Many people don’t think about how much risk is involved with hiring someone. Making a job offer involves putting a lot of trust in a person you don’t really know very well. Businesses lose thousands or even million dollars a year in hiring costs and turnover, which can make onboarding new employees a very expensive process.
Finding the right candidates is essential ”it helps to minimize costs while providing the company with important assets. Business leaders rely on talented employees to move their organizations forward and improve the bottom line. However, the job market is becoming more complex every day. The good news? HR managers don’t have to base their decisions solely on intuition anymore. New business tools and business resources emerge continually, and the human resources field is benefiting immensely from the latest technological innovations. Here are five ways technology is helping hiring managers make good hiring decisions.
1. Artificial Intelligence Is Expanding the Capabilities of HR Professionals
Just about every industry has been impacted by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), and HR is no exception. In hiring, artificial intelligence is expanding the capabilities of HR professionals by combing through and analyzing the candidate pool to come up with the most promising people, based on predetermined criteria. Other tools, like automated video interviews and chat programs that answer candidates’ questions, can further save time for everyone involved.
While there are concerns about bias still slipping into the process or AI passing over qualified candidates, there’s a lot of potential for hiring managers if the technology is leveraged properly.
2. Automation Makes Compliance Easier
Every HR professional has to be aware of the rules and regulations of hiring, and any slip-up can be a disaster. New tools are making compliance easier than ever, allowing HR departments to create digital, automated forms to confirm applicant acknowledgement, store related forms, and track applications throughout the process. This paper trail helps to ensure that each candidate receives the same documents and information.
3. The Hiring Cycle Is Shortening
A long hiring cycle is frustrating for businesses and candidates alike. Companies need to get new employees established as quickly as possible, and job-seekers typically need to find a position as quickly as possible. It makes a poor impression on job-seekers when it takes weeks to hear back about a position. In fact, 29 percent of candidates never even get confirmation that their application has been accepted.
Digital tools are making this process faster and easier overall and allowing for automation in some areas, like sending out emails to candidates. Big data systems help to process applications faster, find candidates and make hiring decisions more quickly. This technology speeds up the process and can save enterprises $300 billion every year.
4. Hiring Managers Have More Access to Job Candidate Info
Many experts think that the resume will soon be a thing of the past. With the internet, it’s so easy to find information ”both positive and negative. HR professionals can comb through candidate’s networks, social profiles, and get a better overall picture of the individual. Social recruiting also makes it easier to use referrals from employees to find the right fit. It’s much easier to find and reach out to promising candidates than ever before.
5. Managers Can Conduct Interviews More Efficiently
Thanks to new technology, scheduling interviews is simpler for both parties. Video interviews have become very popular, especially as a pre-screening technique or for out-of-town candidates. Some of these video interviews don’t even need to be seen by a human. One company, HireVue, uses an algorithm to assess video and audio cues for its clients to find promising candidates, a process that cuts down on time hiring managers spend pre-screening candidates.
Hiring is Getting Easier for HR Professionals, but What About Job-Seekers?
All these tools make the HR department’s job easier, but what about the candidates? Is technology making it harder to land a job? In the past, rapport often had a stronger role in hiring, and even someone without all the necessary skills could make it in the door. Today, those candidates might be weeded out before the HR manager even looks at an application.
It’s important to remember that today, skills are a job seeker’s most important asset. Technology makes hiring easier, but HR managers must still try to find the right fit and encourage diversity. Job-seekers must make an extra effort to stand out from the crowd, so the algorithms don’t dismiss them.
