The changes within recruitment due to the rise in technology and digital
The Progression of Technology, Digital and AI in Recruitment
Technology continues to revolutionise every aspect of today’s world. From everyday tasks to groundbreaking steps forward in AI (artificial intelligence), our lives, job roles and abilities are being changed, streamlined and improved by the technology available to us.
Each and every field will experience a period of change as technological advances begin to disrupt their area of expertise. Opinions may vary and discussions will be raised around whether this is an amazing tool that can make life easier or whether it is an unnecessary addition to the workplace or workforce. However as always, we accept and champion the benefits of the continuously new tech and digital applications available.
Startup recruitment firms should see themselves in an ideal position, to look at what is coming, what is being phased out, and peg themselves as a forward thinking startup recruitment agency, able to adapt, ready and aware of the latest and future changes that can be applied to their startup and benefit their clients.
If we journey back only a short amount of years; the introduction of computers and then the internet were staggering technological developments. Everything is now computerised, which, I’m sure, you would no longer question; why would you not have client’s information and profiles logged digitally rather than filed on paper, in a filing cabinet? There is really no longer a need to produce printed ads, because the internet makes finding your ads and listings so very simple.
You will use in house software which is again, beneficial in saving time and increasing organisation; New Millennia’s software offers a simple solution, saving recruitment agencies and startups time and streamlines their processes. Tools such as people aggregators are a technological advancement which, at the time of introduction, likely seemed rather daunting, but are such a useful, data rich tool to recruiters.
2002 saw the launch of LinkedIn, set to change the way recruiters communicated with candidates for good. This new, social media style platform broke down walls and really broke the mold in terms of traditional recruitment.
This, along with sites and platforms which now allow candidates to do the leg work, and upload their own profile and CV have turned the recruitment cycle on its head and meant that recruitment firms have been able to let the candidates and information come to them, already uploaded meaning much less chasing for recruiters.
Artificial Intelligence
AI has been a thing of the ‘future’ for some time, but now it seems, the future is here and we are all to embrace the advancements made in AI. But how, for recruitment startups and agencies, can AI prove it’s value?
Far from the ‘bots’ taking over human roles, AI technology can be used to put recruiters time to better use, making the agency more efficient. The routine, the menial and time consuming tasks can be undertaken; CV screening and the marking of pre-employment tests, for example.
This not only frees up time, but also offers a lower level of bias in the screening or marking. Unconscious bias is an almost impossible element to eliminate from human decision or judgement, this could be, leaning toward an individual who speaks to their traits or away from one with very different backgrounds, all unconsciously. “Implementing AI in the hiring process can help achieve the goal of diverse teams as it will rank and score candidates based on qualification and leave bias out of the decision” (The UnderCover Recruiter)
In a similar vein, AI screening and marking allows consistency and therefore fairness across the board. If you have a team of recruiters all reviewing CV’s for the same positions, all individuals will be, again unknowingly, screening candidates differently. Artificial Intelligence can eliminate variants such as this.
Getting Digital
The world of marketing today relies much more heavily on the digital element than ever before.
Recruitment agencies need to get digital in this sense too. Society is evolving with social media as a huge influencer. The company itself needs to be socially active, engaging and providing content to their followers, employees, clients and everyone else who wants it.
Not only this, but social media is a powerful way to find candidates. LinkedIn is specifically built for professional networking, but Twitter for example, or Instagram are incredibly interactive platforms, with a huge reach, it would be foolish not to tap into this.
We’re heading towards the end of 2017, and AI especially is really coming into it’s own, watch out for our blog in the New Year, looking forward to what we can expect from 2018!
