Recruitment in a new world: How technology is transforming it !

In a world where almost everything is going online , companies cannot afford to slip up and not join the e-recruitment bandwagon.  Talent acquisition and recruitment is slowly and surely taking different routes and technology is transforming the way it was done before. Obviously , one can’t replace the tried and tested traditional methods , but in a highly globalized environment where the companies are spread across the world , e-recruitment methods are surely giving a cost-effective and efficient way to reach out to prospective employees, screen candidates and pick up the right ones.

With most people having an account in one or the other social networking sites , it gives an easy access for companies to set up a page there , promote and brand themselves nicely and post about various company events and related news . It also gives them an opportunity to post updates about various openings that may crop up in different departments in different geographies or recruitment drives that they might be undertaking in the near future. According to statistics, there are over 845 million users who log into Facebook every month and close to 483 million users log in daily. Linkedin , the social networking website for people in professional occupations , also reported in early 2013 that it has an user base of over 200 million . These numbers clearly indicate how lucrative and easy it is for companies to have their pages up on these sites and reach out to such a large talent pool.  A recent trend which has been adopted by companies like Mahindra , an Indian multinational corporation ,  is that they have been putting up pictures and a short bio about the selected candidates who are going to join their General Management Cadre program this year on their Facebook page. Strategically , this is a nice way to build up loyalty in the incoming force and retain talent.

Moving on to the new wave of e-recruitment methodologies which are gaining momentum , what has also caught the eye is that the career pages in the company websites are also getting a complete makeover . Even though it had been there for a long time , but it is gaining seriousness as many people are taking this route now for applying directly to companies rather than just putting up their resumes on job sites and other recruitment firms.  It now provides a very convenient way to know about the company , job vacancies , job roles and descriptions  and to submit the resumes directly into the databases of companies.

• Vertical Search –  The vertical search feature lets one search up on a specific topic or area. So in case of any specific job role requirement , this comes handy. Websites like Indeed and SimplyHired provide vertical search options.
• Direct Search – This is like simply Gooogling up the requirements and browsing through the results that may be thrown up.
• Plain e-recruitment suites –  These are  tailormade softwares made by software firms which one can integrate with their content on the websites and other places on the web.
• Jobs portals– The tried and tested methodology is still among the most popular.
• Social Networks– The in thing and this is here to stay, as I have explained above.
• Online people databases–  With websites like LinkedIn wherein the professional details of a person are easily available , the companies now have a ready database of potential candidates.
• Referral programs– Over the past decade or so , this has gained much popularity, wherein an existing employee or anyone who sees a job posting on the web can recommend or refer someone else they know who might be appropriate for the job .
• Blogs – Most top companies have started their own blog pages which keeps getting updated with latest news and happenings , employee experiences. It also acts as a medium to let people know of any job openings and a provides a link through which they can apply.
• Career sections on company websites–  As explained above , almost every company has this today and is a very popular methodology for e-recruitment.

Parameters to judge success and effectiveness of e-recruitment:

• Cost per Hire
• Time to Fill
• Time between publishing of vacancies and invitation to first interviews
• Recruitment and administrative cost
• Competitive edge
• Speedy and accurate data collection
• Accurate reporting and forecasting
• Creation of a candidate pool (database)
• Standardisation and uniformity in recruitment process across all business units