As businesses look towards driving their productivity and profitability in order to guarantee successes in this year and beyond, one of the core components of ensuring this success will be ensuring that they have the proper talent in place to achieve their goals. The recruitment process has long been considered as one of the most time and labour-intensive aspects of the HR function and any time that businesses return to the recruitment pool, it is inevitable that other aspects of people management will fall by the wayside.
With organisations also embedding remote working as a more permanent part of their working structure, this has also presented a unique set of challenges for HR teams when embarking on the recruitment process. With job roles no longer necessarily being restricted on a geographical basis as well as the challenges of remote onboarding, it is understandable that your people teams may be feeling overwhelmed.
By leveraging the power of new systems and technology, your organisation can unburden your people from the stresses of the recruitment cycle. Let new systems take the strain, automating workflows and honing your search to ensure you are finding the right talent to fit your need, regardless of the scale you are recruiting at.
Why is the Hiring Process so important?
Any business who is serious about driving forward long-term success and profitability will understand that everything stems from the hiring process.
. Organisations who take a lax approach in sourcing talent will find themselves faced with high levels of employee turnover as unfit new hires inevitably leave the organisation. .Recent data shows that turn over can cost company's a third of each employee's salary and in a climate where many organisations are looking to cut down on costs and focus on leaner operations, hemorrhaging cash at this level will be unacceptable.
The hiring process itself also serves as a reflection of your organisation. A business which is able to communicate efficiently and effectively with candidates will present themselves as a more attractive prospect to work for than their competitors. Beyond that, the onboarding process is also a critical component in making any new hires feel supported and welcome within an organisation. An effective onboarding experience can be a make or break point which determines the long term job satisfaction of any new employees.
How can Technology enhance your hiring process?
Organisations across all sectors are adopting new technologies at an ever increasing rate. Driven in part by necessity over the events of the past year but also motivated by a desire to future-proof their businesses. With digital rejuvenation of organisations a rising trend, companies are beginning to see the power of leveraging technology to help empower their HR teams during the recruitment process.
Rooted as it is in largely admin and comms heavy responsibilities, the hiring process is an area ripe for renovation by new systems and processes. By adopting new systems and technologies such as cloud based HR systems, businesses are better equipped to support their people teams and empower them to create a recruitment process that is efficient, open and stress free for all parties.
One of the key elements in any hiring process is keeping on top of the communication with candidates.. This is certainly an area where an organisation would be encouraged to lean on technology to automate parts of the hiring process, allowing HR systems to take the strain. By leveraging new systems and technology, you can effectively manage the more ponderous elements of recruitment, such as automating email notifications to unsuccessful candidates or scheduling follow up interviews.
Beyond the interview stage, once a suitable candidate has been found, any organisation will want to ensure that a new hire is onboarded quickly and effectively, in order to ensure they are able to hit the ground running in their new role. New systems can be an incredibly effective way to help ensure that any new starter’s specific needs and requirements are kept track of as well as keeping on top of any logistical concerns such as the issuing of office equipment.
Leveraging technology can also help HR teams overcome the unique challenges posed by hybrid working. With workforces continuing to be more and more disparate, HR professionals are faced with specific hurdles around onboarding and integrating new starters into remote teams. New systems and processes can be a boon in this way, allowing HR professionals to set up virtual team building or induction activities and to help any new starters stay connected with their colleagues from day one.
Which areas of your hiring process should you be looking to improve?
As with sourcing any new technology, the success of introducing new systems and processes into your organisation will be determined by the effectiveness of its use-.According to research by Hays, automation has reduced admin tasks for HR professionals by up to 49% just demonstrating how modern organisations are still hampered by outmoded processes.
Change for change’s sake is rarely profitable in business, therefore, when looking at leveraging technology to enhance your hiring process, it is important that you take the time beforehand to look internally within your organisation and to consider the specific areas which you feel need improving.
Some key areas to consider include:
- Initial talent search - A degree of forecasting in terms of talent or skill set gaps will empower businesses to hone their search for new employees. HR systems can help provide this oversight, providing you with a shortlist of specific requirements which you should use to help focus your talent search from the start. By drawing upon quantitative assessments of existing employees and departments, you are also armed with the information you need in order to articulate exactly what you are looking for in new candidates
- Automated scheduling- Free your HR teams from the burden of manual, heavily admin based tasks and allow your HR system to take the strain, automating the comms process of the hiring journey, sending out automatic letters of rejection to unsuccessful candidates and also scheduling follow up interviews with potential new hires.
- Skill assessment- Getting a measure of an employee’s skill set or ability is always a difficult proposition when relying on credentials and documentation. By leveraging technology, your HR people can set up exercises designed specifically to test the suitability of potential new hires, as well as automating the notification results, helping you to filter out candidates for interview.
- Diversity- With an increasing awareness of the importance of diversity in the workplace, technology will be an undeniable asset in helping organisations stay on top of these concerns. Many applicant tracking tools utilise AI driven technology, meaning that you are able to filter candidates based purely on qualifications and experience, removing any elements of human bias.
What to look for in new technology
We’ve seen that leveraging new systems and technology will be an undeniable asset for businesses looking to hone their search for new talent. As with sourcing any new technology, the process of going to market can often be a daunting one, therefore it is important to have a clear understanding of what your needs are and to hone your search for a system which is specially able to tackle your needs.
Some things to consider include:
- Efficiency- Will any new system specifically help enhance your hiring process? Does the functionality of the technology allow you to automate the areas in which your HR teams may be struggling? Any new systems have to, above anything, make your life easier.
- Bridging the geographic divide- With remote working now looking to be a permanent part of working culture, talent searches are now no longer ring fenced to specific locations. Any new technology you introduce should be done so with the aim of futureproofing your organisation and ensuring that you are ready to embrace the new way of working.
- Function over flash- Don’t be distracted by an overwhelming amount of features. Complexity isn’t necessarily the same as suitability when it comes to technology. When searching for new systems, it is important to focus your search around your requirements and to make a choice based upon which solution will most effectively help you tackle the problem areas in your business.
- Listen to your people- Before even considering going to market, it is important that you leverage the expertise of your HR people and engage with them about the specific challenges that they are facing when it comes to the hiring process. As the main users of any new systems, it is vitally important that the decision you make is based on what solution will best empower them.
Taking the next step
The hiring process is always a long and admin intensive process for any organisation. It is also a vital step in helping ensure that businesses have the right talent in place in order to help drive forward future success. It is clear that when leveraged correctly, technology has the power to help HR teams cut through the morass of manual drudgery and to create a hiring process which is focused, efficient and cordial for all parties.
At Advanced, We believe that technology has the potential to support your HR people and take the strain of some of the more labour-intensive elements of recruitment. We understand that driving forward success will be foremost in your mind and that the best way to guarantee this is by making sure you have the right talent in place. An effective hiring and onboarding process can determine the long-term success of any new hires and we also appreciate that constantly returning to the recruitment pool can be a costly and disruptive affair for your business.
We believe in the potential of technology to help empower your people and we also appreciate that your HR teams are far more than just admin robots which is why we’ve designed our Cloud HR solution to specifically tackle the challenges faced by HR professionals day in, day out, freeing your people teams to focus on the humans not the resources.
If you would like to find out more about how Cloud HR can help empower your HR teams and hone your hiring process, Contact one of our friendly team members today.