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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