Recruiting technologies that have emerged over the past few years have been a boon for HR when it comes to unloading many of the burdensome administrative tasks that accompany the hiring process. However, with all this new technology, companies can run the risk of alienating the candidate with a cold and impersonal experience. Balance is needed.
Finding, winning and keeping the right candidate these days requires a mix of the technology that makes the process easier for both recruiter and job seeker and maintains a consistent level of meaningful, human interaction.
In an August 2017 Randstad survey, 82 percent of job seekers surveyed claimed “the ideal interaction with a company is one where innovative technologies are behind the scenes and second to personal, human interaction.” Additionally, the report states that “beyond the overall job offer, the top two aspects of the respondents’ last job search that most influenced their positive impression of a potential employer were ‘the degree of personal, human interaction during the process’ and ‘the recruiter/hiring manager I worked with.’ ”
So how can HR craft this amazing candidate experience with the right mix of tech and talk?
According to Trish McFarlane, VP, Global HCM Strategy & Product Management at Infor, "One of the most important steps in a successful candidate experience is to continue wooing the candidate once they are hired. In a personal relationship, we all know that you can’t just find someone you’re interested in, act on your best behavior to get them to start the relationship, then ignore them. Recruiting a candidate is no different. It’s critical to continue checking on the candidate/ new hire, even after their first day and intentionally develop that relationship."
Additionally, McFarlane recommends that organizations:
- Use an immersive approach to bring candidates on board.
- Share as much of the corporate brand—and culture—during the recruitment process as possible.
- Come up with a customized approach to on-boarding. How will the employee look, feel and sound working at your company?
Please join @shrmnextchat at 3 p.m. ET on January 10 for #Nextchat with special guest Trish McFarlane (@TrishMcFarlane). We’ll chat about how you can find the right balance between HR tech and personal communication for an amazing candidate experience.
Q1. As HR or job seeker, which part of the candidate experience today are you finding to be the most dysfunctional or broken?
Q2. As HR or job seeker, which part of the candidate experience today are you finding to be the most effective?
Q3. As a job seeker, which parts of the candidate experience are you OK with being automated/less personal if it saves time?
Q4. Which components of the candidate experience can be automated without alienating the candidates?
Q5. Which parts of the candidate experience still require a personal touch and should either never be automated—or should contain only limited technology?
Q6.Which parts of your organization’s candidate experience have you automated with technology? How is it working?
Q7. With the overwhelming number of resumes and candidates that HR must continually process in fast-paced, large-volume hiring environments, is it even possible to create a personal experience for candidates? What are some tips for keeping it real?
Q8. What advice do you have for other HR professionals for selecting HR technology to improve their candidate experience?