Online recruitment is now standard practice when hiring talent. Recruiting online is attractive because it’s more cost-effective and streamlined than traditional processes. It also extends the reach of any recruitment campaign to find more people than word-of-mouth or print advertising ever could.
Companies rightfully believe that they can get the best talent into positions faster for less outlay by leveraging the internet and social media. However, online recruitment is not without its unique challenges. This article outlines some common pitfalls and how to overcome them with the power of artificial intelligence.
Five of the Most Common Online Recruitment Challenges
Here is what recruiters frequently find difficult.
Building the Ideal Online Recruitment Strategy
Online recruitment is not a one-size-fits-all situation. It can be hard to navigate the vast online recruitment tools and platforms at your disposal. Assessing your recruitment needs and matching these to potential recruitment activities can be challenging.
Attracting the Right Talent
Posting your vacancy on a popular platform can result in record-breaking numbers of applicants. The ease of online recruitment works both ways, so while it’s easier for recruiters to advertise, it is also easier for jobseekers to apply for jobs. In reality, this often means many unsuitable applicants that need to be filtered at the time and expense of your organisation.
Ensuring a Positive Experience
Your recruitment process needs to run smoothly, otherwise it can hurt your organisation’s image and put off talented applicants. While online recruitment is generally easier to manage, applicants still expect good communication, respectful and timely responses, and a fair process.
Data Privacy and Security
You must handle applicant data correctly to ensure compliance with the relevant organisations and regulations. Data needs to be managed, stored and maintained correctly, and you must be transparent about how it will be used.
Adapting to Virtual Interviews
In-person interviews and virtual interviews are very different. Online interviews challenge all parties involved because many non-verbal communication cues are missing. This can make it harder to build rapport with interviewees. There can also be challenges in getting the right technology in place.
AI in Current Hiring Practices
Recruiters are increasingly embracing AI. It’s an opportunity to improve the recruitment process for all parties. It’s not just about automation and streamlining administrative tasks; it’s also about enhancing decision making to optimise matching applicants with roles.
The latest AI tools used in recruitment can:
- Screen resumes in a fraction of the time humans would take. AI-powered ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) use keyword searches to ensure that only candidates with the desired skills, experience or qualifications move forward.
- Enhance candidate matching by predicting candidate success and degree of cultural fit through sophisticated AI algorithms. These tools are increasingly accurate.
- Automate interview scheduling and basic communication with candidates to minimise the burden of recruitment administration.
- Reduce unconscious bias by evaluating candidates’ skills and experience over human first impressions.
As the technology continues to evolve, there will be more sophisticated AI tools, including virtual reality assessments, deeper data analytics, and further enhanced predictive capabilities. These advancements will continue to revolutionise recruiting processes and help businesses and organisations align hiring with their long-term strategic goals.
Tips to Overcome Online Recruitment Challenges with AI Tools
AI can be the answer to overcoming issues related to fielding vast numbers of applications, creating a streamlined yet successful recruitment process, and ensuring that all candidates have a positive experience. Here’s how to get it right.
1. Consider AI as an Enhancement Tool and Not a Replacement For a Human Touch
While AI is useful for streamlining and enhancing processes, don’t forget the importance of a human touch. Make sure there are humans to provide the empathy and personal connections that AI cannot match. This way, candidates receive the best possible combination of efficient hiring practices and a personal touch.
2. Be Prepared For Resistance to Change
Shifting to AI-powered recruitment practices can also represent a major cultural shift. It would not be surprising to receive some scepticism or resistance from members of your organisation. It’s important to acknowledge this and plan for it so that the adoption of AI is not slowed.
3. Avoid Technical Integration Problems
For a smooth and cost-effective transition to AI-powered recruiting, you need to ensure that you consider new tools’ compatibility with your existing systems.
4. Be Aware of Possible Algorithm Bias
While AI helps negate unconscious bias from humans, it is not without risk of bias itself. AI must be trained on diverse datasets to eliminate the risk of pre-existing human bias being perpetuated.
5. Partner with the Right Recruitment Agency
You need to make sure that you partner with forward-thinking people who understand the latest AI-powered recruitment tools and can harness them. The right agency will ensure your recruitment process is both efficient and effective.
A good agency can also help you communicate the effectiveness of AI-led hiring to skeptical colleagues, offer advice throughout the process, and minimise technical issues and risk of bias. Leading agencies will have adopted the very best, cutting-edge AI tools to improve recruitment processes in a variety of areas, including contract recruitment.
With the help of the best recruitment agencies, why not explore further how AI can enhance and streamline your current recruitment strategy?
|