Technology continues to transform how organizations attract talent. Understanding these emerging technologies is critical to identifying and selecting the best candidates for your organization. A new report from Kinsley|Sarn outlines technology approaches your team can adopt to recruit and hire top talent.
August 9, 2024 – Living in the midst of a digital revolution has truly changed the way we interact, especially in business. Technology enables faster communication and easier connections, transforming how business is done across industries. Succeeding in an ever-changing technology environment requires strong skills and a commitment to continuous professional development. When it comes to hiring and recruiting, adapting to industry changes is fundamental to success, says a new report from Kinsley|Sarn Executive Search.
“As technological advances continue to transform how recruiters attract and evaluate top talent, understanding these emerging technologies is essential to identifying and selecting the best candidates for your organization,” the study states. In this whitepaper, Kinsley|Sarn details technology approaches that teams can use at every stage of the employee lifecycle to improve the quality of hires they ultimately welcome onto their teams.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in recruiting is more prominent than ever. According to Kinsley|Sarn, algorithms used in modern software can help perform tasks, compute, and solve problems, improving productivity and accuracy while streamlining the recruiting pipeline. “As the use of AI becomes more commonplace, its active learning capabilities have resulted in software that gets smarter and more accurate over time,” the report states. “These AI algorithms can contextualize data and make accurate predictions about candidates and their capabilities, experience, and level of interest in working for your company.”
Kinsley Sahne explains that this is especially useful when sourcing applicant tracking systems (ATS) and screening profiles, resumes, and job applications using relevant keywords and phrases. This allows recruiters to evaluate and narrow down a large number of candidates in a shorter amount of time. According to the company, outlining candidate profiles based on detailed data can automate earlier stages of this process, increasing the overall ability to evaluate a larger talent pool than before.
The Kinsley Thern report explains that AI-powered talent assessments and pre-employment screenings can also be scheduled and conducted online using specific testing software. “Since advanced algorithms are used to score candidates, these assessments collect useful data to provide a deeper understanding of the personality, traits, and capabilities of top candidates in relation to an organization's specific needs,” the report states.
One assessment method Kinsley Sahne points to is psychometric testing, which provides more objective data about a candidate's strengths and weaknesses. With the right dataset, AI-powered psychometric tests can recognize complex patterns that aren't obvious to human recruiters. In the future, machine learning will further improve the algorithms used to analyze the results, allowing hiring teams to narrow down candidate options with more confidence.
Virtual Interview
“Though little used in the past, the rapid shift from in-person to virtual interviews is transforming the recruiting process and is likely to continue,” the Kinsley Thern report states. “As more and more companies incorporate virtual interviewing into their operations, the benefits of virtual interviews outweigh the concerns that initially hindered their widespread adoption. One method, known as asynchronous interviewing, conveniently allows candidates to record their answers to a series of pre-set questions. Hiring teams can then assess these recorded interviews at a time that best suits their schedule. Software systems such as VidCruiter, SparkHire, Recruiter.com Video and XOR Review offer video interview tools that can be integrated into your recruiting process.”
How Artificial Intelligence Will Impact Executive Search
Artificial intelligence (AI) can have a significant impact on executive search by streamlining processes and improving decision-making. AI tools can help identify candidates with the right skills and experience and predict how successful they will be in their new roles. ExeQfind Group frequently receives questions from both clients and candidates about the impact of artificial intelligence on talent management and executive search. “Talent management and executive search processes are no different from nearly every existing industry in that AI is expected to change and impact them,” says a new report by ExeQfind's Javier Iglesias. “It remains to be seen how much and to what extent the changes and impacts will be.”
Another option, Kinsley Sahn points out, is to schedule a live video interview on a platform like Zoom, Teams, GoogleMeet, etc. Advanced AI-powered video interviews allow recruiters to use face-scanning technology to better assess a candidate's tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions, as well as keywords and phrases that reflect their work experience, skills, and future performance.
“Once you've gathered and narrowed down candidates from your initial search, virtual interviews are a timely, cost-effective way to begin conversations with the most interested candidates,” the Kinsley Thern report states. “While video interviews will never completely replace face-to-face interactions, they add additional flexibility and convenience to your preliminary search. Without the need to fly candidates to interview locations or wait for travel availability, you can meet sooner and expedite the process. These savings in travel, meals and lodging expenses directly lower recruiting costs and save time for both candidates and employers.”
Data Mining Technology
According to a Kinsley|Sarn report, data collected over the years and across industries can generate powerful insights that can help predict future hiring needs. The company says that having access to large amounts of relevant data is key, as it plays a vital role in the success of your company overall. Online datasets from resources like Kaggle, Google Dataset Search, and Data.gov can give you access to information that can improve your decisions throughout the search process.
For example, knowing the average length of time that executives stay in a particular role can help you determine when to start investing in recruiting for that role, whether internal or external. “Similarly, it can help you predict the right time to reach out and start building relationships with passive candidates you'd like to join your team,” the Kinsley|Sarn report states. “Also, augment your research with reports and articles from top recruiting companies like Glassdoor, Indeed and LinkedIn, which, given their position in the overall industry, can give you insight into the hiring and recruiting landscape.”
Social Media
Kinsley Sahne points out that social media has also made its mark in the digital age as an effective way to communicate in person. “When used and executed effectively, social media can increase company awareness, strengthen brand identity, and increase networking opportunities, which naturally attracts a pool of candidates who share a passion for the values your company embodies,” the company states. “Meanwhile, taking a closer look at potential candidates' social media profiles can help determine their likelihood of fitting well with your workplace culture and values.”
Related: 5 C-level roles that will be impacted by AI
LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, is great for attracting and engaging qualified candidates through both organic and paid advertising. Organizations can post job openings and access a targeted candidate pipeline. One of LinkedIn's newest features is the ability for hiring teams and recruiters to ask specific questions that candidates respond to via video recording. They can also screen candidates based on established criteria such as detailed work experience or specific technical knowledge.
“The platform also offers products for recruiters, including software to help them make data-driven decisions and access to real-time insights,” the Kinsley Thern report states. “When strategically integrated into recruiting and hiring efforts, LinkedIn can be a productive resource for HR departments.”
The benefits of incorporating technology into recruitment
Technology, by definition, is developed to simplify tasks. By harnessing the power of cutting edge technology, hiring managers and recruiters can reap the benefits of leveraging technology across their departments. Kinsley|Sarn offers the following benefits:
Increased productivity: According to Ideal, implementing automation can improve performance by up to 20%, allowing recruiters to not only focus on the best candidates for the job, but also on more important tasks like nurturing relationships through networking and achieving recruiting goals.
2024 Corporate Culture Report Released
As leaders recognize the critical role that culture plays in organizational success, it is now imperative to build sustainable cultural change for engagement, performance, and growth. Emphasizing psychological safety empowers employees to express ideas, take risks, and raise concerns, which fosters innovation and engagement.
Hunt Scanlon Media's 2024 Company Culture Report shows how a strong, cohesive culture transforms an organization. By prioritizing cultural synergy and shared values, companies can attract and retain top talent while driving innovation. Download now.
Accelerate time to hire: One of the most important benefits of incorporating AI technology and software into your process is that it cuts down on wasted time and speeds up the recruiting process. According to Ideal, using AI-powered recruiting software can save 23 hours of interaction per hire without interrupting workflow. Reduce hiring bias: Using technology in recruiting can mitigate some of the unconscious bias that influences decision making. By programming the software to ignore demographic information of interested candidates and rely only on data points, departments can make decisions based on the candidate's actual experience and skills. AI can learn these human biases, so it's important to watch for and eliminate patterns of potential bias within your software. Develop and manage candidates: Investing in building trust with quality candidates from the beginning of the process will help you attract the best talent for your organization. Consistent and transparent communication is key to nurturing candidates through the recruiting pipeline. And technology has diversified the ways and speed at which recruiters can achieve this. Reduce hiring costs: Finding ways to reduce costs is always beneficial for companies. Incorporating innovative technology into the recruiting process can ultimately reduce the total cost per hire. Using technology resources can reduce advertising, candidate sourcing and selection, and travel costs, positively impacting your bottom line.
Related: How to Use AI to Impress Executive Search Consultants
Contributors: Scott A. Scanlon, Editor in Chief, Dale M. Zupsanski, Editor in Chief – Hunt Scanlon Media
