A general, albeit important piece of advice, and encouragement, is to explore what is out there digitally. Everything from screening, sourcing, to applicant tracking systems look different nowadays. For volume-hiring in particular, it has become a whole lot easier to manage large amounts of applications thanks to automated screening tools. For example, at Hubert we have automated the screening process through chat-based AI interviews, which speeds up the hiring process immensely.
There are digital tools for internal processes such as planning, strategizing, candidate management. For example, handling many candidates usually equals handling many questions, for that you can implement a virtual assistant that can answer the most common questions such as salary, work benefits, and more.
Then there are tools that support your communication with, and evaluation of, the candidates such as; video interviews, AI-driven screening tools, personality assessments. They all serve different purposes and not all are applicable to all hiring processes, so make sure to choose the ones that are applicable to your strategy.
We’re flooded with subconscious biases which makes it difficult to to keep a clear mind when choosing candidates. As we move towards a more progressive world, one way to stay ahead of competition as a recruiter is to do your best to minimize biases as much as possible. We’ll never be able to stay clear of them in total, but you can drastically reduce them by doing certain actions..
Reducing biases starts already in the job description. What words are you using? Are they inclusive? People of all gender identities are drawn to a variety of words, that’s why you have to choose them carefully to appeal to as many as possible. Avoid asking for pictures in resumes too, and if you conduct digital interviews, consider asking the candidates to keep their camera off during the first couple of interviews, that way you don’t read into people’s appearances and outfits.
The debate surrounding who’s the most biased; man or machine, the answer is man by a long, long way. So by conducting AI-driven interviews, you ensure a less biased hiring process.
The candidate experience and your employer brand go hand in hand, a candidate that has had a positive experience will benefit you for a long time. Let’s look at a few bulletpoints that can increase the experience’s standard:
Shorten the application process
Some would say that those who complete a lengthy application process have proved that they truly want the job. We beg to differ, a long application process is merely an annoyance. It will only result in fewer applications and thereby less candidates to choose from.
Be informative
Make sure to keep the candidates in the loop throughout the process, even if they don’t get the job, call them up and thank them for their time, or send a more detailed email (if they’ve gone through many interviews).
Give access to a digital timeline of the hiring process
Let them access your hiring process by keeping a digital timeline of where they’re at in the process. It’s an easy way of managing expectations and deflecting irritation.
Sometimes you have to go above and beyond to find the optimal candidate. This can entail attending conferences, events, and even niched webinars to find people with particular interests. You can also dive into Twitter, Github, and Reddit to find people with certain expertise. Or get help from your talentpool by implementing referral incentives. It’s a proven method to find good recruits. Learning how to conduct Boolean searches is also a neat way of quickly finding your way around the web. By learning how to utilize social media and the Internet you can more easily find the candidates you are searching for.
Do you feel like your hiring process is a bit all over the place? If so, take the time to dive into the process to find potential pain-points and find the means to alleviate them. For example, if your time-to-hire is too long, what is the cause of that? Is it because you don’t have an automated email function in place and have to write all candidates individually? Or is it because you’re manually screening every resume you receive?
Getting lost in the process is too easy, so write a checklist before you start a new process and follow it to the point. By doing so you never risk missing important steps and you’re always on top of the game. See what digital tools could help you in a certain process. Perhaps one job requires more extensive personal assessments than another? Look into the different options you have for personality tests and invest in the most suitable one.
We talk a lot about digital tools and it is because they are great assistants that can relieve pressure and unlock more hours for you. Once you’ve learned to work with them and they’re part of your daily worklife you’ll quickly realize how much you gain from them.
