Using technology to enhance your talent search

The implementation and development of new technology has been aiding businesses since its conception. This hasn’t taken a one-size-fits-all approach in terms of the offering, there are new technologies that come out regularly to help businesses streamline their processes and boost their output. However, some businesses are still unwilling to change their recruitment processes, which means that they are unable to keep up with their competition and hire the best talent as a result.

So, how can you leverage digital technology to enhance your talent search in the future?

The importance of leveraging talent within digital organisations

Leveraging talent is recognising the skills of your team above and beyond the restrictions of their role. Historically, this has been a valued tranche of a talent expert’s role. To map out high potential employees, future leaders, and employees, who might be interested in moving from one function to another. However, leveraging talent has expanded outside of this narrow definition. This is particularly relevant in the current working environment where there is a tangible work-life blend and employees are expecting more from their employers. Health and wellbeing, inclusiveness, and a flexible working environment, are less aspirational and more expected.

How can you leverage talent within your business?

Leveraged talent can drive change within an organisation more organically than simply implementing that change. As new technologies have been introduced, an office champion can be the catalyst to help this adoption across the business, and encourage a more fluid and holistic adoption, rather than a mandated order from management. The buy-in may happen steadily, but those who adopt the changed behaviour are more comfortable users.

The technology used to aid talent acquisition

The technology around talent acquisition is constantly changing and improving. The original algorithmic vet of candidates has proved to be flawed and even discriminatory in some cases. At Michael Page, we have been able to adopt a new interview process in the form of Hinterview. This is effective from a candidate perspective, as they can hear a consultant discuss a role via recorded video to more clearly understand the opportunity.

Equally, consultants can record interviews with candidates and the candidates’ answers can be disseminated to global stakeholders. Rather than everyone interviewing the same candidates with the same identical questions, this technology can save hiring managers time and company administrative time in scheduling multiple interviews.

Utilising data analytics in their talent searches

The presence of data and analytics has changed the way that recruiters are approaching the market place. The volume of data has created a market in itself, and businesses like ours have invested heavily in understanding what the data business means for us and our clients.

For example, we have external data around the number of roles that are live in any given division, and any given location. Equally, we can communicate with our clients about the volume of roles that they are competing against. In the London market, it can be especially difficult to advertise directly and cut through the noise when there are almost 80,000 roles advertise in financial services in a six-month period.

From a Michael Page perspective, we can do the following with analytics to help improve your recruitment processes and speed to hire:

Set realistic expectations around timescales and schedules, to ensure that nothing is slowed down.
Set KPIs on the number of CVs and interviews it should take to fill any particular role.

We can let you know the length of time to fill a temporary or permanent role. For example, many of our clients come to us looking for a permanent replacement, it takes an average of 50 days to fill a permanent position. Depending on the position, some of our clients could be better served by having a temporary replacement in the role, which are filled in an average of 12 days, and would be able to cover the 50 days plus any additional notice before the permanent candidate can be found.

The importance of embracing new technologies

Some businesses find it more difficult to implement new technologies than others. It can be difficult to have confidence in a programme or new processes without having tangible results to prove that it will definitely work for you. However, you need to look no further than business behemoths Kodak or Xerox, who have successfully done this and reaped the rewards. In financial services, Civilise Bank had to hand back their banking license because their technology wasn’t robust enough to service their clients. After a rebrand and proper investment in tech, they have relaunched successfully.

The closer to the crest of the technology wave a business can stay, the better they will be prepared for the long-term.