In an era where digital technology is constantly revolutionizing the way companies work, the digitalization of recruitment is becoming a major concern for HR teams.
Even if many organizations are still cautious about digitizing their recruitment processes, it is no longer necessary to demonstrate that this offers many benefits not only for recruiters, but also for candidates.
Without concealing its possible risks, this page presents an explanation of the process of the digitalization of recruitment as well as the main steps that must be followed to successfully implement it within a company.
What is recruitment digitalization?
Digitalization in recruitment can make you think of several things. However, above all, it should be known that this is a practice that has emerged proportionally with the digital transformation observed within companies.
Concretely, it refers to the process by which companies dematerialize and automate the key stages of a recruitment campaign for new employees, using specialized digital tools. These steps include:
- Ad delivery;
- Sorting applications;
- Sending rejection or acceptance emails, etc.
It must then be understood that opting for digitalized recruitment can be beneficial on several levels for a company.
Recruitment digitalization has become even more widespread with the health crisis due to COVID-19.
Why is recruitment digitalization so important?
More and more companies are now turning to the digitalization of recruitment because of the many advantages it presents.
Benefit from significant exposure
The main advantage of digitalizing recruitment is that it allows recruiters to find many relevant candidates in a short time. Indeed, the Internet is a global phenomenon, with more and more users using it every day.
As a result, recruiters easily have privileged access to a huge pool of potential candidates . Gone are the days when newspaper job postings and bulletin boards were used to advertise vacancies.
Today, platforms like LinkedIn have replaced job postings in the newspaper, and online job platforms have replaced bulletin boards. So just go to these platforms to find the right candidate.
Reduce long-term costs
Most organizations are opting for digitalization of recruitment because it is more affordable than traditional methods of finding candidates.
Indeed, in the traditional recruitment process, all the steps leading to hiring the ideal candidate can be costly. In the case of digitalized recruitment, on the other hand, costs are considerably reduced because several steps are simplified.
Improve recruiter productivity
One impact of digitalization on recruitment is that it allows employers to easily manage the different applications they receive. For example, they no longer need to manually filter resumes.
Many digital tools, relatively accessible, allow this task to be performed automatically. This gives the recruiter more time to implement the other aspects of their recruitment strategy, which inevitably makes them more efficient and productive.
Facilitate the recruitment process
Almost anyone can post a job online, as most dedicated publishing sites make the process clear, easy to understand, and user-friendly.
On the other hand, the process is also made very simple for the candidate, allowing interested individuals to apply quickly and without difficulty instead of sending CVs and written applications by mail.
This is one of the most important challenges of digitalized recruitment.
Post more dynamic job offers
Posting a job offer online or via social media platforms gives the recruiter the opportunity to be more creative in crafting their ad.
For example, they can create and attach a short video about the benefits of working for their company or share some employee opinions about the company. These reviews are a powerful tool used by companies to attract candidates, especially when they are positive.
In addition, the employers’ use of technology can speak volumes about the culture of their companies and help attract certain types of candidates.
Companies that opt for recruitment digitalization prove that they are not afraid to innovate and that they are open to new and interesting ways of doing things.
What are the risks of recruitment digitalization?
Despite all the many interesting advantages that companies can enjoy by digitizing processes as part of an original recruitment campaign, you still have to be careful. Indeed, the process includes certain risks that are important to note.
Data protection
Data protection is identified as the main risk that could be linked to the digitalization of recruitment processes within companies.
Being aware that their files contain both personal and sensitive information, it is normal for candidates to worry about their protection. Indeed, files can be hacked or recovered by malicious people.
A single mistake that violates data privacy can be detrimental not only to them, but also to businesses. The latter, according to the law and the GDPR, are obliged to guarantee data protection and can be sanctioned in case of failure.
Poor perception by candidates
It is no longer necessary to demonstrate that the essence of the mission of HR teams is the human. It is therefore important that they maintain direct and personalized relationships with each candidate, well before they are selected for the position to be filled.
Thus, some candidates, when they realize that a large part of the external recruitment process is digitalized, may have a poor perception of the importance that the company attaches to the human resources it employs.
Investment
It is now crucial to know that the digitalization of internal or external recruitment can require a rather significant initial investment.
Apart from the costs related to the adoption and implementation of the necessary new tools, it is also necessary to take into account those related to the training of the teams in charge of recruitment.
All this is therefore a risk that it is important to anticipate so as not to affect the company’s finances.
How to digitize your recruitment process?
The digitization of a recruitment process can be carried out in 4 steps.
Identification of the phases concerned
Although this step may seem too obvious to mention, it is important to emphasize that to successfully digitize a recruitment process, it is crucial to know exactly what to digitize.
To achieve this, it is necessary to divide the recruitment process into phases and then actions. Based on this division, the prioritization of digital needs becomes simpler.
In order to succeed in this exercise, it will be necessary to:
- Identify tasks that provide little value to the process, but are time-consuming;
- Identify tasks where the intervention of the recruiter is essential;
- Categorize these tasks according to whether their digitization is desired or not.
For example, it is possible to use different tools to digitize the first wave of CV sorting. Regarding the validation of said CV and the first contact with the candidate, on the other hand, the recruiter will have to come into play.
In short, a good digitalization of recruitment requires the right balance between human and digital.
The choice of digital tools to implement
The realization of a Benchmark of the solutions available on the market is a mandatory step in the recruitment digitalization process. It should also be noted that, the more precise its needs in terms of digitalization, the easier it is to find the appropriate tools.
The ideal formula for finding these tools boils down to:
- Identify needs precisely;
- Benchmark the tools available according to these needs;
- Observe precisely the functionalities offered by each tool.
It is also advisable to take into account the complements offered on these tools to make a choice.
Supporting teams in the face of change
Successful digitalization of recruitment also requires the adoption of good change management. In other words, the changes necessary for digitalization must be carried out one step after the other.
It is also very important to be able to adjust speed and adaptation time, because going digital offers better results when teams have the necessary time to take charge of the new tools.
In addition, always with the aim of having better results, it is recommended to involve the teams in the choice of digitalization of the recruitment process. In addition, it is very beneficial to communicate to the teams the progress of the digitalization project.
Setting specific objectives
A great advantage of digitalization is the opportunity offered to recruiters to collect objective data. Thus, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the digitalization of recruitment, it is necessary to establish precisely the main objective and key performance indicators.
It is crucial that each indicator is:
- Actionable;
- Reliable;
- Quantifiable;
- Simple;
- Controllable;
- Qualifyable.
In summary, to successfully achieve the digitalization of recruitment, it is important to know the tasks to be digitized, to choose the tools adapted to your needs, to find the right rhythm and to define precise objectives.
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FAQs
What is recruitment digitalization and what are its main steps?
The digitalization of recruitment is the process by which companies dematerialize and automate the key stages of a recruitment campaign using specialized digital tools. Key steps include:
- Ad serving
- Sorting applications
- Sending rejection or acceptance emails
To successfully digitize recruitment, it is first necessary to identify the phases concerned, choose the appropriate digital tools, support teams in the face of changes and establish specific objectives.
What are the benefits and risks of recruitment digitalization?
The digitalization of recruitment offers many advantages, including:
- An important exposure to a large pool of candidates
- Cost reduction
- Improved recruiter productivity
- Facilitating the recruitment process
- The ability to post more dynamic job offers
However, it also exposes to certain risks, such as the protection of personal data and negative perception by candidates. Good management of digitalization, by balancing human and digital, is essential to make the most of it.