Any touchpoint along your hiring manager or candidate journey can provide you with an opportunity to improve efficiency and conversion. Leveraging recruitment technology in your overall strategy will help you get there.
When dealing with technology in staffing, you’ll find that there are differences between approach and execution. Technology is a tremendous boon to staffing companies, but the right approach and strategy makes all the difference.
Continue reading for a few fundamental tech expectations you’ll most likely encounter when it comes to staffing.
Assess Existing Workflows and Technology
No two staffing firms are alike when it comes to reaching different markets and maintaining different personas, business development strategies, and candidate flows. Given that a wide range of staffing agencies are out there, you must have a detailed understanding of how your specific agency processes their workflow.
When assessing your agency, consider everything from recruitment technology to touchpoints and milestones. Begin your assessment of existing workflows by thinking about the candidate’s journey from the moment they are introduced to your agency. You can start by asking yourself the following questions:
- What are the manual and automated touchpoints that candidates experience?
- Do these candidate journey milestones trigger any fields in your applicant tracking system (ATS) or customer relationship manager (CRM)?
- Are there any opportunities to use technology in automating the touchpoints handled by the recruiter?
- Are there any opportunities to leverage recruitment technology to create additional automated touchpoints to support and assist your recruiters in improving the connection to the candidate?
As you gather information, pay close attention to the top of the funnel, since there is greater potential for a candidate to experience a dead end in their journey here. Now that you’ve gone through the candidate journey, you’ll want to do the same for the hiring manager persona.
Pro tip: Although the capabilities of staffing tech are endless, you need to remember that technology cannot work miracles. Think about how technology improves the staffing world and how your agency can use tech to its advantage.
Review Connectivity Options
We’ve already covered how technology improves the staffing world but is your organization leveraging technology in the right ways? Do your existing technologies have the capabilities to create what you truly need?
When it comes to technology, there is no all-in-one solution or product. All integrations are not created equal. In fact, there are many connectivity options out there:
- Native API: This is available when the two software companies build the bridge in-house to connect their platforms to work in unison. This often allows for bi-directional sync and future customizations based on the needs of your organization.
- Custom API: This option requires a developer to assess the open API of two software products to build the connection from scratch based on the needs of the client. This connection will generally provide oneway sync, and any future changes would require more custom development to inform the two platforms on how to work with each other.
- Batch: This solution is generally a third software that acts as the liaison between the two software to route data on a per-call basis. As we continue to get further away from a Native API connection, there is less flexibility and more limits to the data that can be moved. Also, while there is a wide range of frequencies for which these calls can be made, the higher the frequency, the more it costs.
- If/Then: This option is great if you’re looking to move a minimal amount of simple data for a particular activity. Since it’s not very robust, there are massive limitations beyond a one-to-one transaction. Complex build-outs can be cumbersome and confusing.
- Manual: This option is wildly inefficient, has a high potential for inaccuracies, and is incredibly costly. It’s a great solution for running a test or for incredibly low volumes, but it’s not scalable for the organization’s future needs.
Pro tip: As you consider your options for recruitment technology and implementation, consider which solution will help you leverage useful technology to improve your candidate and hiring manager journeys.
You’ll also want to play as a fierce critic of the journey and think about which options will lead to a dead end. This will give you a better idea of how technology improves the staffing world and how your organization can begin to leverage different options.
On-board the Implementation Specialist
The details surrounding implementation will vary based on the type of implementation and how hands-on you will be throughout the process. Regardless of the specifics, one of the best things you can do to ensure success is to be as transparent as possible.
This means you must be open and honest about your organization’s workflow with all parties involved. One way to ease the overall process is by mapping out your organization’s workflow process from the very beginning. Doing so will help you transfer the knowledge quickly and easily.
As you begin the onboarding process, you should use this opportunity to gather feedback from your implementation specialist. Chances are, they have done a number of these in the past. They may have some insight from past implementations to help you improve your overall experience and conversion.
Pro tip: Set your project up for success by ensuring that all details have been discussed thoroughly.
Launch a Companywide Campaign
In any product launch, communication is key. When launching your companywide campaign, you’ll want to create elements that build buzz, drip manageable details regularly, and then invite everyone to a formal release. This will help you acquire buy-in over time while making the process easier for others to adopt when you officially go live.
While the fruits of your labor will more directly impact hiring managers and candidates, you’ll absolutely need to have enough buy-in from those at your organization for your campaign to be successful. As you craft this campaign, it’s important to keep in mind that your customer is your internal employees.
Pro tip: Ensure that all of your collateral accurately depicts how technology improves the staffing world. Show your audience that leveraging technology in staffing will make their lives easier and lead to financial benefits in the long run.
How can I effectively use technology in staffing?
When it comes to technology in staffing, you’ll want to ensure that your organization understands how technology improves the staffing world. As implementations become more complex and touchpoints become more dynamic, there will be a lot more to learn and understand.
If this is your first time managing technology in staffing, it can be beneficial to target a specific point in your candidates’ journey that is universal. Using this type of milestone will help you ensure that you gather the most accurate data and expectations.
Once you’ve mastered your first milestone, move on to the next touchpoint, and continue your mission to improve your candidate and hiring manager experience in the recruiting process.
