Many recruiting agencies are skittish when it comes to adopting new technologies. But like it or not, automation has become a core part of the modern recruiting industry. This was already a trend before COVID-19, but nearly two years of shutdowns solidified it.
Automation is not part of the entire hiring process, from candidate screening to email nurturing to online reviews and reputation management.
You have a choice: fight the inevitable, or embrace the benefits of these new technologies.
Of course, that’s easier said than done—especially if you’ve got a bunch of “old school” recruiters on your team. You can buy all the technology in the world, but if you don’t get your team to use it, then it does nothing for you. It’s like the gym membership you pay for, but never use.
Regardless of the makeup of your current agency, however, here are our top tips for getting your whole team on board with automation and recruitment technology.
Why technology is essential for the modern recruiter
Top talent is scarce, resulting in fierce competition among recruiters. As they work to grow their portfolio and land the best candidates, keeping track of and managing relationships can be overwhelming.
Automation and technology provide much needed relief for recruiters, helping them to streamline their process, move beyond the monotony, and focus their efforts on the more human aspects of the process. Here are four specific examples of how technology can help recruiters achieve their most meaningful goals.
Increase productivity
When they use automation effectively, your recruiters can get some of their time back, removing monotonous tasks from their already full plate. Things like applicant tracking, resume screening, relationship management—they can do all of these things with various recruitment technologies. This, in turn, enables them to focus on more human aspects of recruiting—the ones that automation can’t replace.
Improve quality of hire
Automation can tag highly qualified candidates and narrow in on the key skill sets needed to fill a prospective position. This allows your recruiters to focus on the best leads for each role needed to be filled, eliminating clutter and noise. Plus, it can also lead to a faster time to hire.
Enhance the candidate experience
Automation can enhance the candidate’s experience by creating personalized, timely communications, continual updates in the hiring process, and ways to provide feedback and share their positive experiences with their networks.
Increase transparency and accountability
You don’t have to guess at how the process is working or where it goes wrong; the proof is in the reviews! Automated, real-time online reviews help you hold your recruiters accountable by revealing what they did well—and where they need to improve.
4 tips for implementing new technologies in your agency
No matter how big your tech stack, if your recruiters aren’t using the technology, they won’t realize any of the benefits we just talked about. So how do you encourage full-scale adoption among your team? Here are four tips that we’ve learned from working with our own customers.
1. Get the whole team on board
Oftentimes management thinks new technology is going to magically get X results. But they forget one important piece of the puzzle: the people using it.
You can require your recruiters adopt the technology, but if they aren’t bought in, eventually they’ll find excuses to fall back into their old ways. Not only does this keep them (and your agency) from reaping the benefits, but it also creates inconsistencies across the whole organization.
Your team needs to be on board and excited from the get-go, which means helping them see the benefits of the technology and how it can help them be better (i.e. make more placements and win more deals).
Keep in mind that even the most bought-in recruiters will have some difficulties adopting the technology. Be patient, and realize that regular coaching and check-ins will help to acclimate everyone to this “new way of doing things.”
2. Train your team to get the most value
For some of your more…ahem…experienced recruiters, technology adoption may not come naturally. And even those who are tech savvy can have trouble knowing how to get the most value from a brand new system.
Nurture your team by training them to actually use it. The more they know about the platform, the more they’ll integrate it into their day-to-day, and the more value they’ll get out of it.
Another essential aspect that many forget about is the value of working with the vendor during onboarding. They have a vested interest in ensuring their platform seeps into all aspects of your recruitment process, and will often provide advice and training to help everyone use the system effectively.
3. Designate “super-users”
Most everyone responds better to a peer leader than someone from the top of the food chain. That’s why it can be valuable to have at least one recruiter who is a “super-user”. This recruiter is an expert who dives deep into the functionality of the platform, and can provide guidance and answer questions for the rest of the team. If your organization is big enough, you should have multiple people in these roles so you don’t have a single point of failure.
4. Align the technology to your operations and culture
Your organization has achieved a certain level of success by operating how you operate. While there’s always room for improvement, a large part of successful recruitment is staying true to who you are and your company’s culture.
Technology works best when it is balanced and doesn’t overshadow what was already working that got you to where you are now. This is why balancing tech with the human touch is an important piece to integrating tech with your teams. Master that, and you’ll only boost your current success.
Final thoughts
The future of recruiting lies with the firms who make technology their friend. You can either hop aboard this bandwagon, or let your competitors leave you in the dust.
The best way to do that is to invest in technologies that enhance your team’s performance, make sure everyone understands the value, then work until the technology is an integral part of your day-to-day. When you do that well, there’s no stopping you.
