Whether you’re all for technology being at the fore of your business or if the thought of it makes you break out in a sweat, it WILL be part of your company in some way.
Candidate experience is no exception but whether automation will be a help or a hindrance is a risk you may want to take.
Our expert panel give their views on whether there is scope for automation when it comes to candidate experience.
Katrina Kibben
There’s such a thing as too much automation – things moving too quickly, a no coming too fast. I’m most excited for the HIC (human in command) automation that’s coming. The tools where they perform basic tasks with a human available for quality check so that we can make more time for the human element.
Katrina Kibben is the CEO and Principal Consultant at Three Ears Media.
Kevin Grossman
Automation can be a recruiter’s best friend, empowering them to invest more in real-time communications and feedback loops with future fit candidates, silver medalists and of course those they want to hire. However, if auto-screening applications is set to send immediate rejections to candidates, then that’s a fail. Also, if companies aren’t auditing their automated communication templates at least a couple of times a year for consistency and human connection, then they could be turning off even more candidates, those same ones who may not hear back from the same companies.
Kevin Grossman is President of Global Programs at The Talent Board.
Lori Sylvia
Make – automation can ensure every candidate receives a personalized email or text response after they join your talent network or apply for a job and especially if they don’t get selected to move forward – just doing that would put your company ahead of most others and help turn a candidate into a fan, not someone who’ll spread bad word of mouth because you left them in a black hole.
Break – automation not set up correctly could make your employer brand feel cold rather than helping you make a real “connection” with candidates – time to respond and time to connect human to human are what will give you the advantage in time to hire.
Lori Sylvia is the Founder and CEO of Rally Recruitment Marketing.
Manuel Heichlinger
Automation has the potential to transform candidate experience for the better- freeing up hiring managers’ and recruiters’ valuable time. Companies are increasingly experimenting with HR chatbots, online platforms, and AI systems to keep candidates more engaged and informed throughout the hiring process.
For example, Johnson & Johnson wanted candidates to see exactly where they were in the hiring process, any time of the day or night. So, they developed a “candidate experience platform” called Shine, which allows candidates to follow which stage their application is in- in real time.
The only downside to these automated solutions is that they can lack the personal touch that so many candidates value in the interactions they have with recruiters and hiring managers. This is why it is vital for these tools not to be used in isolation, but to support and assist traditional processes.
Manuel Heichlinger is LinkedIn’s Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition.
Jeanette Maister
Automation software can learn what aspects interest particular candidates and show content that will engage them. Using automation ensures maximum conversion of job seekers to applicants by nurturing and showcasing relevant content to candidates during each interaction. This is groundbreaking because it helps build the relationship between candidates and businesses.69% of executives believe diversity/inclusion is an important issue in recruiting. The content shown to different candidates plays a large part in promoting inclusion by showing diverse role models, which in turn can boost diversity hiring metrics and help create a more inclusive workforce.
Jeanette Maister, is Head of Americas at Oleeo (formerly WCN).
Josh Tolan
Automation can positively and negatively impact candidate experience. The key is to personalize the automated aspects of your candidate experience as much as possible. If you keep it personal and have well defined processes for using automation, it will not only lead to huge boosts in productivity, but you’ll also end up with a much smoother candidate experience.
Aida Fazylova
Technology and automation is only enhancing the candidate experience for better. With technology barriers in HR are finally being addressed, self-service interfaces like automation are being turned to as helpful solutions that align efforts and produce reliable outcomes. Any recruiting team can now deliver an individual experience at scale for a reasonable price.
If you’re properly automating the brute force elements of talent acquisition — Initial Candidate Engagement, Pre-Screening, and Interview Scheduling — you can focus on building relationships, clarifying context with hiring managers, scouring LinkedIn to build a proactive pipeline, and more.
Aida Fazylova, CEO and Founder, of XOR.ai.
Benjamin Gledhill
People comment that automation might make recruitment unhuman: in my opinion it will improve as less mistakes will be made that are usually down to human error.
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Benjamin Gledhill is the Head of Resourcing at Yodel.
Jill Shabelman
If you consider the ways automation has made our consumer experiences better, I think there are similar ways it can help the candidate experience. I’m excited for the possibilities of chat bots answering candidate questions, systems that allow candidates to see what stage they’re at in an interview process, and using robotics and process automation tools to relieve some of the administrative tasks that fall to recruiters. All of these things could give recruiters more time to have meaningful connections with candidates, which in the end is probably why we got into this profession to begin with!
Jill Shabelman is the Employer Brand & Marketing Manager at Deloitte Services LP.
Chris Murdock
If the automated interactions feel fake, it’ll fail. Candidates want real interactions and won’t tolerate chatbots.
Chris Murdock is Senior Partner and Co-Founder at IQTalent Partners.
