Recruitment has always been a challenge, from sourcing the right talent to ensuring that they accept your offer, and if they do, ensuring that they actually show up for the job! In 2019 and beyond, technology will still not be able to make people demonstrate the professionalism needed to accept/reject a job offer optimally. What it will do, however, is help you predict who is more likely to show up and stay on the job for a longer period. How else will technology help recruitment? Let’s hear it from the experts.
Before technology can help streamline recruitment, the recruitment strategy needs to be modified. The challenge is to find the best candidates by treating them with the kind of attention they are used to from marketers and advertisers. Think Amazon and Netflix’s recommendations based on past viewing history. Or think of the personalized experience customers get after one visit to a restaurant where they shared their birth date. Treat potential candidates like customers, and you are likely to go further in developing a meaningful, lasting relationship with them. And here's how technology will help you.
Expert Opinions on the Future of Recruitment
Let’s keep in mind that not all technologies are accessible and implementable just yet. But they hold huge potential for recruitment. With that said, here’s what experts predict for the future of recruitment:
1. Blockchain is not just the foundation of cryptocurrency, it can help in recruitment
The blockchain can be called a digital ledger that stores data and verifies and validates cryptocurrency transactions. This means it has the potential to validate other critical data as well. So, in the world of hiring, recruiters can use blockchain technology to verify the educational credentials of potential candidates as well as verify their employment history.
This helps recruiters in two ways: a) using smart contracts, it instantly eliminates the need to track multiple sources to verify data, and b) because of this enhanced level of verification, recruiters can leverage blockchain technology to hire more contract and gig workers more easily.
For candidates, being able to upload their information on a protected network without exposing it to third parties such as job websites can have them assured that their data is protected.
Mentioning how blockchain technology can improve recruitment, Arran Stewart, Co-founder of Job.com, says, “The blockchain allows peer-to-peer interactions that decrease middleman costs and streamline the flow of data needed in the hiring process.”
It must be specified, though, that several legal provisions prevent companies from using blockchain for data validation, such as GDPR regulations. However, just like the internet took a while to become mainstream, so will blockchain technology eventually find a way into human resources and recruitment, simplifying their workflow tremendously.
2. Chatbots are the new HR interns
People are now used to interacting with chatbots – tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that can have basic conversations with humans. Why should recruiters spend time looking through thousands of resumes only to shortlist 50, interview 5, and recruit maybe 1, when they can entirely eliminate the first round?
That’s what chatbots in recruitment can do. They can be programmed to analyze key terms in resumes, initiate interactions with candidates, and ask them a set of predefined questions, based on which they can then shortlist candidates, giving recruiters a quality talent pool to begin their recruitment process.
A study by Cornerstone OnDemand says on the use of chatbots in recruitment, “Whether engaging hundreds of candidates at once, contributing to a strong and consistent employer brand or keeping current employees happy, the chatbot might just become HR's best friend.”
3. AI can do more than power a chatbot, it can predict talent gaps in organizations
AI is based on advanced machine learning, which automatically learns to make connections in data based on the data it is fed. When given data from a range of sources such as university databases, professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, and government employment databases, it can predict information on upcoming jobs that will be generated in the future, and the skills required to fill these gaps.
What does this mean for recruiters? It means you can easily predict future workforce needs and focus your efforts on finding talent that will match this requirement.
On predicting the needs of a future workforce, says Diletta Donofrio, Head of Digital Transformation at SnapLogic: “Armed with this data, the HR department can start building a pipeline now to fulfill its future talent needs. This can involve partnering with universities to fund student projects, for example, and nurturing relationships with the brightest students that may be beneficial in the years ahead.”
4. Industry 5.0 will redefine the human-AI relationship
Industry 4.0 – the advent of all things automated such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, nanotechnology, and further – is already in progress. Industry 5.0, the revolution marking the increased collaboration between man and machine is on the horizon, say experts.
An example of this increased collaboration is the demonstration by Sundar Pichai at a Google event last year, where an AI assistant made a hair appointment over a telephone call. The salon had no clue they were talking to a bot. Don’t you think that AI assistants can have such realistic conversations with candidates as well?
On the transformation of the hiring process, Gavin White, Managing Director at Autotech Recruit Ltd. says, “Both recruiters and candidates should expect the combination of humans and smart systems to create more developed technology - such as the advancement of chatbot hybrids, that rely on human and AI collaborations to be successful.”
This means you can revolutionize your hiring methods with AI as your assistant, who will now be able to screen, shortlist, and conduct round one telephone interviews with candidates, all before you interact with the candidate at all.
5. Social media will be used for more than sharing memes
It is a candidate-driven market out there. Candidates hold greater sway over recruiters because they have become more specific and aware of the jobs they like.
“In hiring for traditional roles, evolved candidate expectations are sure to shake things up. With more distractions than ever due to an increasingly digitalized lifestyle, the responsibility is on the employer to sell themselves to in-demand audiences,” notes Nicole Dorskind, Managing Director at ThirtyThree, on the future of social media as a recruiting tool in a candidate-driven market.
To attract such talent, you can turn to social media, which is now a crucial source of hiring. Using social media for recruiting can help you a) execute a strong employer branding strategy, and b) reach out to candidates in unique ways such as using memes, video-based job descriptions, and gamification by way of online contests such as hackathons.
Recruiters who learn to speak the language of candidates are more likely to be successful in attracting and acquiring talent.
As the World Gets Smaller, the Talent Pool Gets Wider
With advances in hiring technologies and strategies, geographical boundaries aren’t restrictions for recruiters anymore. And as these boundaries diminish, the talent pool for recruiters becomes larger. In fact, if these expert opinions on the future of recruitment pan out in the near future, the number of challenges that recruiters face will be far fewer than those they face now. What remains to be seen, however, is how they will use this technology to their advantage and reform recruitment.