What is Recruiting Automation?
This guide serves as a convenient overview, providing an executive summary and definition of what recruiting automation is as well as tips and resources to get you started.
Re·cruit·ing Au·to·ma·tion | rəˈkro͞ot/iNG/ ˌôdəˈmāSH(ə)n/ | noun
Recruiting automation is a category of technology that allows companies to automate recruiting tasks and workflows so they can increase recruiter productivity, accelerate time-to-fill, reduce cost-per-hire and improve the overall talent profile of their organization. Recruiting automation is a subset of Human Capital Management (HCM), a category of enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) used by companies to manage all aspects of their workforce.
What is recruiting automation?
Recruiting automation enables talent acquisition teams to automate processes that were previously performed manually. These technologies leverage artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and predictive analytics and can be found at all stages of the hiring process (pre-applicant, during the application process and post-hiring decision).
Who uses recruiting automation technologies?
Recruiting automation technologies are used by companies looking to increase their competitive advantage in hiring. These companies recognize that the “status quo” way of hiring simply doesn’t work as well as it used to in an of age of hyper-competition for top talent. These companies are looking to achieve better results, in a shorter amount of time and often with fewer resources relative to the goals they are trying to achieve.
What are examples of recruiting automation technologies?
Examples of recruiting automation technologies can be found throughout the recruiting funnel, from initial candidate sourcing to the final hiring decision. Some of the categories within recruiting automation are as follows:
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Candidate Sourcing and Engagement
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Candidate screening and experience
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Interview scheduling
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Assessments, interviewing and background checks
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Candidate relationship management (“CRM”) / recruitment marketing
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Applicant tracking systems (“ATS”)
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Candidate rediscovery and ranking
What factors are driving recruiting automation?
Competition for Talent
Historically low unemployment and an increasing skills gap has led to a war for talent at many of the world’s leading companies. The intensification of the talent wars has led many companies to invest in technology that can help them achieve engage with qualified talent faster.
Information Overload
The sheer amount of information about candidates, from online profiles to inbound resumes, is exceeding the ability of recruiting teams to process. Most recruiters simply don’t have enough time to adequately source, assess and screen candidates. Recruiting automation systems help companies analyze candidate data quickly to help them make better decisions, fast.”
Better Technology
Recruiting automation is not a new idea. People have been talking about how recruiting will be automated for many years. However, until recently the technology did not exist at scale to move the needle on hiring efficiency. Recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning and rise of open source software have spurred innovation that makes the promise of more efficient and productive recruiting teams a reality.
What are the benefits and ROI of recruiting automation?
Recruiting automation is commonly known for the time savings and efficiency gains it brings to modern recruiting departments. However, recruiting automation can bring numerous other benefits. Chief among those is providing talent leaders with much-needed insight into which recruiting programs are working and which aren’t. In addition, recruiting automation and the accompanying analytics these systems can offer provide talent leaders with the metrics they need to speak confidently to the C-suite about the recruiting team’s impact on the growth of the business.
Productivity Savings
Recruiting automation technologies excel at eliminating inefficiencies from talent operations. By instituting recruiting automation capabilities, companies can expect to achieve an increase in recruiting staff productivity between 10 and 50 percent1. The biggest boost, of course, will come to companies transitioning from labor-intense or manual recruiting systems or processes.
Faster Time to Hire
The average time it takes to fill a given position in the United States is 42 days, according to SHRM’s 2017 Human Capital Benchmarking Report2. Companies who enable recruiting automation reduce time to hire by between 7 and 15 percent, or 4.5 days per role on average. When multiplied by the cost per day of an unfilled position – $500 average3 – and the number of reqs per recruiter per year – 40 average4 – the savings in vacancy costs reaches $90,000 per recruiter per year.
Higher Quality Candidates
The recruiting automation process helps ensure that all the best-fit candidates were identified and engaged in the recruiting process, resulting in better quality hires and a higher performing organization.
1Entelo Data
2Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM’s) 2017 Human Capital Benchmarking Report
3Calculating the Cost of Vacant Tech Positions, DICE, 2017
4Talent Acquisition: Recruitment and Selection, Society for Human Resource Management, 2016
What are common misconceptions about recruiting automation?
Recruiting automation means we won’t need recruiters anymore. This is perhaps the most common misconception about recruiting automation. Just as Sales automation didn’t eliminate the need for salespeople and marketing automation didn’t eliminate the need for marketers, recruiting automation won’t eliminate the need for recruiters. If anything, higher-skilled workers like recruiters will benefit from automation as it will make them more productive and productivity gains lead to higher compensation and more empowerment within the organization.
Read moreWhen should you invest in recruiting automation?
If your team is having trouble hitting goals or scaling the recruiting processes you’ve put in place, it’s time to focus your efforts on developing a recruiting automation strategy.
Below are some good questions to ask yourself when deciding if recruiting automation is the right move for your organization.
- Are your recruiters overwhelmed with the number of reqs on their plate?
- Do your recruiters spend a significant portion of their time on administrative activities?
- Are open reqs sitting unfilled for extended periods of time?
- Is your average time to hire above the benchmark for companies in your space?
- Do you rely on outside assistance (RPOs or agencies) to fill your reqs?
- Do you have a proven strategy that you would like to scale?
Where can I go to learn more about recruiting automation?
At Entelo we’re committed to helping to support this emerging category through educational resources and online community. In addition, you can get a FREE copy of Entelo’s Definitive Guide to Recruiting Automation. To talk to an Entelo team member about how our recruiting automation technology can help your team recruit better, contact us here.