Candidate experience is the talk of the town. HR professionals want to know: How can we relate to and show appreciation for our candidates? How can we ensure our core beliefs and hiring practices are aligned? And ultimately, how can we humanize the recruiting process?
For starters, the mundane and tedious tasks, never-ending group email chains, and clunky Excel spreadsheets need to go. Too many teams are using blunt instruments to make their hiring calls and manage their hiring processes. It is incredibly difficult to deliver the stellar candidate experience you are aiming for, especially if the recruiting tools are hurting, not helping, the hiring team.
With HR teams focusing on all aspects of the recruiting and hiring, technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can seem counter-intuitive when the goal is to humanize the process. However, AI and ML can actually keep the process more human by using automation to improve the workflow, give recruiters back time, and increase overall communication.
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The workflow of champions
An average worker spends 25 percent of their time looking for information and 40 percent are wasting their workday day answering emails, attending meetings, and completing administrative work. The proper hiring software can be a make or break for a better workflow in the HR department.
Tools like AI and ML can automate the parts of hiring that humans don’t necessarily need to be involved in, such as the initial screening, filtering applications, sending emails, and updating information along the way. Using these tools can create better overall processes and focus the hiring efforts on the candidate experience rather than repetitive operational tasks. Better workflow leads to better candidate experience, and ultimately, better hires.
More time means more human ‘umph’
With automation and other tools, HR departments are getting back time and the capacity to focus on things they want and need to do, especially jobs that need the special human touch. Hiring software can make sure HR departments no longer have to stretch themselves thin to answer their overflowing inbox or sift through resume after resume for the unicorn candidate. Instead, the improved workflow gives hiring teams back precious time to focus on the other things that need some special attention.
Personally contacting candidates, creating new hiring campaigns that resonate with potential talent, and leading interviews that display what the company is all about are only a few examples of things that could use the extra-human ‘umph’ and ultimately humanize the hiring process entirely.
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Communication is key
Hiring takes collaboration, discussion, and time. On top of that, when deciding who and when to hire, everyone needs to be in the know, and in real-time. Sending countless emails, messages, and other means of communication can be confusing and things can and will get lost in the clutter. Using an applicant tracking system (ATS) allows hiring managers and teams to swap notes on candidates and keep decisions organized, clear, and recorded through every stage of the hiring process.
With automation taking care of filtering applications and other necessary recruiting processes, more time and effort can be spent on talking to candidates and team discussion for the best fit. It is key that the hiring team is on the same page, and eliminating the overwhelming communication clutter keeps the conversations transparent and makes the decisions easier.
At the end of the day, the best decisions are made when people aren’t stressed and bogged down by required processes or paperwork. When the workflow is on point, it is way easier to make those difficult hiring decisions. Hiring software can automate the necessary but important steps along the way to determining why a candidate is the best of the best.
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