Recruitment process automation refers to technology that manages recruitment tasks we used to do manually. Using automation in recruitment can keep the entire process more tidy and enjoyable for both employers and candidates alike.
Chances are, you've already experienced this without even realizing it. If you’ve applied for a job online and received an automatic email saying, "We’ve received your application!" that's recruitment automation software in action.
The question is, are we making the most of it? This article takes a closer look at automation within the recruitment process, and how we can leverage this form of HR technology to its full potential.
Ways to Automate the Recruiting Processes
Here are the top 17 recruitment processes that can and should be automated, starting from the initial steps of a standard hiring journey.
Job Description (JD) Creation
When it comes to creating job descriptions, automation has your back in two smart ways.
First, you can tap into ready-made templates to quickly and consistently generate JDs. These templates ensure a consistent format while allowing tailoring for specific roles.
Secondly, artificial intelligence (AI) can step in by recommending important keywords and phrases to boost job visibility. This approach is especially beneficial for teams handling numerous job openings at once or when recruiting for similar open positions over time.
Job Posting
With a simple click, your job listings go live on LinkedIn, Indeed, your company's website, and several other social and job board platforms.
You can also time your job ads to reach the widest and most relevant audience. For example, share a marketing job when social media is buzzing the most. This is a powerful functionality that allows HR teams to offload manual tasks to their HR Tech, thereby reducing the time, and therefore cost, of filling a vacancy.
Resume Screening
With automation screening tools, you can quickly shortlist candidates based on your chosen criteria.
For example, if you're looking for a software developer, automation can spot resumes with your specified keywords like "Java" or "Python." It even sorts them by relevance, so the best candidates are presented to you right at the top of your list.
Application Tracking
Automation in application tracking often takes the shape of an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). ATS systems keep all candidate data in one place, organize applications automatically, and keep their statuses current. This ensures you always know where each candidate is in the hiring process and have all their info in one spot.
This may sound as if an ATS is no more than a digital filing cabinet, but it is so much more. An ATS is also a formalized pipeline to keep track of candidates moving through your hiring process. By its nature, an ATS tells you where candidates get stuck or drop out of your applicant pool, thereby giving you insight into your candidate experience and possible attrition issues.
Because it captures each candidate’s details, skill sets, and any assessment data you may have collected, your ATS also becomes the custodian of an excellent talent pool. See it as a vending machine of warm leads — people who specifically expressed interest in working for your company that you can approach for future recruitment purposes.
Candidate Sourcing
Recruiting gets a whole lot easier when you use automation to source candidates. Automated sourcing tools scan job boards, social networks, and professional sites to find potential candidates. Some even offer helpful browser extensions to bring more quality candidates into your hiring system and keep their information fresh.
Candidate Communication
Automation, like what you’d find in candidate relationship management (CRM) tools, makes it easy to keep candidates in the loop. When someone applies, an HR chatbot guides them through the application process. As they progress, automated emails invite them to interviews and give timely updates.
Automation even handles rejections and offers smoothly. This means candidates always know what's happening, and you can run a positive, organized hiring process without sending each message by hand.
Interview Scheduling
Scheduling automation lets candidates pick interview slots that work for them, based on their availability, with time zone differences taken into account.
Rescheduling is made simple too. To ensure everyone is in sync, some recruitment automation software even lets you send out reminders and confirmations with all the crucial details—dates, times, locations, and any special instructions.
This saves hours in back-and-forth communication to get candidates, HR, and hiring managers in the same room at the same time.
Assessment and Testing
Recruitment automation lets you set up automated skills testing platforms that efficiently determine top talent.
These platforms can include coding tests, language proficiency exams, or other job-specific evaluations. It also takes care of scoring and ranking the test results. For example, it can instantly identify the top performers to help you focus on the most qualified candidates.
Background Checks
Background check automation steps in to communicate with the necessary authorities and gather the needed data, making the verification process much more efficient.
Various checks can be ordered via your ATS, provided you've integrated it. Once completed, these ATS background checks can be stored in your candidate database. For instance, if you're hiring a nurse, automation ensures their credentials are valid and records all results in one spot.
Reference Checking
Automated reference check simplifies the process by reaching out to references, gathering feedback, and summarizing it in reports.
For instance, if you're hiring a project manager, the recruitment automation tools quickly compile how previous supervisors rate their leadership skills, helping you make informed hiring decisions efficiently.
Interview Evaluation
Most high-quality video interview software includes a handy pre-screening automation feature to ensure consistency by providing all assessors with the same rating form, like a checklist for skills and qualifications.
After each interview, the system collects and combines their scores and feedback into a single report. This not only saves recruiters’ time but also guarantees a fair and square assessment process.
Offer Letters and Onboarding
Automation can streamline the often complex process of offering employment and onboarding new hires.
To begin, it can auto-generate offer letters using templates, so you don't have to create them from scratch for each new hire. Once an offer is accepted, it triggers onboarding tasks and forms. An example of this is using self-service onboarding tools, where new hires can complete paperwork, set up payments, and access company information online.
Candidate Feedback
Wondering if your interview process is confusing or if the onboarding paperwork is too lengthy? Automation can improve this process by being efficient and respectful.
Candidates may not always feel comfortable giving feedback in person. But with automation, you can send surveys at different stages of recruitment, allowing candidates to share their thoughts privately when they're ready.
The system then analyzes this feedback to pinpoint areas for improvement. This data-driven approach empowers your talent acquisition team to enhance the candidate experience and the entire recruitment process.
Reporting and Analytics
Automated reporting and analytics help you gather data about your hiring process - like how long it takes to hire and what it costs - and generate reports. It also builds dashboards to give you real-time updates on your candidate experience and hiring workflow.
With this level of automation, you can spot bottlenecks, fine-tune your approach, and make smart recruitment decisions.
Candidate Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM automation is a powerful tool on its own. It automates communication with potential candidates and nurtures these relationships. The software stores candidate profiles and sends updates and job alerts based on their preferences.
You can also send targeted emails to specific candidate groups to keep your talent pipeline active and engaged.
Candidate Rejection
Automation helps you craft personalized rejection emails with feedback options. Candidates who fall out of consideration receive a polite automated email, and their details are saved for future opportunities.
It's a practical and professional way to handle rejections while building a talent pool for future hiring opportunities.
Compliance and Documentation
Automation simplifies compliance and documentation tasks by keeping a watchful eye on hiring regulations throughout the recruitment workflow.
It scans applications, interviews, and records to ensure everything meets legal requirements. If any issues pop up, it sends alerts for human resources to handle. Plus, recruitment automation software can easily generate reports for audits.
These reports provide a clear history of the hiring process, showing that regulations were followed. This way, hiring managers and recruiters can save time while staying compliant and organized.
Benefits of Recruitment Process Automation
You’re here for the real perks of recruitment process automation, not a 5,000-word essay, so let's cut to the chase and talk about the core benefits of having automation in your recruitment process.
Accelerated Time-to-Fill
Ever felt like you spend ages on repetitive tasks?
You're not alone. Studies show HR people waste up to 10 hours a week on stuff like sending emails, rescheduling interviews, and updating candidate data. However, with automation on your side, you can reclaim that lost time, improve your time-to-hire metric, and redirect efforts toward the exciting and strategic facets of recruitment.
Reduce Cost-per-Hire
Let’s do the math!
The 2021 average annual wage in the U.S. is $58,000. So, one employee spending two hours daily on time-consuming tasks could cost your organization over $14,000 a year. If you have a team of 100, automation can save you over a million dollars annually.
Happier Candidates
For candidates, being left in the dark is far from enjoyable. As recruiters, whether you're waiting for a response or chasing silent candidates, it's a downer.
Automation, however, changes the game by personalizing outreach, keeping candidates informed with timely updates, friendly follow-up emails, and flexible interview scheduling.
It's the little things that demonstrate what your company is truly about. And if a candidate decides to ghost you, well, perhaps it's for the best, signaling they might not be the right fit after all.
Happier Employees
Unless your recruiting team secretly loves repetitive tasks, automation can make their day a whole lot better.
A survey of 773 automation users in the U.S. found that 89% were happier with their jobs, and 84% were more satisfied with their company thanks to automation. The same goes for digital forms—86% of employees prefer them over hard-copy paperwork.
Fewer “Oops!” Moments
Humans make mistakes. Typos, unconscious hiring bias, data entry errors, and compliance-related oversights — we’ve all been there. But with tech in play, we can expect fewer of these “oops” moments and more accurate insights into whether someone is the right candidate, resulting in an overall better quality of hires.
Recruitment Process Automation Best Practices
Humans aren’t perfect at managing data, but neither are recruitment automation tools when you use them in a sub-optimal way. So it's crucial to follow some rules and best practices to achieve the best results.
Be Strategic with Automation
Finding the right balance is key. Embrace automation for repetitive administrative tasks like screening candidates’ resumes and interview scheduling, but not for everything.
Leave strategic and relationship-focused aspects like candidate interviews and negotiations in the hands of your skilled HR team members. Some recruiting tasks click with automation, while others shine with a personal touch.
Prioritize Ethical Practices
Play by the rules. Make sure your recruitment automation technology respects privacy and fairness laws.
Ensure that your automation aligns with data privacy and anti-discrimination laws in your state and county. Be upfront with job seekers about how you use automation in the candidate screening process and decision-making. It's a win-win for fairness and trust.
Watch Over AI
Be careful when using AI for recruitment.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has made it clear: AI actions are your responsibility. Regularly assess your implemented machine learning to eliminate biases and ensure fair and diverse hiring outcomes.
Invest in Employee Training
Invest in training your hiring teams to use automation effectively. But remember, it's not always about using automation; it's also about when not to. Over-automation can lead to adverse outcomes, such as decreased candidate engagement and damage to your employer brand.
Choose the Right Vendor
Pick an automation partner wisely. Ensure that the vendor shares your values and approach to automation. A good partnership with a vendor who understands your needs can significantly enhance the success of your automation efforts.
Final Thoughts: With Great Recruitment Automation Comes Great Responsibility
In conclusion, recruitment process automation is a powerful tool that is reshaping the landscape of HR and recruitment. It streamlines and optimizes numerous aspects of the hiring journey, making it more efficient, cost-effective, and enjoyable for both employers and candidates. Automation, though not a new concept, is evolving rapidly to offer a myriad of benefits throughout the recruitment process.
The key to making the most of recruitment process automation lies in leveraging it to its full potential. As organizations embrace this transformative technology, they can accelerate time-to-fill, reduce the cost per hire, ensure a positive candidate experience, and create happier, more satisfied employees. It also minimizes errors and contributes to better hiring decisions.
To reap these benefits, organizations must adopt best practices that balance automation with human touch, prioritize ethical considerations, monitor AI for biases, invest in employee training, and choose the right automation partners. By doing so, they can unlock the full potential of recruitment process automation and usher in a new era of more efficient and effective hiring processes.
