Technology Ideology
By Debbie Bolla
Executive Editor
While doing a deep dive into the tools that HR tech firms are offering to enhance social recruiting strategies for October’s cover story (see#HireMe), it made me think back to how I landed my first job in magazines. Remember those things in the newspaper called classified ads? That’s where I found it! I can recall my father telling me—a fresh-faced college grad—to check the Sunday paper. And I actually came across that fortuitous tear in one of my portfolios, with the job description circled in red pen. How endearing—and utterly archaic compared to the systems of record today.
If your organization is still “old-school” in its ways of hiring, you are going to be left behind—far behind. As Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
Not to worry, there are plenty of choices to pick from in a marketplace full of HR innovation. Today’s offerings are downright impressive. Social recruiting tools have come a long way from a few years ago when they started to sprout up, making hiring managers give social media sites a second look as a source of great talent. But it’s not something that should be taken lightly. CEO of Xceptional HR Jessica Miller-Merrell warns, “Companies can no longer afford to blindly experiment with social media for recruiting. They need a senior-level leader who can help plan, develop, and lead a comprehensive corporate recruiting strategy to be effective.”
Organizations that create a blueprint for social recruiting as a greater part of their talent acquisition strategy can reap the benefits of their online search. According to Jobvite’s annual 2013 Social Recruiting Survey, organizations using social recruiting are experiencing some impressive return on investment:
- 33 percent report improvement in time to hire
- 49 percent see better quality of candidate
- 43 percent found more candidates
- 32 percent experienced heightened quantity and quality of employee referrals.
With technology’s ability to offer automatic job postings, referral network mapping, predictive analytics, and search engine optimization, it’s no wonder such high levels of achievement are being experienced by companies with social recruiting programs.
What if that elusive candidate is not within a reasonable distance for an in-person interview? An all-too-common problem is solved through digital interviewing technology. The adoption of video is growing—Aberdeen Group reports 31 percent of organizations are leveraging the technology—as it becomes a mainstay in our digitally savvy lives. Sarah White, founder and CEO of Accelir, a strategy advisory firm reports, “In one hour on YouTube, more video is uploaded than a person can watch in a lifetime.”
Check out The Virtues of Video for how HR is bringing this practice into their hiring process while saving money, eliminating candidate biases, and increasing quality of hire.
And I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t point you in the direction of our2014 Annual Resource Guide. Looking to leverage expertise in contingent labor management? We got that covered. Wealth benefits? Check. Background screening? No problem.
The consortium spans 18 sectors of human resources services and more than
1,200 providers. This year we shine a special light on those providers that rate among our Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Rankings—a well-deserved recognition indeed.
