The procurement of qualified personnel has become increasingly complex in recent years. It is necessary to reach suitable candidates through the proper channels and process the numerous applications as soon as possible. To master this, digital support is almost inevitable.
Digital transformation in human resources
Not so long ago, sending paper applications to companies was still common. However, with the progress of digitalization, more and more companies have been changing their processes for several years. They publish their job advertisements online and conduct the entire application process digitally.
Human resources are therefore undergoing a digital transformation. To keep up with this, companies need to stay up to date and offer the best experience to applicants. This guide explains applicant management's challenges, the advantages and disadvantages of digital recruiting, and the functions the recruiting software must have.
Challenges in Applicant management
Fast processes
Progressing digitalization enables applicants to send their application documents digitally to the company within a very short time. Accordingly, applicants increasingly expect a quick response and are no longer prepared to wait several weeks for an answer. With digital support, many recruiters can keep up with the pace. Furthermore, the applicants' demands for a fast and straightforward application process are increasing.
Labor market
Another challenge that HR professionals face is the market situation. The shortage of skilled workers makes for a highly developed labor market. In other words, applicants can choose their employer in many fields and professions nowadays. This makes it particularly challenging for recruiters to find suitable candidates, and they must look for unconventional ways to advertise their vacancies. This, in turn, means that they must be present on more channels and always keep an overview. Digital recruiting is intended to facilitate and accelerate these processes.
What is digital recruiting?
Das digitale Recruiting – auch als E-Recruiting bekannt – beschreibt im Grunde jegliche Massnahmen, die mit der Personalgewinnung zusammenhängen und mittels digitaler Kanäle durchgeführt werden. Dabei geht es allerdings nicht allein darum, dass Kandidaten ihre Bewerbung online einreichen können, sondern darum, den kompletten Personalbeschaffungsprozess zu digitalisieren – von der Online-Stellenausschreibung, zur Verwaltung der Bewerberdaten bis hin zur Besetzung der Stelle mit dem passenden Kandidaten. Zahlreiche Unternehmen haben ihre Prozesse bereits dahin gehend umgestellt und suchen mittlerweile digital nach neuen Mitarbeitern. Das digitale Recruiting vereinfacht das Bewerbungsmanagement und spart somit nicht nur Zeit, sondern auch Geld. Gleichzeitig wird sichergestellt, dass letzten Endes die am besten qualifizierten Bewerber das Unternehmen unterstützen.
Advantages of e-recruiting
Changing processes to digital recruiting brings several advantages for both sides - companies and applicants. First and foremost, these include greater efficiency as well as fast and transparent processes that not only save time but also costs. Here is an overview of the most essential advantages of e-recruiting:
Accelerate processes
The software uses automated reminders to ensure that the recruiter reviews received applications and provides feedback as soon as possible. This way, candidates receive feedback on their applications as quickly as possible.
Increase transparency
On the one hand, digital recruiting enables the company - i.e., the recruiter and the line managers - to view the status of applications for a vacancy at any time. On the other hand, the applicant can see the progress of their application at any time.
Simplify processes
The recruiting software facilitates all critical processes. First, applicants can submit their data and documents quickly and easily. The clear presentation of the information also allows recruiters to identify qualified candidates at a glance. Furthermore, the effort for administrative activities and data maintenance is saved.
Cost and time-saving.
Thanks to simplified and accelerated processes, digital applicant management takes much less time today than just a few years ago. In addition, there is a significant cost saving due to reduced effort in the application process.
Quality and quantity
Thanks to digital recruiting, the recruiter can publish a job advertisement on various portals relevant to the target group. This way, the company receives a higher number of applications. With intelligent support, the software ensures better matching of candidates, and the recruiter does not have to sacrifice quantity or quality.
Reducing errors
It is well known that errors usually occur when data is entered manually. Automation ensures that errors in data entry and maintenance are avoided as much as possible.
Disadvantages of e-recruiting
Nothing is entirely error-free. Despite the many advantages, using e-recruiting is also often associated with difficulties. Here is an overview of the most common disadvantages of e-recruiting:
Keeping an overview
With the almost innumerable possibilities offered by e-recruiting, it can be challenging to maintain an overview. After all, all channels, platforms, and websites have to be served equally.
Necessary investments
To convert the applicant management, the acquisition of appropriate software is necessary. In addition, HR staff usually have to undergo training to use it, which involves costs.
Technical errors
Unfortunately, despite expensive and modern software, technical errors occasionally occur. As a result, applications can only be read or evaluated with mistakes, and qualified applicants need to catch up.
The function of a recruiting software
The range of available e-recruiting software could be more manageable. In addition to simple, free tools, extensive software covers the recruiting process - from job posting to hiring the applicant. The software the company chooses depends, among other things, on the company's size, the number of open positions, and the individual requirements for the software. In the process, such tools must offer several functions to ensure efficient applicant management:
- First, posting job advertisements on different platforms (multiposting) must be possible.
- Furthermore, clear management of applicant data is essential. Submitted documents should be automatically read, analyzed, and saved as a digital personnel file. In this way, application processes can also be viewed across departments.
- In addition to the recruiter and the specialist department, the applicant should have access to the current status of their application under certain circumstances.
- The central communication with applicants usually also takes place via such recruiting software. Accordingly, video interviews or tests, for example, also take place with the help of the respective tool.
- Furthermore, the recruiter can create and search applicant or talent pools and benefits from automated workflows and appointment reminders.
- Last, the GDPR-compliant processing and storage of applicant data is essential and should be guaranteed by the software.
Use cases of electronic signature in recruiting.
The entire applicant management has evolved through digitalization. This includes facilitating the application process and getting the right candidate into the company. Drawing up and transmitting contracts in paper form takes up unnecessary time and costs. Therefore, more and more companies are switching to electronic signatures when concluding warranties of any kind - such as employment contracts. For a contract to be completed, the electronic signature, the unique identification that takes place beforehand, and a means of authentication are required. This makes the electronic signature fast, convenient, and, above all, secure.
Modern recruiting strategies
Nowadays, many people can only imagine life with a smartphone. It is always and everywhere with them - no wonder this affinity also affects personnel recruitment. Mobile recruiting will become more and more critical in the coming years. Mobile recruiting is the search for personnel via apps and mobile websites, i.e., mobile-optimized career pages. When applying via Xing or LinkedIn, applicants can transfer their data directly from their profile and thus save themselves the cumbersome and time-consuming task of entering the data. The trend towards quick applications with mobile devices is clear. Accordingly, companies with this option appear much more attractive and modern to applicants than companies that do not practice mobile recruiting.
Social media recruiting has also become an integral part of the recruiting strategy of many companies. The motto is: address applicants where they are - in the social networks! To this end, more and more companies are creating unique profiles on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and the like that focus solely on recruiting. Career networks such as LinkedIn or Xing are viral, where recruiters actively search for potential candidates (active sourcing). But job advertisements can also be disseminated more broadly (targeting), and recruiters can also positively influence the company's image on social media (employer branding).
However, HR managers should not be too quick to judge, respect the applicant's privacy, and remember that viewing the profile on social networks is no substitute for getting to know the candidate in person.
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