The Pros and Cons of Recruitment Technology: Is It Right for Your Company?

Next-level Recruiting: The Key Benefits of Recruitment Technology

What is it that’s making recruitment technology such a hot topic? Well, from our experience we know that a smart solution, in the right hands, can provide a number of fantastic benefits for a business - supporting ROI growth as well as diversity.

• Reduced Bias: Debiasing talent acquisition is a fundamental part of what we do here at Applied. We believe that applicants always deserve a fair and transparent process when applying for a job - and by using technology to screen CVs and conduct initial interviews, recruitment technology can help create just that. With talent acquisition tools backed by AI, we can eliminate bias and ensure all candidates are evaluated fairly.
  
  
• Increased Efficiency: By automating repetitive tasks such as posting jobs, screening CVs and scheduling interviews, recruitment technology can transform the efficiency of the hiring process. This can free up time for HR professionals and hiring managers to focus on more strategic tasks such as building relationships with potential candidates, or working on a better social media presence to showcase their forward-thinking hiring solution!

• Improved Candidate Quality: Recruitment technology can also help to ensure that the right candidates are identified and that the hiring process is as effective as possible. With things like work-sample questions and numeric and cognitive assessments, recruiters and HR professionals can quickly identify candidates that are a good fit for the role based on their appropriate skills.

• Cost and Time Savings: Technology can help to reduce costs by automating so many tasks - and reducing the need to hire additional recruiters. Organisations can fill open positions quickly, and with highly talented individuals matched very well to the role. This makes onboarding a breeze, and retention rates skyrocket.

• Better Candidate Experience: Applied’s recruitment technology also focuses on providing a positive candidate experience. This is done through automating scheduling and communications, providing tangible feedback even when applicants are unsuccessful, and making the process more interactive overall.

• Continuous Improvements with Data Insights: Our technology is built on years of research and is always data-driven. This means companies can benefit from insights on how their recruitment process is working, helping them to identify improvement areas and make better-informed decisions.

‍

Testing limits: potential cons of recruitment technology

Like any new tech-based solution, there are some potential drawbacks. However, It's important to note that these can be mitigated to some degree by careful implementation, thorough testing, and a well-thought-out strategy when using recruitment technology. 

Consider these potential disadvantages to better understand whether your business should use recruitment technology as a part of the hiring process:

• Cost: Implementing and maintaining recruitment technology can be expensive, and may not be feasible for smaller companies. You can explore the Applied Platform at your own pace here to get a feel of how an automated software solution could work for you.

• Data Privacy: For some, there are concerns around how recruitment technology keeps candidate data safe. The Applied platform ensures full data privacy and security.

• Tech Dependence: Having new software introduces a new layer of complexity. For example, if the technology is down or not functioning correctly, it can cause delays and disruptions to the hiring process.

• Limited Human Interaction and Empathy: Recruitment technology naturally  reduces the amount of human interaction that takes place during the hiring process. This can make it more difficult for hiring managers to build relationships with potential candidates and to get a sense of their suitability for the role, particularly when it comes to matters such as company culture. Automated recruitment technology may also, in some areas, lack a personal touch. The Applied software tackles this by offering fully customisable email templates so that candidates can always be kept in the loop.

‍

Understanding whether recruitment technology is right for your company

When deciding if recruitment technology is a good fit for a company, there are several factors to consider - but above all, it’s important to first understand and assess your current process. Any data you can gather should help you in identifying  areas where recruitment technology could improve efficiency and effectiveness.

From there, you can start to analyse your recruitment needs: make a list of the positions that need to be filled, the number of open positions, and the overall hiring budget. This information can help to determine if recruitment technology will be cost-effective. At this stage, also consider the potential growing needs of your company in the future - can recruitment technology can be scaled to meet these requirements?

Resource is another key factor. Make sure you have considered the budget for implementing and maintaining the recruitment technology, as well as the required technical expertise (and potential training) needed for staff. Additionally, you should ensure any technology you do adopt you can be integrated with systems you already have.

Other questions you can ask when deciding whether or not to implement a technology solution include:

• Do you have a plan to mitigate any data privacy and security risks?
• How will the technology impact candidate experience?
• Is the recruitment technology compliant with the laws and regulations that apply to the company and the industry in which it operates?

By keeping in mind all of the above factors, businesses can make a well-informed decision about whether recruitment technology is a good fit and start looking at how to implement it with minimal disruption to current processes.

‍

A quick guide to successfully implementing recruitment technology

Implementing any new technology is all about ensuring maximum benefits and minimal drawbacks. Below, we cover some tips from our experts here at Applied:

• Have a Clear Plan: Before implementing recruitment technology, outline your goals and objectives for doing so. Analyse the costs, the primary benefits of the technology, and create a timeline for its implementation.

• Test: Avoid rolling out the technology across the company too soon - instead, conduct thorough testing to ensure the tech meets the needs of the business. You can get a free demo of the Applied platform right here.

• Train Staff: Once the technology is implemented, it's important to provide training to the staff who will be using it. This training should focus on how to use the technology effectively, as well as on how to avoid silos and other potential drawbacks.
  
  
• Monitor and Evaluate: Continuously evaluating the performance of your new technology can include gathering feedback from staff, sending candidate experience surveys to applicants and of course monitoring the performance of newly hired individuals. Based on this feedback, the company can make any required adjustments to ensure ROI.

‍

Where is recruitment technology used today?

There are several examples of companies that have successfully implemented recruitment technology to improve their internal hiring process. Below we highlight some of our favourite case studies:

• The PSC: PSC’s key goals when implementing recruitment technology included increased efficiency with online applicant assessments and the removal of bias from current processes. The team at Applied encouraged the client to first let go of CVs as the initial part of the shortlisting process, instead assessing candidates based on skills and motivations. This, along with some other automated enhancements from the Applied technology, eventually led to an 80% reduction in shortlisting time and an increase in female candidates from 50% to 71%. Read the full PSC case study ->
  

• SSAFA Armed Forces Charity: SSAFA was looking for a way to improve diversity in recruitment while also keeping efficiency in mind. With the charity hiring across several roles at a time, monitoring data and reviewing CVs was becoming an overwhelming challenge. By integrating Applied’s software across the entire organisation, SSAFA found shortlisting time reduced by 66% thanks to the automated processes. Not only that, but their recruitment diversity skyrocketed, with double the amount of younger candidates applying and an increase in disabled applicants. Read the full SSAFA case study ->

More case studies from Applied

‍

Final thoughts

There’s no question that recruitment technology can provide a range of transformative benefits. From increased efficiency and reduced bias to cost savings, speed, and improved candidate experience, businesses really can transform the way they hire - and even improve retention rates. But, companies must ensure they are implementing these solutions the right way in order to reap the rewards. Planning, gathering data and monitoring performance are all important factors here. 

Of course, when deciding if recruitment technology is a good fit for a company, it's also key to remember the potential drawbacks. Do you have the ability to scale your business with the platform? Are you sure that candidates will benefit from a more automated process? Can’t you simply invest more into the solutions you have already? And, rather than simply comparing your current system to what other big players are using in your industry, be sure to consider your company’s own specific needs - every business is different, after all.

Luckily, Applied can make all of these uncertainties disappear by offering a free demo of our automated recruitment platform. Whether you’re considering a tech solution today or are just looking to the future of hiring for your company, a no-obligation tour of our platform will surely provide clarity on some of the benefits that automation and AI can bring to recruitment. 

‍

Applied is the all-in-one recruitment software purpose-built to reduce bias and reliably predict quality talent.

Start transforming your hiring now: book in a demo.