Innovate CV Discussion on the Future of Recruitment Technology

CVA post by James Lawson, Business Development Manager – Bond International Software (UK) Ltd.

This week I had great pleasure in attending a dinner hosted by our industry colleagues – Innovate CV. The theme of the main discussion that evening was the future of recruitment technology.

Following the economic turmoil of last year, we all had our own perceptions of what the future could hold for the recruitment industry. The following is my summary of the general consensus of opinion:

The last 12 months has been one of economic uncertainty for many organisations in the recruitment industry. It has forced recruiters to examine their recruitment processes and question how they can reduce costs but still attract a high calibre of candidate. Technology has played a prominent part in facilitating this, and for those who have acted decisively, they have not only survived these turbulent times, but have in fact flourished and are now in a much stronger position as we move forward into 2011. One opinion is that the recession has served to re-shape the way the recruitment industry operates. So what can we expect for the future?

Streamlining your recruitment processes is something many of us will be anticipating: In a highly competitive marketplace, recruiters need to exceed candidate expectations and differentiate their business by delivering a superior candidate experience. Technology is instrumental in making this possible, and allows companies to offer enhanced recruitment services, which also serve to strengthen communications and promote transparency. These include candidate portals, which allow candidates an element of self service, giving them visibility and input into the recruitment process. By automating the communication system, candidates will benefit, by being kept informed throughout the application process, be alerted to new opportunities and even share these opportunities among their peers. They can also log into your career portal to keep their contact information and skills / CV up to date and confirm or rearrange interviews. By utilising these tools recruiters can continue to improve the candidate’s experience and lower administration costs.

The real consensus of opinion fell between the boundaries of ‘People buy off People’ and ‘Phone Technology’ which is still in regarded as one of the most ‘under-used’ technologies available. Whilst technology can significantly streamline and improve recruitment processes, it is NOT a substitute for the experience and knowledge of a professional recruiter: Recruitment skills are essential in order to identify, assess and nurture suitable candidates; the software will provide the support mechanism, but it cannot replace the experience, skill and judgement of a recruiter.

Above all, recruiters must make their technology solutions work hard. They are a fantastic business management information tool that can be used to constantly monitor the success of your campaigns, consultants and placements. By automating all reporting systems through the software to analyse KPI’s, training needs, bottlenecks, cost per hire, time to hire etc,  managers can make informed decisions that will help to shape the future effectiveness of your recruitment…

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