Newer talent acquisition industry professionals embrace technology and run with it, but old fashioned values and work ethic shouldn’t be sacrificed in the process. There doesn’t have to be a tradeoff, and there shouldn’t be.
Of course, new technology has a way of improving the processes that need it. That’s its whole point. But “old” doesn’t naturally mean “outdated.” Instead of throwing out the baby with the bathwater, maybe old and new should merge into something bigger and stronger.
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Talent Acquisition Pros Use Whatever Works Best
Sourcers use “whatever methods we can,” says SourceCon editor and blogger, Shannon Pritchett. “We will go through extreme measures to get in touch with someone.” Why, then, are so many from the up-and-coming recruiter generation shaking off what’s already known to work?
Pritchett says there’s a disparity now. Established recruiters, the older generation, are “more interested in candidate experience,” she says. And the younger generation is all about automating as much as possible.
Automation makes the job simpler and in many ways more results-oriented. But something as basic as picking up the phone is becoming a relic.
The Value of the Human Element Can’t be Overstated
Along with the growth of technology, there’s a growing interest in the human element in recruiting and whether it helps or harms the process. Biases are especially examined these days. Recruiting firms want to know how to spot them and work around them. But biases aren’t the only result of the human touch, and technology can’t always understand people.
No matter how technology changes the way that recruiters work, humans are still the ones being recruited. “Candidates often become commoditized and are forgotten in the process,” says MitchelLake Onsite recruiting consultant, Kenny Acosta. And maybe that’s because the industry is so results-oriented now. For every sourcing step, there’s a way to analyze it and extract data to make the step more efficient next time.
Great technology doesn’t take over, it gives recruiters freedom to use time wisely.
Technology Lets Recruiters Automate Judiciously
Maybe the best solution lies in the middle, and maybe this really is a natural shift in recruitment. A recent Pew Research Center study shows that over half of job seekers look for work and apply for jobs online. And most have used a mobile device for some part of the job seeking process. Technology has settled into ordinary life on both sides of the recruitment table. Recruiters might be less likely to pick up the phone or meet a candidate in person. But likewise, candidates also seem perfectly comfortable relying on technology.
Pritchett thinks that training might be the solution to the either/or mentality that exists between the human-centric approach of established recruiters and the younger generation’s embracing of tech. But then again, she admits that she might just be witnessing the next evolution in the industry.
The prevalence of tech advancements gives recruiters a choice. And that might ultimately make the human element even more important.
Tech can take over where it’s more effective, such as with talent analytics and candidate matching on the front end. And that could free up recruiters to polish and perfect the parts of the process where humans can’t be replaced. Technology really is about improvement, after all.
Learn more about how RealMatch technology makes recruiting better and more efficient.