Organizations adopting recruiting automation face fewer hiring challenges, finds survey

Digital recruiting is here to stay and candidates need to be aware of this new reality. A global survey by KellyOCG reveals that about 55 percent of survey respondents comprising 522 companies across the globe (including India) believe that Digital recruiting going to be the new normal.

Employers are using technologies like Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to gather applications electronically, Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) system to enhance candidate experience, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and backend automation. One in five organizations intend using AI and automation in the next two years, the report said. Further, as one-third of job seekers worldwide have searched for a job through their mobile devices, mobile based ATS is also becoming an essential technology for organizations.

“By delegating low-level tactical work to machines, recruiters gain time for more meaningful conversations with identified high-potential candidates, giving them the personal attention they deserve,” said Francis Padamadan, Country Director, KellyOCG India. 77 percent of job applicants prefer human interaction during their job hunt, showed the survey.

Chatbots are playing a major role in tactical work like recruiting concierge, bot-run interview prep class, talent community management and responses to candidates. Another technology which has found large scale adoption is live digital interviewing. 46 percent of those surveyed say they will use live digital interviewing in the next few years.

“While employers are grappling with talent shortage, there are more passive job seekers than ever before. This situation is driving organizations to adopt digital processes. Interestingly, while many organizations are in the early stages of recruiting automation, some are already on the cutting edge. The survey shows that such vanguard organizations or innovators experience fewer hiring challenges than organizations with more traditional approaches,” said Padamadan. Nearly 40 percent of survey respondents described their organization’s recruiting function as either experimental or innovative. 

The survey also found that 40 percent of employers worldwide reported greater difficulty hiring the right people which the highest level in the last 10 years. Hiring for in-demand skills is the most critical challenge as per 42 percent of the employers surveyed.

The digital adoption is also being boosted by enhanced candidate experience. More than a third of survey respondents (38 percent) said they had not heard any complaints from candidates regarding their digital adoption. In fact, 47 percent of vanguard organizations say they see an increase in the number of applications and candidate satisfaction. The key is to ensure digital and AI combine with human intelligence.

“Candidates are becoming like consumers and employers are aware that candidate relationship management will differentiate their employer brand in the market. Hence, they have bought into automation and those who have already deployed digital processes are experiencing positive outcomes. Full automation will be the way ahead,” said Francis.