Got an Employee or not? – Addressing the challenges




So in the last post we saw different opportunities available and challenges faced by the organizations while doing recruitment using technology. In this post, I will try to address most of the challenges. I will also mention the proper methodology of selecting recruitment software for an organization.

Challenges with technology
1. Online platforms and portals have increased the competition by manifolds.
Solution – Even though the competition has increased, internet has made organizations reach an individual’s home. This situation itself is a challenge as well as an opportunity. And to turn it into an opportunity requires some effort on organization’s behalf:
· Visible Presence: Presence of organization on web in form of websites, blogs etc. is very essential. The websites need to be interactive and should give an idea about culture present in the organization
· Social Media Visibility: This includes visibility in two forms:
         o   Organizational Presence: Display of organizational work practices, culture and views through official pages on LinkedIn, Facebook or a twitter handle.
     o   Endorsement by employee: The employees should endorse/ praise their organization on professional as well as non-professional social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter etc.

2.  The candidates not only see job postings but also review of company, its performance, employee experiences, pay packages etc. It has become all the more important for organizations to be transparent and carefully develop its employer brand.
Solution – Development of an employer brand is a consistent and a long term exercise, which encompasses organizational culture, policies, ethics etc. This is an extensive topic in itself and will be discussed in the next post.

3.    Availability of eclectic softwares, job platforms and online recruitment partners has also made the task difficult for organizations. Whom to choose? What should be the criteria of selecting a recruitment agency? What software should we buy for streamlining our recruitment process? Is Taleo sufficient? These are a few of thousands of questions that an organization faces while going digital for recruitment and selection.
Solution – There is a complete process of acquiring software. Before acquisition of software, the organization should be aware of following things:
a. Expectations of organization from software (This would become crystal clear after needs and gap analysis)
b. Budget allocation
c. Timeline of implementation of new software
d. Cost Vs. Benefits
e. Other software present in the organization and compatibility of prospective software with existing ones (Eg. Compatibility of Taleo with existing Peoplesoft)

After arriving at answers for the above questions, organizations can acquire the software/ subscription in any of the three development strategies mentioned below:
·         In-house development
·         COTS (Buying a commercial-off-the-shelf product)
·         Outsourcing the development

A simple matrix of choosing the method is given below
Strategy
Product Requirement
In-house skills present
Time period of requirement
Example
In-house
Unique
Functional and technical
Flexible
TCS building its own MIS system
COTS
Usual
Functional
Project completion required in short time period
Microsoft Office
Outsource
Non-core function
No skills present
Flexible or short
GE outsources many of its software projects to Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys etc.

Challenges with candidates
Some of the challenges involved with online recruitment platforms are as follows:
1.    Application to jobs on most of the platforms includes just an easy click on ‘Apply’. Thus, many of the uninterested as well as less serious candidates also apply. Separating interested lot from the other is extremely difficult
Solution: Instead of a simple ‘Apply’ button, the candidates can be asked to attempt certain psychometric and/ or aptitude tests. This solves two purposes. Some of the uninterested candidates will themselves drop out of process. And the organization can always use results of aptitude/psychometric tests for further selection of candidates.

2.   It is very difficult to ensure that the applicant is actually capable of doing work until he/she actually starts working
Solution: Small online mock-assignments can be given to the candidate to determine his/her potential for doing the job.

3.  Most of the organizations want easy way out i.e. they do not take effort of finding the right recruitment agency/software
Solution: The correct method of buying software/ subscriptions is given above

By using these methods any organization can implement/ improve the recruitment process with the help of technology. This will not only reduce time, save money and cut effort but will also increase the talent pool and enhance availability of candidates for niche positions.

More about employer branding in my upcoming post…

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