Recruitment Automation
is quickly coming to staffing firms, recruitment process outsourcing (RPOs), and corporate talent acquisition teams.But what is Recruiting Automation?
Let's define Recruiting Automation as automating, or eliminating, human steps, or workflow processes within the recruiting process.We've already seen this starting with job posting automation, where it's not possible to predict the amount required to spend on a per-applicant basis to acquire candidates. Tools from Job2Careers.com and AppCast.com can help here. They help automate the distribution of jobs to multiple job boards, but also help predict the spend required to acquire the number of applicants required.
The tech isn't full-proof, but it does work for a lot of positions, including high-volume recruiting.
If you break down the recruiting process, Bill Boorman, suggests there are 88 individual steps required in the average recruiting process. Many of those steps involve human steps that require significant training, follow-up, and a lot of human work. For example, say you post a job, and candidates start coming in. A recruiter, or hiring manager needs to screen the inbound candidates, for basic requirements, and then reach out to them for an initial "pre-screen", to find out if they are Qualified, Available, and Interested (QAI).
To get ahold of a candidate, that can take sending multiple emails, multiple phone calls etc. And then, three or four emails just to synch up on a time that works for a brief call, because the candidate already has an existing job. And, if the candidate is under 30 years old, contacting them via email is simply getting tougher and tougher, as emails aren't being opened (14% open rates and 2% click-through rates), whereas Text Messages are getting deliver 95% of the time, and responded to within minutes and hours, instead of days.
If the above paints a dark picture, just remember, it can get even worse, because most candidates you want to recruit, are probably already working. In the US, we're currently at near "Full-employment". Replacing turn-over candidates is becoming harder and harder, let alone, adding to the workforce.
If candidates are ready to leave their current employer, they have options. Employers need to act fast, respond to candidates quickly, and provide a great candidate experience, if they want to compete. Dropping the ball, and not responding to candidates quickly enough, is going to become a bigger and bigger issue as the competitive nature for talent continues.
So, back to Recruiting Automation... what if you could eliminate some of the above issues? What if recruiters could spend more time with the highest-value candidates, while candidates could also get immediate responses, and even status updates on their application process. What if candidate's could ask questions of recruiters, 24/7, to learn more about the company, and the specific role they're looking at. What if candidates to quickly engage companies without having to fill out 20-40 "required fields", just to learn more about a company, their culture, and the role? These are not only possibilities, but they are already realities for some of the early adopters of Recruiting Automation and Recruiting AI. These types of process changes, predominantly use chatbots and messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Text Messaging, and Web Chat, to communicate with candidates, while engaging and pre-screening them for their Qualifications, Availability, and Interest in the company. These chatbots work 24/7, don't require time off, and respond to candidate using their existing smartphones, without the need to download another application. This is the future of recruiting automation.
