Having worked in the recruitment industry for almost 20 years, I have seen the evolution of technology supporting the way employers hire, and how it exposes candidates to a wider network of opportunities. There is no doubt that the shift to global hiring and remote working would not be possible without this change.
However, from someone who is embedded in the world of HR technology and fortunate to be permanently employed in a job I love, it has been difficult to watch the process of applying for jobs through the eyes of my husband. After a long career of continuous permanent employment, my husband was fortunate to be able to take a year out to spend with the family. During this period, he took the opportunity to spend time with the children (something he had little time for in his previous role) and contemplated his future career.
Stepping back into the job hunting world was a shock to the system, to say the least. As a qualified accountant with a wealth of experience in blue chip global employers, the process should have been simple, but being ‘seen’ in the market was virtually impossible. After hundreds of applications without so much as a response, it was clear that technology had not helped but hindered the process of finding a suitable role.
Talking to my clients who are talent acquisition leaders and seeing it from the other side, it became apparent that frustration falls on both sides. With the evolution of generative AI, candidates can apply for hundreds of jobs at once. Major global brands like Siemens are recruiting for ‘candidate experience leaders’ to fix this exact issue.
So where has my husband found a job in the end? Through a recruitment agency. That personal, tailored approach has enabled him to get in front of the employer without the barrier of technology.
But we know the value technology can bring and has brought to all industries and departments, so the question is: how can technology become a facilitator and not a blocker in talent acquisition?
The illusion of opportunity
First, we need to address the problem with technology in recruitment as it stands. Job boards appear to provide an abundance of opportunity and, from a very high-level view, technology looks to be a big enabler. And that’s the root of the problem.
The use of technology is creating an illusion that the recruitment process is simple. In reality, talent acquisition teams are overwhelmed by applicants and spread thinly over the types of roles they need to recruit for, and candidates are disheartened by the radio silence they get back from lengthy applications.
Technology is also removing the human touch from the process, which is what this industry is centred on. Candidates use AI to apply for jobs but also stretched talent acquisition teams are using it to generate job specs. It’s a great tool to deliver content at speed, but the output is generic, lacking detail or any personalisation. Differentiation on both sides is then impossible.
It’s this ‘depersonalisation’ that’s having such a big impact. Applicants have to ‘keyword’ and style their CVs to meet the requirements of robots, often the first level of hiring, overlooking any real human qualities.
Through removing the human element in such a people-centric profession, and giving everyone a false sense of security that talent acquisition is simple, the overreliance on technology in our industry has clearly had detrimental effects. Balance is desperately needed.#
The power of relationships
The huge impact AI and technology has had across sectors, industries and departments is undeniably seismic. It’s revolutionised the way we operate and hugely improved so many aspects of work and personal lives. But while it can alleviate a lot of problems, it is not a wholesale replacement.
The power of human relationships still reigns supreme in an inherently relationship-driven industry. The age old saying ‘people buy from people’ translates in recruitment too: people work with people.
My husband, like many others, found his current job through an agency because the agency was able to not only understand his CV but understand him as a person and match him to a company that perfectly aligned. This subjective understanding of both the candidate and the company is something technology just hasn’t mastered yet.
For global hiring, agencies are essential. They have people on the ground who not only know the country and the culture subjectively, but also the individuals with qualities they can match to your organisation and your needs.
But of course, there are some drawbacks associated with agencies. Firstly, you do not have full control over your candidate experience, so you can’t ensure they are representing your brand. Secondly, the cost (average global recruitment fees can vary wildly but average at around 20% of a candidate’s annual salary). You could argue that the reduction in the time and resource needed to hire the best candidates justifies the cost, but either way there’s undeniably an extra cost that organisations then need to factor in.
Enter: technology.
Technology used the right way
Technology can and should be used by global organisations, but in the right way. Use tools that better improve your relationship with recruitment agencies, streamlines your agency usage and process, provides consistency across the supplier and candidate experience, and provides visibility of performance and spend of your agencies on a global scale.
These tools still provide the ease of releasing a job as you would on a job board, but instead of drowning in applications, you receive a handful of agency-vetted CVs within 24 hours. With agencies and technology including AI, you get the best of both worlds: jobs are filled within a week, the best candidate is selected, and costs are kept down through a completely transparent view of what agencies are charging through benchmarks across the globe.
The human side of recruitment should not be overlooked. Technology can and should be used to aid recruitment efforts, but it’s not a ‘catch all’ approach. If it’s inhibiting rather than enabling, it’s time to realign and use it for maximum impact.
