Over the past decade, hiring top quality candidates has become more vital than strategy, capital, or R&D. Be it Fortune 500 company, IT consulting companies or healthcare executive search firms, with the advent of digital HR, technology plays a vital role in the field of recruitment.
Employers and tech recruiting firms are using technology as an efficient way to find the best people and save time, money, and resources. Using the latest IT tools, it is easier to source qualified candidates and screen them for skills, experience and personality traits. Recruiters have started using social media platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook to find new hires as well.
Let’s check out the 5 top trends in talent acquisition that recruiters need to know about to stay at the forefront of the industry.
1. Applicant Tracking Systems
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are growing increasingly common in organizations that have adopted digital HR.
Tracking applicants manually can be expensive and take up a lot of time. The ATS system is an HR software that digitally manages the application process. It is an efficient process of collecting, managing, and tracking applicant data as they go through the hiring process. A recent survey revealed that approximately 75 percent of recruiters use a recruiting or applicant tracking software.
By using an ATS, it is possible to automate several steps in the application workflow, freeing up recruiters’ time to focus on more valuable aspects related to hiring such as interviews. This software also helps to minimize friction at various stages of the application process, making it simpler for a potential candidate to apply for a position and accept an offer. Using an ATS system has proven beneficial in retention and streamlining the onboarding process for new hires.
2. Chatbots
Chatbots have already been popular with marketers for some time. Currently, there is a rise in the use of recruitment chatbots as a tool to interact with candidates. In a recent survey by Allegis, 58 percent of candidates stated that they were comfortable interacting with chatbots in the early stages of the hiring process.
The advantage of chatbots is their ability to respond to predetermined questions without necessitating the physical presence of a recruiter. Chatbots can perform a variety of tasks such as prequalification of candidates, providing updates to applicants, sending/ receiving emails, and scheduling interviews. A chatbot is available to a candidate 24/7, saving time for the recruiter and allowing candidates to get information much faster. This helps to lower time to hire and cost to fill by up to 50%.
3. Recruitment Software
Today, a major part of the job market is driven by candidates, not employers. Applicants have the power to reject offers that they view as undesirable, or not even apply to positions that are not properly marketed to them. Recruitment software can significantly improve the likelihood of the best candidates finding and applying to available jobs at your organization.
Recruitment marketing constitutes a major part of developing your employer brand and keeping in touch with candidates. Recruitment software applies best practices and marketing strategies to the hiring process. It can help keep track of people who have applied for jobs in the past or shown interest in working for your company. You can keep these people engaged by sending them regular emails about your company or available positions. HR stakeholders can avail of specialized recruitment software to ensure that they are staying compliant and ahead of any legal issues.
4. Social Media
Most companies post job listings on their company website or online job sites. Apart from these traditional methods, social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are also gaining popularity as highly effective ways of recruiting top candidates.
From posting ads about job openings to checking candidates online, these platforms enable recruiters to directly identify, engage with, and reach out to potential candidates. 70 percent of employers are reported to check prospective candidates’ social media platforms to see if they are enthusiastic about their job and posting regularly about industry-related topics and business icons.
Social media is also a valuable tool to market your business to prospective candidates and create an attractive employer brand. Engaging with interested people online helps you form relationships that can lead to fruitful placements.
5. Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is making waves in all aspects of business, and recruitment is no different. From sourcing top talent to upskilling employees, VR can enhance the candidate experience at several points while consolidating the employer brand.
Even before a candidate applies to a company, they can take a VR tour of the organization to see what it would be like to work there. Businesses can effectively assess remote candidates without the additional cost of flying them in, with the help of VR interviews. VR interviews offer an immersive experience for candidates as well as recruiters, providing a more interactive experience and therefore potentially more accurate results. While many aspects of recruitment VR are still under development and relatively expensive to implement, it is technology that is expected to go mainstream soon.
With an immense range of responsibilities, talent acquisition is undoubtedly one of the most impactful and significant functions of a company’s HR department. As technology evolves, recruiters should be on top of new trends in order to handle recruitment in a modern and improved way. And this is where top IT recruitment agencies like Employvision come in.
At Employvision, we have access to the latest technological tools in talent acquisition and HR. With our cutting-edge technical expertise, we not only help you find the right employees, but also reduce your recruiting cycle time, improve your candidate experience and retention.
Contact Employvision and start hiring the best IT talent today!
