Talent acquisition is incredibly complex. Recruiters are facing new responsibilities, new pressures and new challenges. But what surprises me is that many of the talent acquisition technology providers- with all of their products and enhancements- are adding to the complexity not alleviating it. The large, traditional Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are so quick to transform recruitment technology into more of a finance or business solution that they seem to have forgotten their audience. And, in the rush to innovate, the recruiter’s needs have gone ignored.
Recruiters have one major problem. They need an easier way to attract, recruit and hire talent. If a technology provider is not solving that problem, they do not have a viable solution. According to Aptitude’s 2016 Hire, Engage and Retain survey, only 3% of companies are using the full functionality of their ATS system. Companies either don’t know the functionality is there or they don’t understand how to use it. Again, many of these solutions are too complicated. If you want to give recruiters and candidates what they need- technology providers need to make it simple.
Below are a few ways that recruitment technology providers can get back to the basics:
- Don’t Overcomplicate Analytics: The use of statistical algorithms and machine learning can help organizations perform in the future. And yes, predictive analytics can help transform a talent acquisition department into a more strategic function. But the reality is that most recruiters still struggle with basic reporting. When talent acquisition providers overcomplicate analytics, recruiters will shy away. Providers should focus on providing information that will help recruiters do their job and make better decisions (ie, data around conversion rates and pipeline analytics).
- Keep Users on the Platform: I have said this before and I will say it again. Recruiters should not have to leave their ATS to perform core aspects of talent acquisition. Scheduling interviews, viewing documents such as a resume or sending an email to a candidate should all be down in the platform.
- Make Communication Easy: Communication is important. Ninety-three (93%)of companies say it is a priority for the upcoming year but few recruiters and hiring managers have the time to send out personal communication to candidates. More systems are including a library of templates throughout the recruiting process to communicate with candidates and even create a cadence of that communication. It may not sound sexy, but having templates for reaching out to candidates is becoming a critical tool for recruiters. Leveraging a template- can take less than a minute to send compared to a personal email that could take 15 or 20 minutes to write.
- Understand the Value of Your Marketplace: One reason that talent acquisition has become so complex is that there are so many categories of technology and new providers entering the market. It is challenging to understand the ecosystem of talent acquisition and how these solutions integrate with an ATS. The goal of a marketplace should be to help customers make quick decisions and quick transactions on the third-party solutions.
The more complex talent acquisition becomes, the more simple technology should be. Recruiters don’t need the extra pressure and stress from a solutions that they don’t understand how to use. As we finish up briefings for our Aptitude Index reports, simplicity and ease of use are key differentiators.
