IT for recruitment has become more important than ever, particularly as modern recruitment is drastically different from that of even a few years ago. Recently, we have seen a significant shift in the hiring process, due to several contributing factors:

 

1. The Great Resignation – In the last three months of 2021, the number of employees moving jobs hit a high of 988,000 per month, an annual high. This mass migration has since been coined The Great Resignation. Younger employees are particularly likely to leave their jobs, with over half of 16-34 year olds reporting to have considered leaving their current positions. This shift has left recruiters with both more roles to fill, and a wider talent pool to choose from.

2. The rise of remote working – After the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic rise in remote and hybrid working. 59% of UK workers now prefer hybrid work, splitting their time between home and the office. Due to this increase in remote working, recruiters are now able to look further afield to find the right candidate for the role. As a result, technology will become a vital tool for both candidates and recruiters, and IT support for recruitment will become essential.

3. The increase of social media hiring – Technology is playing more of a role in the hiring process than ever before – with 82% of candidates now searching for jobs on mobile, 79% of job seekers using social media in their job searches and 73% of 18-34 year olds finding their most recent job through social media.

 

Your recruitment business needs to invest in the right tools and technologies in order to grow. Without being able to keep pace with these ever-evolving hiring trends, your recruitment agency will quickly be left behind. This has been recognised within the industry, with 49% of recruitment agencies wanting to invest more in technology in 2022.

However, Global Recruitment Insights and Data named digital transformation as one of the top ten challenges for recruitment companies in 2022. This highlights the need for expert assistance – in the form of IT support for recruitment.

Efficiency

As there are many administrative tasks within the recruitment process, it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to achieve everything you need to. With Microsoft Power BI, you can discover hidden insights within your recruitment data, and identify areas that can be optimised through automation. With Microsoft Automate, you can then build automated process and enhance workflows with AI. Automation is now being used across the recruitment industry to perform crucial tasks such as identifying candidates, screening CVs and carrying out initial applicant contacts. By automating these processes with Microsoft 365, you can speed up the initial stages of the recruitment process, allowing you to divert your attention to more pressing and complicated tasks.

To find out more about how Microsoft 365 can help you to tackle key challenges in recruitment, read our blog here.

 

What are the best IT tools for recruitment?

As the recruitment industry continues to develop, it is essential that you equip your technical toolbox with the tools and solutions for success.

These include:

Job Aggregators – Direct applicants account for 48% of all hires, meaning that job aggregators and job boards are an essential tool for recruitment, particularly at the beginning of the hiring process. Recruiters can post job listings, details and metrics that will help attract the right candidate to the open position. Many popular job boards allow applicants to filter by location, salary, levels of experience and role type – helping to quickly eliminate inappropriate candidates.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) – These software applications allow recruiters to structure and organise the essential recruitment data needed when hiring an applicant. ATS software allows recruiters to collect information, filter candidates and organise prospects based on certain specifications such as experience and skillsets.

Human Capital Management Software (HCM) – Human Capital Management is a set of practices relating to the management of resources and people. HCM software aids key processes, including personal administration, benefits administration and salary. As a result, HCM software can be used both to streamline the recruitment process and to assist Human Resources teams if the employee is later onboarded.

Recruitment CRMs – Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) software acts as a centralised hub from which you can monitor and manage the recruitment process. Your CRM offers you access to an extensive database, which allows you to build a network of candidates. You can then access and manage your applicants from one centralised platform, based on specific criteria you have set. Recruitment CRMs have a range of beneficial functionalities, including:

• Advanced workflows that facilitate key hiring processes including automated communication, background checks, pre-employment screening and interview scheduling
• Dashboards, analytics and weekly reports that allow you to measure your own performance, and that of candidates

Microsoft Teams – A study by LinkedIn has reported that 70% of talent professionals view virtual recruiting as the new standard. As a result, video interviewing platforms, like Microsoft Teams, are crucial to the recruitment process, allowing recruiters to communicate with candidates more flexibly. Teams also integrates with your Outlook calendar, making it easier for recruiters to assess availability and schedule convenient meetings.

To find out more about the key IT tools for effective recruitment, read our full blog here.

 

Data security in the recruitment industry

Due to the very nature of their role, recruiters handle troves of sensitive data every single day, from personal applicant details to salary information. The larger a recruiter’s contact list, the more valuable it will be to malicious actors. Cyber criminals can exploit stolen data for their own personal gains, holding it to ransom, using it for identity fraud or selling it on to a third party.

A data breach could have severe repercussions for recruiters, negatively affecting their reputation, resulting in financial damages and potentially even inciting legal consequences. As applicants trust recruiters to handle their sensitive information carefully, it is essential that recruitment agencies establish robust and effective cyber security measures to avoid a data breach.

 

How to secure data in the recruitment industry

As email is one of the most widely used communication tools in the recruitment sector, it is essential that you are able to operate securely when using it. As phishing is responsible for 90% of all data breaches, recruiters need to learn to identify and avoid phishing emails. This can be done by undergoing phishing awareness training, utilising phishing simulation software and improving the hygiene of your email security.

To further strengthen your recruitment business’ security, you can implement general security best practices, including:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• Data encryption in transit and at rest
• Endpoint protection
• Anti-virus software
• Disaster recovery strategies

As Blue Saffron offer fully managed security services, we can help you to strengthen your cyber security. With more than a decade of experience delivering intelligent security services, we truly understand how to anticipate and identify threats before they become problematic and protect your recruitment business against attacks.

 

How to enhance productivity in the recruitment industry with IT

As recruitment is such a fast-paced industry, maintaining productivity is key. Fortunately, there are several technology tools that can help to improve the efficiency of your recruitment operations and the productivity of your staff.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are key drivers of efficiency and productivity within the recruitment sector. You can now use AI-based ATS to analyse CVs for relevant key terms or qualifications, aiding initial candidate selection. This not only increases productivity but also helps to eliminate recruiter bias.

AI can also be used to identify candidates and carry out the initial stages of communication. With AI software you can analyse social media profiles on platforms like LinkedIn, to identify relevant candidates and target specific job applications towards them. You can then use an AI-driven chat function to provide automated answers to common questions about job descriptions or scheduling, allowing you to focus on tasks that require more deliberate, human input.

You can also use automation to carry out other key tasks, including:

• Segmenting and aggregating candidate information from lead capture forms
• Posting vacancies to job boards
• Searching across job boards
• Maintaining a centralised inbox of applicant responses
• Making reference requests
• Creating candidate records

 

How to optimise communication in the recruitment industry

As a recruiter, you need to maintain efficient, effective communication. 53% of applicants state that they don’t receive a response from employers until three months after they submit their application. This could have an extremely negative effect on brand reputation and is something that needs to be rectified.

Technology is essential to communication within the recruitment sector:

• 74% of candidates connect with companies via phone calls
• 73% of candidates connect with companies via email
• 24% of job seekers communicate with recruiters via text message
• 1 in 5 job seekers connect with businesses via social media

Investing in VoIP technology will aid the flexibility of your communications. As recruitment is unpredictable (you never know when a candidate might apply or an applicant might reach out), being readily available is a major benefit. VoIP solutions offer you increased mobility by integrating the features of your on-premises telephony equipment into your mobile device. With a solution like Microsoft Teams Phone, you can also integrate conferencing and instant messaging capabilities, unifying all your communication channels into one platform.

 

 

To discover more about how to channel the power of technology to overcome challenges and enhance opportunities in the recruitment industry, download our eBook, You’re Hired! IT in the Recruitment Sector, today.

The future of recruitment technology

The demand for recruiters is continuing to grow and, as such, the role will continue to evolve and develop. Here are some of our top predictions for the future of the recruitment industry and the role technology will play in it:

• Calculating business impact will become more important than tracking activity. While time-to- hire is currently the most tracked recruitment metric, as the use of Applicant Tracking Systems rises, you can spend more time measuring more impactful business metrics, such as quality of hire.
• Engaging passive candidates will become essential. Good recruiting is all about placing the right people in the right roles. Sometimes, this means reaching out to people who have not applied for a position. Technology tools and social media platforms, like LinkedIn, make it easier to identify passive candidates and bring them into the funnel.
• Data will play a significant role. Recruiters will begin to collate and analyse the data they collect to make impactful, data-driven decisions.
• Technology will not replace recruiters – it will assist them. Recruiters should not fear these rapid changes. The IT solutions mentioned will help to streamline their operations, reduce repetitive tasks and enhance efficiency. For instance, companies implementing asynchronous video interviews have managed to reduce a three-week screening process to 48 hours.

 

 

Perfect your recruitment IT with Blue Saffron

As a specialist Managed Service Provider for the recruitment sector, Blue Saffron is the ideal IT partner for your recruitment agency. With expansive knowledge of the industry and a wealth of experience, we can help to optimise your IT environment and implement bespoke technical solutions that will improve your operations and enhance your productivity.

Get in touch today to discover how our recruitment IT solutions could transform your business.