How to Add Technology in Recruitment

You may not need to add a new recruiting technology often, but technology decisions are both time intensive and of high importance to your organization. Whether you are replacing an outdated process, trying to streamline your workflow, or have simply been made aware of a technology that you were previously unaware of, it is important to select the right technology for the job.

In recruitment, there are three elements of recruitment processes that any new tech should improve. Your efficiency, your flexibility, and your replicability. Any time you are adding a new technology to use in your recruitment workflow, evaluate whether it betters any of these elements. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help you decide if a new recruiting technology is right for your organization.

1. Does this recruitment technology improve communication in your workflow?

Communication is one of the key aspects of the recruitment workflow – particularly at a large organization. When you work with multiple hiring managers or have multiple rounds of interviews with different candidates it is important that everyone is on the same page about a candidate. Poor communication not only causes confusion but costs you time. Using technology in recruitment can help with this in two ways

1. Keep track of all interviews and notes from interviewers so they are available for anyone to review. 

Different hiring managers will undoubtedly have differing opinions on candidates. Some of this will be due to the fact that each interviewer will most likely have a different perspective based on their own role in the organization. Another factor that leads to differing opinions is the unconscious biases that every person holds. Use technology in recruitment to help remove these biases. For example, use pre-hire assessments that provide insights into candidates’ soft skills. This will show you if your impressions from interviews and the application match up with what the data tells you.

2. Enable your technologies to communicate with each other.

You will invariably use technology in many, if not every, step of the recruiting workflow and it is important that information flows from step to step. Does your applicant tracking system (ATS) integrate with social media? Does it integrate with the platform you use to conduct video interviews? Just as the recruiter is the central hub for all the hiring managers and executives in the recruiting process you should have a central hub for recruiting.

If your technology doesn’t communicate it causes breaks in your workflow. The purpose of technology is to create efficiencies and eliminate biases. Without communication, neither of these can be accomplished.

2. Does this technology support the structure of your recruiting workflow while allowing flexibility as needed?

Recruiting workflows are multi-layered. Technology in recruiting should not only support a replicable hiring structure, but also provide flexibility in the areas that you need it.

For example, as part of a recruiting workflow, all organizations need to screen candidates prior to an interview. Group A at your organization may decide that as a standard practice they will have one phone screen with a recruiter for every position, whereas group B may add a second phone screen with the hiring manager before the candidate moves to an interview. While both groups here are screening candidates, the step is not exactly the same.  Your recruiting technology needs to enforce structure, but still be able to easily adjust based on the variable steps. 

Another way technology can support the structure of your recruitment workflow is by providing analytics. By measuring your workflow’s performance, you can make data-backed improvements to it so you can evaluate candidates accurately and efficiently, and attract candidates with the highest level of job fit.

3. Does this recruitment technology free you up to focus on the human aspects of hiring?

Hiring is a uniquely human experience. In a world of automation, the people that work in organizations continue to be of more and more value. Technology can support by providing predictions of job success and determining a candidate’s skill level, but it can’t take over the pieces of talent management that rely on human connection.

Any technology in recruitment that you implement should allow you to focus on the aspects of your workflow that require human insight. Look to eliminate mundane tasks such as screening out candidates with a bad fit, sending confirmations upon the receipt of applications, or setting up meeting invites in your calendar. In automating replicable tasks with technology, you’ll be able to reallocate your time to strategic initiatives and build relationships with your candidates and employees.

By answering these three questions when evaluating your recruitment technology –  no matter if you’re evaluating an existing tool or a new one –  you can ensure that you have the right tool in place for your organization.

As you work on getting the most from technology in your hiring workflow, it’s important to also have technology in place that sets your new hires up for success, particularly with a remote workforce. Here are some tips on creating a successful remote onboarding process.