Advancements in recruitment technology shouldn’t come at the expense of human interaction

The automation of recruiting and hiring has forever changed the way candidates apply and interview for jobs.

Advancements in recruitment technology have streamlined the process for employers to fill vacant positions, but has that come at the expense of human interaction?

Long gone are the days when recruiters only had their Rolodex, a file full of paper résumés and a phone to find their next hire. Next came email, applicant tracking systems (ATS), and job and résumé sites like Monster and CareerBuilder.

The recruitment storyline went something like this: A candidate applied to a job, a recruiter reviewed the résumé and, if there was interest, the candidate got a call from a recruiter. A human reaching out to another human to discuss a job opportunity.

How our brains are biologically wired for fake news

With the emergence of recruitment technology and software applications for finding résumés, ranking résumés, screening candidates, and choosing who to interview, employers need fewer recruiters to fill their jobs. Technology has dramatically boosted recruitment efficiencies.

But those recruitment efficiencies have come at a price to candidates. As recruitment technology replaces "live" recruiters, candidates are being required to provide a lot more information about themselves, beyond a résumé, before being considered for next steps.

Candidates also are experiencing a greater amount of "radio silence." Lonely, solitary, one-way investment of time and effort on the part of the candidate as echoed by Janet Tenzer and Jerome Laday, both N.J.-based recruiters and HR professionals with more than 20 years of experience.

They both know first-hand how impersonal the new technology can make the hiring experience.

New laws could change how job applicants negotiate salaries

Employers should take note as research published on HR.com found that nearly two-thirds of candidates believe interactions with company employees are the best way to get insight into what it will be like to work for a company. But it's hard to get those insights when technology is used to replace those interactions.

Today, America faces a talent crunch. The demand for top talent exceeds the number of qualified professionals to fill open positions. This provides leverage to candidates, who don't have to take the first job offer they receive if they aren't sold on the position or the employer.

Using artificial intelligence to find and select candidates

Many companies leverage artificial intelligence to identify candidates. This technology generates search strings to find matching résumés. Recruiters then simply select appropriate résumés and automated emails are sent out to candidates requesting their interest.

2017 promises to be a banner year for job seekers and companies

Employers also are adopting recruiting systems and software applications that automatically filter out, without any recruiter intervention, candidates lacking work experiences or certain qualifications. These screening systems save recruiters time in choosing which résumés to review.

As a result, candidates need to figure out how to "convince" the technology to short-list their résumés over all other résumés and give the screening system the responses that will advance them in the recruiting process.

Are virtual interactions frustrating job candidates?

Online job applications often require job applicants to respond to a series of multiple choice, yes/no or open-ended questions. An increasing number of companies also are asking candidates to record their responses to pre-set interview questions using their webcam on their PC or mobile device referred to as video interviewing or video capture.

Employers need to hire faster and smarter in 2017

While one-way video interviews conveniently allow candidates to record their answers to interview questions when they have time to do so, they lack a personal feel. Candidates don't make a human connection with the perspective employer until they have spent considerable time inputting information into a company's ATS.

Many companies now welcome candidates to check the status of the job application by logging into their ATS. This is a feature that most candidates find favorable. Knowing where you stand in a company's hiring process is convenient and does not depend on trying to reach the company's recruiter.

However, there are downsides when recruitment technology does not improve the hiring experience for candidates. For example, applicants who have undergone phone or in-person interviews can know they have been disqualified before hearing from a recruiter or receiving an official rejection letter from the employer.

A college graduate going through the hiring process for the first time shared how frustrating it can be to spend an hour completing an online job application, which included recording answers to several questions using his webcam, only to find out minutes later he was rejected. He asked, "How could they even had the time to listen to my answers let alone read my job application?"

Four job recruiting trends that defined 2016

At a time when talent is in demand, employers must navigate the delicate balance between managing a relationship with a prospective employee and conducting the hiring process in the most efficient way possible.

As much as technology makes recruiting operations greatly efficient, employers will need to ask some tough questions as they try to strike that delicate balance between efficiency and exceptional candidate experience.

For example, how much time can candidates, particularly employed candidates, be expected and willing to invest in what's essentially a one-way relationship?

Many candidates have shared their frustration, particularly those who are in their mid- or late career stages. Mr. Das, an experienced candidate who is seeking a management position, shared that "the standard across the board has been a combination of drone-like résumé fitting where you can tell there is little investment at the other end."

Dozens of Uber employees describe sexist, hostile work culture

Recruitment technology will continue to reshape (if not revolutionize) how employers hire and how candidates experience the hiring process. But as Mr. Das expressed in an email to me, "your recruiter at The WorkPlace Group was the first person — among over a dozen others — that had actually read my résumé, and got perspective on my skill set. The experience from there until we were done was nothing short of extraordinary."

The key takeaway is to use recruitment technology to enhance, rather than replace, human interaction with candidates.

How employers implement new and emerging recruitment technologies matter quite dramatically when it comes to attracting top talent. There is still a very real human element to human resources, and the best candidates will demand it.

Dr. Steven Lindner is the executive partner of The WorkPlace Group, a leading "think-tank" provider of talent acquisition and recruitment process outsourcing services helping employers find, screen, assess and onboard best talent.

For more DAILY VIEWS, The News' contributor network, click here.

Tags: daily views technology Send a Letter to the Editor Join the Conversation: facebook Tweet