After looking through research by Manpower on the use of technology, especially, virtual assistant technology to support the recruitment process we decided to pick out some our favourite salient points that really drive home everything that we believe about technology and its place in recruitment.
From clicking ads for jobs on social media to asking Siri, Cortana or Alexa for help, it’s clear that technology is constantly having an effect on the way in which candidates search for new roles.
In a survey with over 18,000 candidates between ages 18 and 65, Manpower found that they were all clear in their thoughts; technology has the potential to provide a better experience, but it is no substitute for human interaction.
Companies seeking to engage the right candidates need to combine high-tech with a high-touch approach.
‘Innovation’ seems to be the buzzword of the past decade, but it remains true that many employers still want to be innovative – they’re just not sure what specific challenges they’re trying to solve with new technology.
“technology will not add value to the candidate experience without creative human beings who can harness the new tools to solve problems, optimize their usage and ensure ROI.”
– Elizabeth Theodore, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Solutions, North America.
Candidates everywhere still consider human interaction and in-person interviews most important when it comes to the recruitment process and what they engage with.
When asked what technologies they preferred to use during the candidate experience, 26% selected high-touch, in-person interviews as their number one preference.
Even HR Early Tech Adopters agree. Human contact will always be an important part of the candidate experience.
Yet attracting and retaining the right talent should not be a battle between human and robot. With the right skills mix, personal interaction will augment rather than compete with technology.
In fact, with so much of the initial contact between candidates and employers becoming automated, the need for human interaction may only increase in importance.
There are valuable non-verbal cues that both employers and candidates benefit from when meeting in person, and while employers should find ways to convey company culture and employer brand with technology, there is no real substitute for seeing and feeling the connection (or the lack thereof) with a company and its culture.
Any technology that dehumanizes the candidate experience risks doing more harm than good. Technology is the conduit but delivering a personalised and tailored message is still key.
In reality, sophisticated technology has only made impersonal or non-targeted outreach more transparent.
New GDPR rules in Europe offer candidates the opportunity to exercise their rights to have human input in the hiring decision.
Personal contact can positively differentiate one employer from the next in an increasingly tech-driven candidate experience.
It’s strong message and one that has been baked into the Meet & Engage platform since it’s infancy.
Our chat event technology is tech to support the human beings who control the process giving recruiters the best way to develop more valuable connections with candidates.
Don’t use technology for technologies sake.
If you’d like to see how we can help you, get in touch with me at; nicola.sullivan@meetandengage.com
