Lee Ann PrescottDon’t you wish keeping up with change was easy? As if your recruiting teams knew exactly how to adapt their processes in response to the market and your technology automatically adjusted to fit? Unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet for recruiting perfection when we don’t know what’s coming next in the economy, technology, or workplace trends.
Even in times of great change, talent acquisition professionals can have fun growing their skills, experimenting with new technology, and connecting with peers as they evolve their tools and processes to hire great talent now and in the future.
In an ERE webinar called Tech Evolution for Recruitment Leaders: Dos and Don’ts four talent acquisition experts demonstrated an optimistic mindset and a spirit of collaboration that can help recruiting professionals keep pace with technology today. Allyn Bailey, Executive Director, Hiring Success Services, SmartRecruiters moderated a panel with these talent leaders:
- David Barlaam, Director, Talent Acquisition, Honeywell
- Shweta Arora Madaan, Global Director, Talent Acquisition-Digital and Technology, CBRE
- Josh Rock, Talent Acquisition Manager, Nuss Truck Group
Here are their top Do’s and Don’ts for managing recruiting technology in times of rapid change.
1. Do proactively look ahead
Technology is moving fast, but it’s important to know your processes inside and out so you can know which solutions to consider. “Look internally at your current problems and look one to two steps forward,” said Josh Rock. “Keep it simple,” he added. “You can’t do it all at one time.”
2. Do look at the global picture
Large organizations have to consider which solutions will meet the needs of regional teams. CBRE operates in more than 100 countries, so they consider the amount of global coverage any one solution can provide. They also work closely with their regional legal teams to ensure compliance. When it comes to making technology decisions, Shweta Arora Madaan said, “We look at what we can achieve and what we can get approvals for today.” She added that taking a holistic approach takes more time, and that change management across cultures and time zones stretches out project timelines.
3. Do partner with IT
Honeywell works across aerospace, life sciences, and industrial materials. A close partnership between IT and HR is necessary to mitigate cybersecurity threats and exposure to sensitive data. “The partnership with IT is very strong,” said David Barlaam. “In a perfect world, evaluations would be faster,” he added, “but we understand the rationale.”
4. Do manage your stakeholders
Stakeholder management is a key to any change process, including talent acquisition technology decisions. It’s important to understand the balance of supporters and detractors and have a plan to bring everyone on board. “Start with the audience that’s going to lead to the victory,” said Josh Rock. “We can’t grab everybody all at the same time. That’s never going to work.”
5. Do work with ChatGPT and generative AI
ChatGPT and generative AI being integrated into tools we use every day are saving time and helping teams become more efficient. Shweta Arora Madaan mentioned the power of ChatGPT and new AI features in LinkedIn Recruiter. “ChatGPT is doing a lot of research for me nowadays,” she said.
David Barlaam described a job description project that’s being assisted with generative AI. “One of our team members developed an AI-based tool that completely flipped the project on its head,” he said. “We’re now doing it very differently.”
6. Don’t lose your focus on efficiency
Shweta Arora Madaan reminded the group that the longer a job stays open, the more money a company loses. The trade-off of money spent on agencies versus money spent on technology is worth it. “You have a lot of options available to make life easier for all of your team members,” Shewta said. “Look at how you can help everyone do their jobs better while putting in less effort.”
7. Don’t wait too long to start exploring new technologies
“Technology doesn’t wait for you to adopt or explore,” said Josh Rock. In the fast-moving world of hiring drivers, technicians, and counter staff at Nuss Truck & Equipment, waiting too long for the upgrade can be detrimental to hiring efficiency. “There are still organizations out there trying to figure out if they’re going to use SMS,” he said. “What are you waiting for?” If you’re late to the SMS game, check out SmartMessage.
8. Don’t sign long agreements
In times of rapid change, companies can protect themselves by signing shorter agreements with technology providers. “You don’t want to be in a five-year agreement,” Josh Rock said. “Two- to three-year agreements allow you to adapt, change and grow faster.”
9. Don’t get swept up in the new shiny thing
Even as companies look toward more rapid adoption of new solutions, they need to be cautious, stay within legal limits, and maintain their values. David Barlaam brought up the hype in recent years about AI-driven video interviewing. “It’s important not to take away the humanness of the connection,” he said. “If you can’t imagine yourself doing something to get a job, and you expect other people to do that very thing, it’s hard to be successful.”
10. Don’t do it alone
The camaraderie of the virtual gathering was evident just two weeks after the annual HRTech conference in Las Vegas. The group agreed that conferences are the best place to learn about new technologies, keep track of your peers, talk to vendors, and have informal discussions about what’s working and what’s not. “There’s so much that can be gained from those relationships formed at the conferences,” said David Barlaam. “It’s a robust community that is willing to share.”
If you missed the webinar or would like a taste of that recruiting community, sign up to watch the webinar. Packed with more Do’s than Don’ts, it will leave you feeling optimistic about keeping the pace of change.
To learn more about SmartRecruiters and how we power hiring efficiency with a modern, scalable platform, sign up for a demo today.
