Three trends in recruitment that will change with digitalization
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Digitalization is an inevitable aspect that will change the way staffing and recruitment companies will choose talent. Patrik Remann, one of the most influential people in HR worldwide, writes about the three biggest trends in recruitment that will change with digitalization.
“The HR field is changing and faces new technologies and new demands. Along with technological innovation and the overall rethinking of the global understanding of traditional systems, the job market is also transforming the broader picture.
According to a CareerBuilder survey, 72% of employers think that some roles within talent acquisition can be automated within the next ten years. In the recruiting market, as many as 50% of the firms are already using AI to source and screen candidates. But still, they lose an average of 14 hours a week on tasks that could be automated and digitalised. It seems likely that automation will continue to increase, though it should not replace the human element of recruitment.
1. AI and automation
Recruitment software is on the rise, and the pandemic has accelerated the use of digital tools. When companies rethink how they hire, AI and Automation are necessities for growth in a post-pandemic workplace. To screen a large talent pool, recruiters must adopt hiring technologies such as Automation and AI.
The benefits are increased hiring quality, time savings, and improvement at all pre-and post-hire talent acquisition stages. Companies will learn that they can achieve all this without losing critical human connections.
I have experienced that companies may fear that using AI as part of their screening and hiring process will make the company seem impersonal. But it is the opposite, and automation can offload the repetitive, process-driven tasks to a bot, allowing people to be more available and have more time to connect with the candidates.
An effective hiring process should include people from start to end. AI will not replace the recruiter’s role. Instead, intelligent automation can supplement that work by filtering through data quickly, transparently, more bias-free and without error.
AI and digitalization will free recruiters’ time to focus on the most important aspects of hiring, such as making personal connections with candidates. The candidate wants more updates on the process than before, and the recruiters with support from AI have time for that.
2. Bias and Diversity
Bias should not be present, but if it is somewhere, it is in the screening and hiring process. AI-driven tools, automation, and digitalization can help eliminate discrimination through data, objectivity, and predictive models.
Automation and AI-powered video interviews enable decision-makers to conduct the same video interview, with the same questions, with every candidate.
The same thing with reference checks will decrease bias and increase diversity when doing this digitally. The same thing applies here, the same questions, to every reference.
Screening with psychometrics tests both on personality and logical thinking will increase. Their use has been made more automated, with less human interaction, and some systems are even AI-powered, with instant feedback to the candidate, instead of human-led feedback of the test results.
3. Homeworking and Flexibility
As many people have been made to work from home, people have experienced a much better work/life balance, and they are highly likely to want to maintain this flexibility at least some of the time.
I expect candidates in the future to assume that (as long as it’s possible), roles come with the possibility of homeworking as a standard. Now that the technological infrastructure with video meetings, chats and digital workspaces is in place to support remote working for many employees, and the managers are used to support teams in different locations, employers may no longer need to come into the office.
I think we will see many employees worldwide working for companies with offices in entirely different cities or countries.”
