Is Your HR Platform Missing the Mark in Helping Recruit Top Talent?

The hiring process can be a costly, time-consuming endeavor. Recruiters report that the cost of onboarding a new recruit from the recruitment process to placement is at an all-time high. Completing the search for new talent can take just over 2 months, depending on the level of the job.

New recruiting software has become available to help save time and money during the talent acquisition process. However, the software may not be all it has been promised to be. It doesn’t fully automate the process, which may lead to new issues for recruiters.

Before investing in recruiting software, companies should consider the pros and cons of using an HR platform for recruiting. It’s also critical to remember why the human touch is still necessary for a successful recruitment process.

What are the benefits of recruitment software?

Recruiting software that performs well helps HR teams stay organized, especially within a high-volume hiring process. The software is also designed to keep track of candidates during the entire hiring process, allowing HR professionals to maintain communication with potential employees throughout the process.

Using software to manage basic recruiting tasks has been a proven strategy. Software is evolving to handle more back-end tasks in addition to front-end recruiting. These aspects make recruiting platforms a core component of the search for new talent.

HR recruiting software is most beneficial when it’s integrated with existing, standalone recruiting platforms or applicant tracking systems. That’s according to Bruce Martin, the global talent acquisition director at Emburse (an expense management company with 1,000 employees).

Some staffing and recruiting firms have turned to artificial intelligence assistants to help review, score, and identify which candidates are best for specific positions. These AI programs allow HR pros to customize their search based on multiple criteria.

The HR associate enters parameters such as skills, experience, and employment type, and the software uses metrics such as job title similarity, skill strength, and profile matching to rank candidates based on compatibility.

The resume aggregator incorporated in the AI software makes posting requisitions a simple process, while technical assessment tools integrate with all assessment platforms.

Recruiting software with end-to-end solutions saves time

An additional benefit to selecting recruiting software that provides end-to-end solutions to recruiting issues is it saves time. Most recruiters, especially tech company recruiters, must review hundreds of resumes daily.

Weeding through all those resumes can take away hours of the recruiter’s day. That time could be better spent on other tasks, which is why AI software matching is a beneficial aspect of HR recruitment software.

Good recruiting software also handles communication with potential candidates. The software can schedule interviews and keep both recruiters and candidates apprised of progress. The use of AI software can help businesses avoid hidden costs of the hiring process by identifying top-tier candidates from within any talent pool.

What are the drawbacks of recruitment software?

The biggest challenge of automated recruitment software is its integration with other systems. Sometimes the recruitment software won’t integrate with a company’s own human resource information system (HRIS).

The lack of integration can cause headaches with employee onboarding and other processes. However, it means that the automated recruiting software can’t be relied on for the entire hiring process.

Recruiting and onboarding new talent has always been a human-centered process. If a company attempts to automate too much of the hiring process, it can make the company seem cold or aloof.

A company that seems too cold can be a turn-off for top talent. Technology has helped to streamline the hiring process. However, there is still a need for the human part of human resources.

Technology has helped to streamline the hiring process. However, there is still a need for the human part of human resources.

The software doesn’t take away the need for the interview process. It also doesn’t eliminate the need for HR to vet their candidates against company culture or needed skills. A candidate may seem perfect from an AI software standpoint but actually not fit into the company at all.

While automated recruiting software is amazing HR technology, it can still make mistakes. For example, the software bases a portion of the selection process on keyword usage.

The software will choose candidates based on those keywords, which means candidates that are familiar with the technology can optimize their resumes around the keywords. The keyword bias can make recruiting a diverse workforce difficult, if not impossible.

The human element of the hiring process is still vital

Automated recruiting software helps to save time and money in the recruitment process, but it still isn’t entirely efficient. Since efficiency can be lacking, it’s crucial for HR professionals to remain in charge of the hiring process.

People need connection and contact. Automated processes can’t replace that element of the hiring process. Candidates feel better and more included when the human element of the hiring process is honored.

In the process of meeting and interviewing candidates, HR professionals get to know the candidates that are interested in the available positions. As they get to know their potential employees, HR pros often learn interesting facts about the candidates.

For example, one of them may play guitar in a punk band, and another may come from a large family who goes canoeing together every summer. This kind of information won’t be found on a traditional resume. That means the automated software won’t learn the information either.

Of course, the software can be programmed to measure for certain customized parameters, but the program still won’t understand the importance of the skills those hobbies have taught the candidate. That’s why there must be a human element in each interview process.

What are steps to improve the recruiting process?

To improve the recruiting process, HR professionals should remove all references to personal details. They should do this before sharing the resumes with hiring managers.

For example, names, and any other identifiers, will be eliminated from the resumes that are shared with hiring managers. Removing these details helps to ensure that recruiters focus on the details that pertain to the job and company culture.

When choosing recruiting software, recruiters should find programs that override filters and allow them to write and manage the advertisements for available jobs.

While it requires additional time and effort, HR personnel should put eyes on every candidate’s resume. That will help them to determine which ones merit further consideration and which ones are not going to fit with the company. This allows hiring personnel to ensure that no one was overlooked because they didn’t use the keywords that the software recognized.

Recruiting software assists HR with the hiring process

Automated recruiting software has its place. However, there are still some issues that need to be addressed before HR departments should fully rely on an automated recruiting process.

The software can help narrow the candidate pool based on keywords that are programmed into the software. Candidates who are familiar with the technology and the keywords that it looks for will have an advantage over those who don’t use optimized keywords on their resumes.

The human element is irreplaceable in the hiring process. People notice things that automated software can miss.

For example, unless specifically programmed to do so, the software won’t catch information regarding hobbies or other extracurriculars that humans will find interesting. Instead, the software will key in on elements that are specific to job skills or technical aspects rather than picking up on things that make a person fit into a diverse company culture.