interact in person.
Furthermore, these approaches enable recruitment cost-for-hire metrics to be greatly reduced by eliminating the need for many external campaigns such as advertising or referral bonus programmes. Relying instead on the aforementioned digital tools, companies can filter large applicant numbers, automatically answer candidate questions, improve candidate experience, and most importantly, convert qualified people into applicants.
Advanced Recruitment Analytics and Reporting
As a complement to recruitment chatbots, a well-calibrated Applicant Tracking System (ATS) simplifies the otherwise painstaking process of sorting through applicant CVs. It works by examining the details of the position being recruited for, and comparing this information with the relevant attributes of each candidate in the pool. The ATS then ranks candidates based on how closely they match the needs of the available position.
While the concept of an ATS is not new, in recent years it has evolved considerably beyond these straightforward origins. Today’s ATS systems often incorporate AI, advanced analytics, chat features, net promoter scores, and automated document scanning.
A well-integrated ATS can therefore play a productive role in the larger recruitment analytics effort, which in turn massively streamlines the stages of talent recruitment, from initial screening through the onboarding process. These systems work best when operating in the cloud, to take advantage of its excellent security and data storage capabilities so that general candidate data can be seamlessly integrated with other talent-related functions and applications.
With these and other digital tools in place, a holistic advanced recruitment analytics process can provide advanced reports on candidates, providing insights which range from sourcing data to job posting text analysis, to predicting candidates’ on-the-job performance or flight risk. This data is presented to HR administrators through an easy-to-use dashboard which covers the entire hiring process. The data can either be aggregated or separated out into piecemeal segments, depending on whether a broad or detailed picture is needed.
Recruitment analytics and reporting can greatly simplify the acquisition of globally sourced talent, monitoring candidates through the hiring process while making their information easily accessible to the HR team.
Although HR processes have traditionally been tedious to manage, a smoothly functioning system can centralise candidate screening and recruitment into a single, easy-to-operate programme. Collected data can be shared with team members for analytical purposes to manage business goals while saving time. When potential candidates are brought onboard, their data can be transferred into existing systems for easy import.
Talent Mapping Tools
A crucial and challenging task within recruitment is known as talent mapping, where companies analyse what they need now and for the future, then map out these needs to aid in talent management. This normally labour-intensive process can be made far more efficient using modern technology. Companies like Gartner and Stratigens offer streamlined software solutions to simplify and automate the mapping procedure. By applying advanced data analytics to talent-related issues, these tools provide clarity and insight for companies looking to plan ahead.
At present, shortages in specific skill areas remain a great challenge for a variety of industries. Finding and hiring the right personnel have therefore become paramount to the success in business – and talent mapping can help companies get a head start on their medium-term needs. Newly hired staff must be a nearly perfect match for company needs, to prevent slowdowns in progress and reduce employment turnover. Key skills therefore need to be highlighted beforehand to maximise the productivity of a potential hire.
These desired attributes are filtered from a large talent pool where recruiters can easily select which ones they need. Options include background, years of experience, skills, and other customisable fields to determine how well the candidate matches employer needs. Additional tools include cognitive and behavioural metrics to identify a candidate’s personality and their approach towards work. Tools can also be made to link to third-party platforms so as to gather miscellaneous information, such as projects and research the candidate is involved in, and even monitor their activities in those areas based on real-time data collection.
Talent mapping tools provide an edge towards the information-gathering and decision-making processes. They allow recruiters to see which candidates are most suitable for which roles, from a large pool of potential hires, and compare available talent with their currently employed personnel. These tools also help companies avoid the all-too-familiar situation of hiring a new staff member, only to later find out that the new hire lacks a key skill or personal attribute needed for their designated role. The use of talent mapping tools helps evaluate candidates, and quantify how much talent is available. It also provides miscellaneous advantages towards time management, helping companies to save on the cost of HR administration.
Building a Better Team
Taking advantage of these readily available tools, and customising them for your organisation’s specific purposes, can be a great help in compiling and shortlisting your talent pool. Your recruitment process will become more streamlined and efficient as soon as most administrative and heavy-duty tasks are automated.
As leading recruitment experts, we have an extensive knowledge base and years of experience when dealing with HR-related matters. To find out how Connexus Global can help your business integrate these technologies, get in touch with us today.
