Why Use Digital Transformation For Better Candidate Experiences

With the rapid advances in AI technology, there is a widespread fear that robots will soon take over jobs done by humans. But according to a 2022 report by Korn Ferry, the reality is different – there are not enough humans to fill the vacant jobs.

At the current rates, businesses across the globe could lose $8.5 trillion in unrealised revenues, due to a shortage of 85 million workers across sectors and industries. We can already see this in India, according to a Skillsoft IT Skills and Salary report where 63 per cent of employers failed to fill at least three positions in 2021-22.

While the ongoing global economic slowdown has had a chilling effect on hiring rates, a war for talent is inevitable in the coming decades. Firms need faster and more efficient recruitment processes to keep up. In this post, we will look at the role of digital transformation in the future of HR and recruitment.

What is Digital Transformation in Recruiting

Digital transformation is the process by which businesses integrate technology into various areas to create new customer experiences, improve processes, and increase efficiency and productivity. According to IDC forecasts global investments in this field could touch $3.5 trillion by 2026.

In 2022, a Harvard Business Review article outlined four main pillars of successful digital transformations in organisations – the second pillar after IT modernisation was the digitisation of current operations.

Along with sales, marketing, and product development, recruitment and HR can also benefit from the adoption of digital technology. This involves using tools like chatbots, cloud-based recruitment platforms, digital on-boarding, and more.

Candidate Experience – the Main Reason to Embrace Digital Transformation in Recruitment

Making the case for digital transformation in recruitment is relatively easy. You just need to look how digital transformation is driving customer experience in sectors like traditional retail or personal banking.

The presence of glaring customer pain points compelled organisations in these sectors to embrace digital solutions. Successful transformation enables organisations to ‘capture digital value’, a concept explored in detail by a Harvard Business Review article.

The same logic is also eminently applicable in the workspace of HR managers. They also deal with ‘consumers’ – candidates undergoing the recruitment process, as well as employees seeking information and assistance.

In other walks of life, these same ‘consumers’ are accustomed to a superior user experience as either retail customers or banking clients. Once you realise that, the rationale behind digital transformation of HR becomes clear, and urgent.

How Digital Tools can Transform Candidate Experience

Candidate experience is a critical aspect of all interactions between your recruitment team and a potential candidate. It is relevant across the recruitment journey – from job listing to application, screening, interviews, and on-boarding.

According to Deloitte, candidate experience is an important factor for more than 80 percent of job-seekers. A negative experience can persuade talent to avoid your organisation. In the long run, it may even affect your brand image.

You can prevent this by embracing digital transformation across the various stages of the talent acquisition process:

Better Job Applications

The Indian digital transformation is being powered by mobile internet. The country had 75 crore smartphone users in 2021, a number that is expected to reach 100 crores by 2026. It makes sense in the Indian job market to create online job listings that are more mobile-friendly – something Johnson & Johnson achieved in 2017.

The company also used AI tools to make their job listings more gender-neutral, increasing the update of female candidates by 9 per cent. In India, where women employees constitute just 26 per cent of the workforce, such initiatives could be very beneficial for gender inclusivity.

Meeting Talent’s Expectations

CNBC reports that 72 per cent of new hires are disappointed because they did not get accurate description of the role/workplace during the hiring process. In such situations, 41 per cent of new hires are likely to quit within two to six months.

This can be easily prevented by incorporating preview videos into your recruitment process. They can be published on social media and job platforms for maximum reach.

Benefits of AI Automation

Recruitment using traditional methods is an unacceptably slow process that can take weeks or even months. One of the biggest pain points of the candidate experience is the lack of any communication or updates from the employer during this waiting period.

AI-powered recruitment chatbots can expedite the top-funnel recruitment stages, giving your hiring managers more time to focus on the human-side processes like interviewing and building connections. Automated email flows and personalised email templates help to keep all applicants in the loop with timely updates.

Better On-boarding

On-boarding is critical for the long-term success of a newly recruited employee at any organisation. According to a Gallup study on the issue, proper on-boarding can boost employee’s productivity by 62 per cent and boost retention by 50 per cent.

You can utilise remote on-boarding, video guides, digital handbooks, interactive training webinars, and more to impress and educate your new hires at the same time.

Challenges Remain, but Digital Recruiting is the Future

In the early days of COVID-19, organisations spent a lot of money in an effort to embrace digital transformation. According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, nearly 70 per cent of these initiatives failed.

Lack of adequate leadership, absence of a coherent plan, scarcity of tech talent, and giving primacy to technology over people have been cited as among the key challenges of digital transformation. These are all major hurdles in a traditionally tech-deficient department like recruiting.

Adopt a people-centric approach to effectively remove any resistance towards digital transformation in recruitment. Focus on talent, not technology, to renovate your recruitment process and make it capable of handling the demands of the future talent marketplace.