Recruitment is a crucial part of making any organization function. For one, different hiring tasks allow HR to screen applicants and hire the most fitting to the positions available and to the organization as a whole.
While the hiring process for specific job vacancies is not always the same, there are many tasks and activities in the process that can be standardized and automated.
Doing so makes it easier for the recruitment team to focus on finding the most competent and responsible talent among all the applicants and hiring them before a competing organization does.
That being said, here are six tasks in the hiring process that you can automate today to make your recruitment tomorrow more efficient.
1. Job Description Templates
The first task you should have standardized and automated should be the preparation of the job descriptions. After all, the actual hiring process can only begin once you post the job descriptions for the positions you are looking to fill up.
If you have to create new job descriptions from scratch every time a vacancy opens up, it will take you a bit of time to get started with hiring.
To make the task much easier, you should come up with a job description template. You can just fill this out every time a position is vacated.
Although the exact details of the job differ from position to position, most job descriptions contain the same things — job title, job description, salary range, experience, preferred skills, and job requirements.
Over time, you will also be able to compile a template for each and every one of the positions in your organization that you can just pull out when you need them. Of course, you’ll have to update the templates from the time to time.
2. Pre-screening Candidates
After applicants submit their forms and requirements, you can now check which ones fit the criteria. Whether it’s age, educational background, experience history, or even openness to long hours on fieldwork, the basic information that a candidate provides should be able to help you filter out candidates.
Doing so will tell you which of the applicants are qualified and which are underqualified or overqualified for the position they are vying for.
You can provide applicants with an online form that they can fill out so that all of their information goes directly to your database.
As it is, online forms usually also lay out all the submitted information into a spreadsheet that you can easily filter and sort according to your requirements.
3. Pre-Screening Tests
Not everyone whose credentials look good on paper is actually that good in real life.
While there are organizations that employ two or more rounds of interviews before hiring, this is extremely exhausting not only for the hiring team but also for the interviewee.
After filtering out who fits the requirements, you should also determine who among the candidates has the actual skills, knowledge, and potential you’re looking for. It’s also important to evaluate how your candidates can perform their roles if the job is given to them.
To pre-screen applicants, you may consider sending them a test to assess their abilities. These assessments should be skill-based to accurately evaluate the candidates.
HireNest, in particular, allows you to customize assessments based on the factors that you need the most from your potential hires. Candidates will receive the link via email or SMS message, after which they can answer the tests directly. HireNest will then provide you with analytics and reports based on the test results so that you can identify the strongest candidates.
4. Interview Question Template
Usually, interview flows depend on who is on the panel and what they want to know from the applicants.
Due to this, the information gathered from the interview is typically based on the bias with which the interviewer asks the question and interprets the answer given. The results of the interview will then depend on the interviewer’s gut feelings, which are also subject to unconscious bias.
To avoid biased results that may inaccurately predict the interviewee’s actual success at the job, the interview should be structured beforehand.
Specific questions, both on how the applicant will handle the job in certain situations and will adapt to the environment of the organization, should be asked with the same delivery and in the same order for all candidates.
Not only will doing this remove potential bias in the interview, but it can also prevent interviewers from spending a lot of time preparing an interview questionnaire that is both unbiased and effective enough to completely show the applicant’s skills and knowledge.
Now, instead of gut feelings, your interview results are based on measured data that is equal across all candidates.
5. Interview Scheduling
One of the greatest hassles of any hiring process is scheduling.
Scheduling requires two or more people to match their availability and agree on a set time. Adding more people to the mix further increases the difficulty.
If your interviews are done per group, your hiring managers are likely in for some tedious back-and-forths between phone calls, text messages, and emails – not to mention, the inevitable cancellations and rescheduling.
One thing you can do to automate interview scheduling is to set up a platform where you provide interview slots for different positions. Slots open up if the required number of panel members available for that particular job interview is fulfilled.
This way, your hiring managers get more time to do their other more important tasks. You can also interview more applicants at a much faster rate since it’s usually scheduling issues that hinder the hiring process from moving forward.
Plus, automating your interview schedules reduces the friction between your hiring team and the potential hires and even improves your company branding. After all, if the candidate experience is much better, with a relatively hassle-free interview, it increases the possibility of your new hires recommending your company to people they know.
6. Candidate Communication
If you’re an applicant, one of the worst things that can happen while you’re job hunting is to never hear back from a company that you’re applying to.
Not getting feedback or even just a short “thank you, but we can’t accept you at this time” message can be quite disheartening to any applicant. It also makes them think less of a company.
Sadly, many candidates have already experienced going through one or more interviews, only to never hear again from the company they were applying to.
While it’s understandable for hiring teams to overlook follow-ups to declined candidates due to heavy workloads, fast-approaching deadlines, and multiple backlogs, it’s still not good practice.
During the hiring process, HR teams should be careful to maintain a good candidate experience. Simply put, the inability to get back to an applicant reflects negatively on the hiring team’s ability to meet hiring demands. Applicants are also less likely to consider your company again for future opportunities.
Therefore, one of the hiring tasks you can automate today is candidate communication. If you automate communication with candidates, it will be much easier for you to get back to them later for a more empathic response, should you want to do that. Plus, you get more time for other value-adding tasks in your hiring process.
Automating Hiring Tasks Today
Utilizing technology to automate repetitive hiring tasks such as the ones listed above makes the hiring process faster, easier, and more efficient.
With the previously mentioned hiring tasks automated, you and your hiring team can now focus on other essential tasks in the hiring process such as interviewing the candidates or widening the campaign reach to access more competent applicants.
Not only is the process more efficient for you, but it will also be more comfortable and more pleasant for the applicants. In the long run, it can help your organization become more competitive and more coveted by aspiring candidates.
