The upheaval in the job market caused by the pandemic has necessitated the Human Resource (HR) department to take on a more strategic role in designing the workforce for the organization.
HR leaders have become strategic business partners and must promptly predict, plan for and address skill deficiencies in a supply-constrained environment. Hence, HR teams are looking beyond merely optimizing recruitment processes.
They are reinventing their talent acquisition strategies in alignment with changing employee expectations and enterprise goals. In this context, automation and talent analytics form the bedrock for creating and executing effective hiring strategies.
Here is a detailed note on what an automated talent acquisition strategy entails and how it benefits firms
What is an Automated Hiring Process?
An automated hire process leverages software tools and digital media to execute end-to-end recruitment cycles efficiently and effectively. Administrative tasks, repetitive workflows, and candidate communications are automated so talent acquisition teams can focus on strategic workforce planning and candidate engagement.
One of the chief characteristics of an automated recruitment process is that it leverages data analytics to make hiring decisions.
How is Technology Used in Talent Acquisition?
Per the 2022 PwC HR Tech Survey, 39% of 688 organizations surveyed cited recruiting and hiring as their biggest human capital challenge.
Automation technology addresses talent acquisition challenges in three main areas:
- Candidate Quality Assessment – Tech tools can help you assess the quality and depth of candidates, as well as their compatibility, motivations, and work styles.
- Recruitment Process Optimization – Automation enables a digital experience for candidates, which reduces the time and cost required in sourcing and hiring employees.
- Workforce Strategy and Planning – Analytics tools help design talent acquisition programs, assess their success, and evaluate the drivers for effective recruitment.
Use Cases: Talent Acquisition Automation
1. Talent Intelligence
Talent intelligence solutions use big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to analyze microdata from active and passive candidate pools and internal and external employees. The aim is to find resources that are a good fit for the organizational culture.
You can research labor market data to identify and fill skill gaps in your company, discover the most effective channels for hiring, and compare competitor benefits and compensation packages for creating effective hiring strategies.
2. Resume Screening
Conventionally, HR professionals manually sift through stacks of resumes for each open position, which is a time-consuming process. AI-based screening tools can help shortlist the profiles most relevant to the job description. They will also sort the shortlisted resumes by the parameters of your choice, like candidate experience or qualifications.
3. Application Tracking
HR executives use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to track the candidate lifecycle from application to selection. It is a centralized interface to store and manage job descriptions, resumes, supporting documents, interview feedback, test scores, and all related communication.
Moreover, self-service features allow qualified candidates to upload documents to the ATS and track their application status.
4. Interview Scheduling
Automation tools schedule interviews based on recruiter availability and workload. They also send out electronic invites to the candidates, eliminating the need for ad-hoc follow-ups. Additionally, video interviewing tools enable remote interviews, with an immediate recording of interviewer feedback. You can also configure interview scripts and checklists for ready reference.
5. Testing and Assessment
You can conduct multiple online pre-interview tests to screen candidates based on your recruitment strategy. These include tests for assessing role-specific hard skills, cognitive abilities, and personality traits. Test scores are automatically available to interviewers, and HR teams can understand new hire training needs based on these scores.
6. Reference Checking
Usually, HR executives spend hours on calls, manually verifying candidate references. Instead, you can use automated email communications to send feedback links to the work email IDs of the references. Candidates can then follow up for closure. This system allows you to create structured questionnaires and collect a higher volume of feedback while ensuring accuracy.
While standalone applications can automate parts of the hiring workflow, an HR Management System (HRMS) is capable of automating the entire candidate selection process. It enables seamless integration with post-recruitment automation systems and data analytics to analyze the end-to-end talent acquisition strategy.
Benefits of Automation In Talent Acquisition
According to a 2022 research report by the Josh Bersin Company, firms that leverage digital hiring solutions are two times more likely to acquire the right talent, and organizations that employ AI are four times more likely to boast a strong candidate pipeline.
Automation improves time management and reduces errors, ultimately leading to higher productivity.
1. Enhanced Employer Branding
An automated, online recruitment process signals a flexible and efficient work environment. Candidates save on traveling time, expenses, and the hassle of handling physical documentation.
Moreover, they get a transparent and real-time view of their application status, and test scores and offer details. Automated candidate surveys also help gather feedback about the hiring process and identify opportunities to improve candidate net promoter scores.
2. Decreased Cost and Time to Hire
Automation enables agile recruiting teams to synced with job market trends and flexible enough to cater to bottom-up skill requirements. Integration with job aggregators and social media ensures immediate dissemination of job postings.
Automated screening of resumes, online verification of documents, and online test assessments reduce the number of interview rounds required to assess the candidates’ all-round capabilities.
3. Accurate Skill Assessments
Test assessment scores enable accurate skill-set assessment of candidates. Blind screening processes, AI-driven job descriptions, and interview scripts help eliminate recruiter bias and ensure a diverse and competent workforce.
4. Improved New-Hire Retention
Predictive analytics models can analyze personality and psychometric test scores along with past retention data to indicate which candidates are likely to stay in your organization long-term. They can also inform you about the most critical components of your employee value proposition (EVP) that can attract top talent and increase stickiness without increasing costs.
5. Increased HR Productivity
With mundane, time-consuming recruitment tasks automated, HR teams can spend more time working as strategic talent developers and employer brand designers. They can also interact more with candidates and build deeper connections with new hires.
Final Words: Future of Automation in Talent Acquisition
The following trends will continue to gain strength in the talent acquisition automation landscape in the future:
Internal Mobility
HR practices will embrace agility and facilitate on-demand internal transfers. They will ensure that every system, including compensation, training, and performance management, is flexible to accommodate changing work roles.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I)
DE&I will take center stage, and enterprises will leverage people analytics to hire candidates from diverse talent pools to add to the company culture. DE&I will rise to be a prominent brand component for recruitment.
Automated Talent Pipelines
HR teams will increasingly leverage social media recruiting and text analytics to identify and engage with talent communities. Regular automated communications will help enterprises engage with potential candidates and build a robust talent pipeline.