Blog: New-age talent acquisition through HR software

Talent Acquisition

New-age talent acquisition through HR software

Today far more sophisticated software that facilitates the recruitment process tremendously is in the hands of HR departments.
New-age talent acquisition through HR software

Increasingly, human resource departments are using software powered by AI to recruit and manage their workforce. This is because, such software not only supplements HR departments work but also eliminates many steps in the recruitment process. For over a decade software that sifts through thousands of resumes by scanning for keywords has been widely used for recruitment. Today far more sophisticated software that facilitates the recruitment process tremendously is in the hands of HR departments.

The Transforming Workforce Landscape

HR professionals use recruitment software to automate or streamline parts of the recruitment process. Processes such as sourcing, selecting, screening, and interviewing of candidates can be done using software. According to a global provider of AI recruitment technology, recruiters know 80% of applicants are unfit for roles they apply for. Therefore, software makes the selection process easier.

Sadly, most companies in India today base recruitment decisions on gut instinct and tools like resumes, references, and personal checks. The efficacy of using this recruitment model is questionable because companies today must make as few recruitment mistakes as possible. Older recruitment techniques lead to errors that are unacceptably high. There is a need to adopt new age talent acquisition technologies.

Also, companies that want to thrive must shift from the classical employment model in which full-time employees work from 9 am to 5 pm, to an open economy model. In the latter, a company’s workforce consists of full-time employees, freelancers, contractual employees, and talent that have tenuous links to the company. The open economy talent model is transparent, collaborative, and technology-enabled and it uses dynamic hiring and employee management processes to leverage the full potential of a workforce. It is estimated that by 2020, 40% of workers will in some way participate in an open economy.

An open economy talent model is possible only because of new age technologies like cognitive systems, artificial intelligence, and social networks. Importantly, the open economy talent model demands traditional human resource departments transform into broader talent acquisition (TA) centres.

Technologies Creating Talent Acquisition Centres

A talent acquisition department has access to far richer employee data than a traditional HR department does. However, managing, understanding, and using data generated in an open economy model is more challenging than managing data in the classical employment model. A few new age technologies allowing talent acquisition centres to flourish and the functionalities of these technologies are described below. 

Cognitive Technologies Managing Vast Quantities of Data

Today, third-party vendors that deliver HR solutions employ and experiment with technologies like mobile, cloud, and networking sites like LinkedIn. This creates vast quantities of data that can be managed only using cognitive technologies. More robust HR systems tap into larger systems and come embedded with cognitive technologies that manage and provide insights into the data produced. Acquisition teams are using cognitive technologies to glean insights into employee data generated by HR tools.According to a LinkedIn study, approximately 35% of hiring managers use cognitive technologies to do so. Importantly, cognitive technologies like chatbots are streamlining recruitment by guiding applicants using thoughtfully crafted and sequenced questions. Many TA centres are using these as well.

AI Ranks Candidates

New AI-powered technologies are being used to rank candidates. In addition talent acquisition teams are using technologies that reveal candidates “fit scores”. The fit score awarded to a candidate is derived from his or her skill-set and experience. Such technologies are allowing TA teams to rapidly narrow the number of candidates’ ideal for their organizations. They are also allowing them to efficiently manage their open economy workforce.

Predictive Analysis is Crucial

Predictive analytics is a key cognitive technology being used by TA teams. A recent report by Deloitte revealed approximately 38% of companies use AI-powered predictive analysis to hire new employees. The technology is not only helping conduct pre-hiring assessments and assessing the quality of those hired but is also helping teams prioritise processes related to recruitment, estimating workforce requirements, and evaluating sources from which workers should be recruited. Predictive analytics role in talent acquisition is already vast and crucial because it significantly improves the probability of hiring the right person for a job. Organizations that are not using predictive analytics are falling behind peers who are.

Games and Simulations are popular and Effective

The TA departments in many companies are also using games and simulations to evaluate the quality of candidates. Unilever is already using these technologies to recruit freshers.An important reason for this is games and simulations allow candidates to be accurately evaluated and sorted with respect to their aptitude for specific roles. When selecting among millennial candidates games and simulations are useful because younger people are comfortable using such platforms. These platforms are also useful when selecting among fresh graduates. However, their effectiveness in revealing the ability of experienced candidates is lower than in revealing the ability of younger ones.

The effectiveness of new age technologies in recruiting is unquestionable. New age technologies allow a static HR department to transform in to a TA centre that can potentially serve as the nerve centre of an organization. As HR departments are gradually required to play a more intricate role in organizations their reliance on new age technologies will grow. Many current HR centres can be transformed into dynamic TA centres by adopting new age recruitment technologies.

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Topics: Talent Acquisition, #NewAgeHiring, #GuestArticle

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