Recruiting Automation: A Complete Guide

Hiring new employees, assembling a talented team, and bringing diverse people together to produce great work is a rewarding experience. However, it requires a lot of time and patience. Employers may find themselves struggling to find the time to thoughtfully consider their available talent pool and often end up resorting to quick-hire techniques to fill vacant positions ASAP. Not only can this result in a poor choice of candidates, but also a lack of diversity in the office.

But there is a solution: recruitment automation.

Recruitment automation is a process which uses a computer software program to effectively carry out recruitment tasks. Automation software can accomplish a variety of activities from sourcing candidates to scheduling interviews. By automating, employers are able to speed up hiring timelines while making well-informed decisions about which candidate is the best fit for the job.

There are many different types of recruiting automation software available on the market. Which one is right for your team?

To help you decide, we’ve put together a complete guide to recruiting automation where we’ll cover:

• The importance of recruiting automation and its benefits
• The humanization of automation
• The different types of recruiting automation software
• How to choose the right recruiting automation software for your team

So, let’s get started!

Importance of Recruiting Automation

Employee recruitment can be very time-consuming. With many applications to sort through and candidates to contact, it can be difficult to keep track of everything manually, especially when there are many lengthy, repetitive procedures involved in the process. Consequently, manual recruitment strategies frequently lead to disorganization among the team or in the office, overwhelming email communications, and difficulties arranging meetings. Even something small like sending a message back to the unqualified candidates gets lost along the way. Forgetting these steps may even damage an employer’s brand and result in a poor experience for candidates who were once excited about the company they applied to.  

And this is where recruiting automation comes in.

This modern technique has become increasingly popular as a way to speed up the hiring process and make it more efficient. 

All of the issues mentioned previously can be solved through the adoption of automated recruiting like using an applicant tracking system (ATS). There are also many more benefits including:

• Reduced time spent on repetitive tasks: By automating repetitive tasks like posting jobs to job boards, screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and sending out responses, employers can save hours of valuable time each week.
• Improved communication with candidates: Employers can keep track of communications with candidates all in one place, making it easier to stay organized and keep candidates informed about the status of their applications.
• Improved candidate experience: Tools such as follow-up emails and chatbots help manage text messages, emails, social media posts, FAQ’s about the company or its positions, while simultaneously enhancing candidate experience thanks to quick responses.
• Improved candidate quality: Employers can identify higher-quality candidates more efficiently through data-driven, unbiased techniques which match the right candidates with the right vacancies.
• Increased diversity: Employers are able to reach a much wider talent pool and therefore, increase the number of diverse candidates their vacancies attract. 
• Cost savings: Automating recruiting tasks helps employers save resources, whether time, effort, or finances.

Furthermore, recruiting automation can be especially beneficial for smaller organizations. With a smaller number of employees to take on tasks, recruitment responsibilities can quickly stack up. Naturally, this may cause existing employees to take on too much, resulting in difficulties like a lack of organization, miscommunications, wasted time and energy, and possibly employee burnout. Recruiting automation can save the day (and weeks) as tedious tasks which can be smoothly accomplished by automation software are lifted off the shoulders of the employees.

As with any system, there are potential drawbacks to recruitment automation depending, of course, on the quality of the software you choose. These may include lack of accuracy and reliability, difficulty adapting to a new program, or communications seeming too technical.

Luckily, most of these issues are resolved over time through continuous training of the AI system. Let’s consider how the latter drawback can be resolved by “humanizing” automation.

Humanization of Automation

As we’ve covered earlier, automation smooths out the recruitment process in many ways, from keeping track of applicants and identifying the most promising candidates to automating repetitive tasks like sending emails or scheduling interviews. However, recruiting automation is not necessarily a silver bullet. It’s important to always remember that ultimately recruiting is about people; so in order to be effective, recruiting automation shouldn’t feel robotic.

Here are a few ways to humanize recruiting automation: 

1. Accessibility: Ensure that the software you implement is user-friendly and easy to learn how to navigate. No one wants to use excessively complicated software.
2. Personalization: Add a touch of personalization to your communications with candidates. Automated emails or chats should sound like they’re from a real person. If using a chatbot, give it a name and character to add a bit of a human element. Thoughtfully crafting your automated messages will improve the candidate experience.
3. Employee videos: Give an insider view of your company culture to really capture applicants’ attention. Have employees create short videos for the FAQ stages of the interview process. These living representatives will help candidates develop trust and curiosity in your organization overall.
4. Evaluation: Always strive to improve your automated procedures by considering the candidates’ perspective. What is the experience like from their side, start to finish? Ask for feedback on the application process through surveys or written reviews. 

Now that you’ve learned to humanize your automation tools to appeal to candidates, let’s take a look at the best automation software options on the market today.

Top Automation Software

There are a few different types of recruiting automation software available. To find the right one for your company, you'll need to consider your specific needs and budget. Some are designed for small businesses, while others are better suited for larger organizations. There are also free and paid options.

The next section will cover the top automation softwares for recruitment with examples.

Candidate Search:

• ZoomInfo: With its powerful database, employers can use ZoomInfo to seek out and source the best talent available for their vacant positions. This software even provides tools that leverage company news, diversity filters, and data-driven recommendations to help employers reach the most suitable candidates and avoid homogenous teams. 

Video:

• VideoAsk: This platform lets you create videos for lead generation, sales, testimonials, audience engagement, training & education, recruitment and more. VideoAsk can be used throughout the entire screening process. Candidates answer questions by recording videos, allowing employers to make quicker, better hiring decisions. Videos will also help boost the overall candidate experience by creating personal connections that are much more engaging than emails, texts, and calls.

Assessment: 

• TestGorilla: Learn about candidates in depth with TestGorilla which provides personality and skills tests. Employers can reveal individuals’ true abilities, thus leading to more sensible hiring decisions. 

More general automation tools:

• HireVue: This automation software takes care of the general hiring process and offers tools for various stages dealing with chatbots, interviewing, or scheduling. The HireVue platform uses data backed by scientists and researchers to assure unbiased and fair recruiting procedures.
• Zapier: Another more general automaton software tool that can offer its service in a range of processes from lead generation and customer emails to contracts and marketing, allowing employers to focus on strengthening the quality of their hiring strategies and more. 
• Zoho Recruit: With Zoho, HR teams are able to speed up the hiring process by finding, evaluating and communicating with candidates in no time. Automated tools include those that deal with customization, providing analytics, and onboarding techniques. 

As you can see, when it comes to recruitment automation softwares there are multiple types available, and the options continue to grow. Companies will use one general software to help with many different tasks throughout the hiring process, or use specific tools for separate recruitment aspects like VideoAsk for pre-recorded video interviews. The opportunities are exciting to explore.

Conclusion

Recruitment automation is not only the future of hiring, it is already the present! The benefits of this technological development far outweigh its potential drawbacks, and we can look forward to the advancement of these automated tools through AI.

At the end of the day, employers and HR teams should really take advantage of these strategies to increase the efficiency of their recruitment procedures. Start hiring faster, easier and smarter. Automation will save you time and effort by connecting your company with the right talent and improving the candidate experience.

Furthermore, in the post-pandemic era, work is all about remote and virtual options. Not only does recruiting automation save employers in this sense, but it also creates the possibility to establish and sustain diverse and inclusive workspaces thanks to modern data-driven tools.