Benefits of Automating Candidate Selection

Top Benefits of Automating the Recruitment Process 

Automation can offer several benefits to recruitment teams when selecting candidates. Armed with cutting-edge tools that are powered by AI and machine learning, recruiters can eliminate inefficiencies, mitigate bias, and connect with top-level talent in the industry. 

Automated recruiting allows hirers to gain information about a broader range of candidates. In a survey of talent acquisition professionals, 75% of respondents shared that technology will play a central role in their company’s hiring process. 

Let’s look at the top benefits of investing in recruiting automation technology. 

Boosts Productivity 

Automation can empower recruiting teams to work more efficiently, make critical decisions quickly, and avoid manual tasks. 

For instance, automating the manual candidate screening process can make more time for other priority tasks, especially in the case of volume hiring. 

Similarly, automated interview scheduling can drastically reduce the time consumed in setting up meetings with potential candidates. 

Improves the Quality of Hire 

Automating candidate selection allows recruiters to assess a candidate’s cognitive ability, growth mindset, and problem-solving ability among others. This fast-forwards the right-fit candidates through the recruitment process.

Predictive hiring is a data-driven recruitment solution that allows recruiters to identify candidates from talent pools that are most likely to be high-performing. 

Thus, companies having to review hundreds of candidates each month can hugely benefit from automation and improve the quality of their hires. 

Supports Diversity Initiatives 

Most talent acquisition leaders find it challenging to connect with and hire diverse talent. By leveraging automation and supporting technologies, companies can get rid of this bias and optimize their candidate qualification process.

For instance, tools like Joonko - a diversity recruiting platform with a candidate pool of more than 100k job seekers from underrepresented sectors - directly connect with a company’s tracking system (ATS) to ‘float’ minority candidates, racial, ethnic, and gender minorities. The AI-powered platform helps companies achieve their DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) goals. 

Today, only 20% of firms are leveraging automation to support their diversity initiatives. As businesses increasingly invest in recruiting automation we can be assured of a fair hiring process. 

Boosts Candidate Experience 

Research shared by IBM revealed that a positive recruiting experience makes candidates 38% more likely to accept a job offer. 

Hence, a great candidate's experience hugely determines their willingness to join the firm. Automation allows recruiters to build strong relationships with candidates and ensures quick response times. 

6 Ways Recruiters Can Employ Automation in the Hiring Process 

Recruiting teams can use automation at various stages in the hiring process. Here’s how recruitment automation is helping talent acquisition professionals streamline several aspects of the recruiting workflow.  

Resume Screening 

On average, a corporate job posting attracts over 250 resumes of which up to 88% turn out to be unqualified. In other words, the recruiting team needs to sort a sea of resumes to pick a few candidates. 

No wonder, screening candidates and resumes is a huge time drag on the recruitment process. 

Source

Automation can solve this problem and speed up the hiring process. The technology can be applied to any area of recruiting where distinct inputs and outputs occur, namely screening, sourcing, and assessments.

AI for recruiting is an emerging HR tech category that reduces time-consuming administrative tasks. Most resume screening tools use AI to learn about historical hiring decisions and improve the quality of hires.

Here’s how you can leverage resume screening platforms. 

• Research 

There is a sea of resume-screening tools available today. So, choosing the one that fits your needs may not be an easy task.

Learn about their features and choose a package that doesn’t require you to overpay for extra features. In fact, most of these resume-screening tools are excited to acquire new customers and are willing to work with specific budgets or even offer an extended trial period at a prorated cost or free. Ask for a trial period to know more about their features and assess whether or not the tools meet your expectations.

Intelligent resume screeners can contextually assess a candidate’s experience, skills, and expertise based on their resume and point out the most qualified applicants. 

• Work with the Service Provider 

Working with complex tech-driven tools can be overwhelming to new users. Hence, most firms offering resume screening tools create an implementation plan and offer complete onboarding. Some vendors also offer useful guides. 

Make sure you work with the vendor in the initial stages to help your team understand how the tool can be best used. 

• Track the Metrics

Remember to review whether or not the resume screening tool has improved recruiting efficiency. For instance, you may want to review if it has reduced the time to hire. 

Applicant Tracking 

AI-powered intelligent software is designed to integrate with an ATS to learn about the job requirement and find the most qualified candidates based on previous hiring decisions. 

An applicant tracking system helps recruiters collect and track the candidates through the process. This allows teams to easily organize and access details on which stage a candidate is in. 

Here are a few effective ways in which you can leverage automated applicant tracking. 

• Manage Your Talent Acquisition Process

Use intelligent ATS to set up and manage your recruitment lifecycle. These platforms are loaded with features to source candidates from multiple job boards, convert resumes into smart cards for filtering, save time in interview scheduling with automation, and produce rich reports.

• Track the Process 

ATS allows recruiters to track where the candidates came across a job posting. For instance, did they find the posting on the company website, social media, or from another source? 

Knowing this will help you focus your recruiting efforts on areas where you’ve had the most success. 

• Remember: ATS Doesn’t Replace the Human Touch 

Though automation is key to improving process efficiency, it should take the human touch of the hiring equation. These systems are designed to boost hiring efficiency; however, it’s wise not to take all the results at face value. 

Also, be aware of the potential signs that candidates are trying to hide some relevant information. Ask for adequate references and details/documents of the candidate’s employment history, responsibilities, and salaries to make an informed decision. 

Interview Scheduling

Scheduling interviews often involve finding times that work for candidates and interviewers, resulting in multiple back-and-forth emails. In a nationwide recruiter survey, 67% of the respondents shared that it takes them between 30 minutes and 2 hours to schedule one interview.

Automated interview scheduling software allows candidates to easily schedule an interview based on the recruiters' availability. They collect the available data like the date and time slot available and offer candidates several options. 

Statistics show that interview scheduling software can reduce the time spent on this task by 90%. Here's how you can optimize your interview scheduling process. 

• Invest in a Robust Platform 

Not all tools used by recruiters are well-developed or integrated with the hiring team calendars. Make sure you opt for an all-in-one interview management solution for managing different interview projects and improving communication efficiency. 

The platform you opt for should tick the following features. 

• Easy integration with Outlook and Google Calendar

• Allow generating bulk interview time slots

• Candidate self-scheduling options

• Automated and personalize messaging 

• Automated evaluation forms 

• Keep Multiple Message Templates Ready 

Use tools, such as Mail Merge or other email platforms to handle the messages from candidates. Have multiple email templates in place to ensure consistent messaging and save time. 

• Allow Stakeholders to Manage the Rescheduling 

Every interview event comes with the risk of personal conflicts or unexpected events. Hence, it is wise to give the stakeholders (either the candidates or the interviewers) the ‘editor’ permission. 

Social Recruiting 

Social media is increasingly becoming the hub for sourcing qualified candidates. In fact, social professional networks are the number one source of quality hires, followed by Internet job boards and employee referrals. 

Here are a few quick tools that can help you manage various aspects of social recruiting. 

• Tools for Managing Your Social Calendar 

Engaging potential candidates on social media is critical. However, there’s no right way to do it. However, you can find a middle ground by counting on such tools to automate social media publishing. 

These tools also provide metrics of engagement, pointing to the posts that deliver the greatest value. 

• Candidate Relationship Management Tools 

CRM tools allow recruiters to feed social data into the system automatically. They also enable a smooth transition between social interactions on mobile devices and the application process.

• Social Media Solutions 

Today, enterprise firms and SMBs are using various tools for job distribution on social channels like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The tool also offers analytics and ATS integration. 

Candidate Nurturing 

70% of the global workforce comprises passive talent who aren’t actively jobbing. Yet, nearly 90% of the active and passive cohorts are open to new opportunities. 

Also, 81% of job seekers say that receiving continuous communication updates from potential employers will greatly improve their overall experience. 

All these statistics point to the significance of nurturing candidates through the hiring process using targeted and personalized messaging.

Here’s how you can use automation to manage the extensive candidate nurturing process. 

• Count on Email Marketing

Emails are a critical aspect of candidate nurturing. Create custom workflows and automate emails. These tools also help in personalizing the email campaign.

• Create Nurture Campaigns

Automated candidate management tools automate and allow targeted email flow which ensures that candidates are engaged and do not lose interest in the job position. 

• Host Industry Events

Event marketing is a highly effective candidate nurturing tactic. It not only promotes your employer brand but also allows you to know more about the candidates. 

To simplify the entire virtual event planning process such tools offer live streaming, virtual networking, registration, hosting, live chat, and much more. 

Background Checks

The most qualified candidates need to be verified through background checks. This aspect of the hiring process can be automated too! 

Tools that are based on name-matching technology, automated candidate research, and false hit removal can improve your team’s background-checking efforts. Background check automation tools that search for red flags and speed up the process of hiring the best candidate for the job.

Finally, if you are using an ATS, consider working with a background check provider that integrates with the existing platform. This will speed up the process and reduce turnaround times. 

A background-checking platform that integrates with your ATS will 

• Launch background checks using the existing workflow

• Eliminate manual candidate forms and reduce errors

• Ensure a secure connection to the screening results

• Offer real-time notifications and status updates

• Share relevant information and results with the candidate

Summing Up

Recruitment automation has transformed how talent acquisition teams go about the hiring process. The technology frees them from manual and time-consuming tasks, thus allowing them to focus their efforts on knowing and engaging candidates. In a job market where it’s tough to find and engage top talent, automation can help recruiters create a more efficient and pleasant experience for everyone involved. We are sure this guide will inspire you to find creative ways to apply automation to your hiring process.

Authors bio

Gaurav Belani is senior SEO and content marketing analyst at Growfusely, a content marketing agency specializing in content and data-driven SEO. He has more than seven years of experience in digital marketing. He likes sharing his knowledge in a wide range of domains ranging from marketing to human capital management and much more. His work is featured in authoritative HR and recruitment publications. Join him on Twitter at @belanigaurav.