Why Recruitment Automation Isn’t Scary at All?

Do you remember the latest update on your Facebook or Instagram feed? We bet you didn't like it at first. But, we also bet that by now, you are using the app as if nothing ever changed. And on top of it all, you probably don't even remember how the app used to look before the change.

This is a perfect example of how as human beings, we are all a little skeptical or scared when new things are put upon us, and we are forced to change the way we do stuff. Even though, when it comes to adopting new technologies, we've learned that they will keep changing, but never entirely got used to it.

The same analogy can be applied to your recruitment software and the way you recruit new talent. Though most of you probably struggled with the idea of adopting any recruitment software in the first place, after some time, you must have realized all the benefits that come with optimizing your recruitment process with the help of technology.

Now, more and more tools are adding automation elements to their solutions. And recruiters are hesitant to trust it. However, just like adoption with any other significant advancements, this one will further simplify your recruitment process and let you focus more on the strategic aspect of the job instead of spending a lot of your time performing repetitive tasks.

Since we discussed all the benefits of automating your recruitment in our last article, we realized we should also talk about why automation is safe to implement and why it will only improve your work instead of stealing it! Therefore, in this article, we'll discuss the two most common misconceptions related to "scary recruitment automation" and why you or your candidates shouldn't be afraid of automating your recruitment efforts.

Automation doesn't mean a zombie apocalypse

For some reason, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies are often interpreted as something terrible. As if such technology is there to overtake the world and will make humans completely disposable. It could be that the movie industry had a significant impact on how people perceive the new technologies. Still, we assure you that automation technology is nowhere close to overtaking the world when it comes to automating your recruitment.

A recent Future Advocacy study predicted that automation will impact 1 in 5 jobs, but this doesn't necessarily mean worse. What automation is trying to do is make our work more efficient and minimize the amount of tedious, repetitive tasks that need to be done but are wasting a lot of time. More specifically, thanks to automation, you can become more productive and improve the following elements of your job:

• Faster resume screening

• Improved applicant tracking

• More structured way of interview scheduling

• Better candidate nurturing

• More insightful and targeted social recruiting

• More rapid and reliable background checks

If you look closely at all these aspects of automation, you can see that the improved features only make recruiters more efficient at work by spending less time performing repetitive tasks. None of these possibilities entirely replace humans, and more importantly, they aren't involved in the decision-making process. So, no automation doesn't mean technology taking over our jobs – it just means it will make us better at doing the job we already have!

Automation doesn't make the hiring process less human

Even though different tools offer different ways to automate your hiring process, it would be wrong to say that they decrease the level of "humanity" in the recruitment process. These are a couple of reasons we are convinced that it is quite the contrary.

First of all, automation helps recruiters introduce more personalized communication with their candidates due to its possibility to pre-set relevant messages based on the candidate's role or skillset. Furthermore, the knowledge that the recruiter gained about the candidate in the previous step in the recruitment process (something that candidate said during an interview) can be used as a foundation for assigning different types of communication with the candidate. This way, recruiters can establish better relationships with candidates and improve candidate experience in each step of the recruitment process, since they can rely on the tool to perform interactions in a personalized manner.

Another thing to mention is the amount of time that automation allows you to save time which leaves more time for establishing a more human-centric hiring process. Even the possibility of sending automated messages to candidates will enable you to have more time to develop better relationships with them. It may sound redundant at first, but by ensuring that the messages that have to be sent are always received by your candidates, you can focus more on other aspects leading to these interactions. Like strategizing, creating specific communication flows, testing different ways of communicating with various candidates, or analyzing different communication channels and their success.

Ultimately, what automation gives you is the most valuable asset of today. And that is more time which makes you less burned out by the repetitive tasks and more focused on further developing your HR efforts.

Work together with your tool for the ultimate results

What makes automation so great is that it can drastically improve your hiring process if put in the right hands. We mean that automation is only a tool for a strategic mind to ease its recruitment efforts and not to entirely overtake the job of recruiting talent. Let's face it, recruitment has so many elements to it that it would be impossible to completely replace it with a machine. Therefore, there is really no reason to fear automation, and strategically and financially, it would be wise for companies to embrace the new technologies and make the most of them.