What does e-recruitment mean in 2022? It is a topic that many in the space are quite familiar with but haven’t fully come to terms with adopting the concept as the main practice.
E-recruitment is an alternative and more modern way of carrying out recruitment processes. It involves using technology to make the job of a recruiter easier, so you don’t have to physically source candidates, meet them face-to-face for screenings and interviews, and manually sort through applications.
Before the pandemic changed how recruiters recruited candidates, many professionals relied on consolidating applications through emails and Google sheets. As a result, this became highly time-consuming for HR professionals, leaving them with little room to focus on building strong networks and enhancing their talent pool.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, changed the landscape of recruiting overnight. With the closure of borders, social distancing measures being imposed, and restrictions on hosting gatherings and events, recruiters were forced to look at alternative ways of hiring, which led to the rise and popularity of e-recruitment.
You could say that what was once a rarely used concept of doing things has now slowly shifted to becoming the “new normal.”
A report published in early 2021 by SHRM stated that virtual hiring is here to stay. The report came right around when most countries were preparing to go back to some degree of normalcy, which meant adopting practices that worked well during the pandemic as the new way forward. Many companies chose to continue progressing with hybrid work systems, as many talents worldwide were still and would continue working remotely.
Now that the world is somewhat back to normal, recruiters find it challenging to keep up with changing demands, especially when the industry has become fiercely competitive. To keep up with such changes, a recommendation would be to adapt to and adopt e-recruitment practices, making it a norm for the industry.
Here are some steps to normalize e-recruitment, ensuring you can achieve the most out of utilizing tools, technologies, and many different strategies.
Why should E-Recruitment be normalized?
To begin with, most companies around the world are shifting to accommodate digital transformation. Suppose a company hasn’t already incorporated technology, such as cloud-based solutions, artificial intelligence, automated systems, and more, to carry out varying tasks. In that case, they are slowly working towards doing so.
The recruitment industry is no different, with many recruiters relying on automated systems and other HR software to streamline the recruiting process.
If you haven’t already familiarized yourself with e-recruitment and its benefits, here’s a guide to what it can assist:
1. Streamline the recruitment process
E-recruitment streamlines the process because it eliminates time-consuming tasks that recruiters often have to undertake if they don’t utilize tools and technologies to enhance their recruiting process.
The ease of technology allows an HR professional to do almost everything virtually. Moreover, automated tools such as an applicant tracking system make it much easier to source and track candidates without using multiple platforms.
2. Diversity Hiring
Entering 2023, HR professionals should not underestimate the importance of diversity hiring and how going about it properly can boost one’s chances of success in the industry. It is something that should be prioritized.
Various technological platforms designed to help recruiters with their job provide opportunities for these professionals to hire better talent and reach a wider pool of talent because the location is no longer a restricting factor. When taking this into account for diversity hiring, you’re able to enhance your workforce with people from all over the world instead of being stuck to hiring the same generic groups of talent.
Why should e-recruitment become a standard for candidate retention?
E-recruitment should be normalized because of the current trends and how the industry is shaping itself in the modern day. But, it is also important for HR professionals to understand just how crucial it is to retain candidates.
As this “new normal” is here to stay, it should come as no surprise that e-recruitment should become a normal practice to accommodate the abundance of challenges that recruiters currently face and will continue to face when it comes to sourcing and retaining candidates.
A report by Gallup has emphasized the changing nature of the workspace, especially regarding changing employee demands. There is now a higher emphasis placed on employee well-being over other factors. This sets a precedent for how the workforce will look going into the future.
Employee well-being can be factored in when you consider how work environments have changed to accommodate more work-from-home options or hybrid work systems.
Since the demands and expectations coming out of the pandemic focus heavily on how candidates prefer working from home or in hybrid workforces to emphasize their well-being, this sets a precedent for why e-recruitment should be standardized across the board.
The tools available in this scope, such as an applicant tracking system like Manatal’s, can go a long way in ensuring that a candidate feels desired and valued by a recruiter and an organization. More tools are becoming available in the market, and when used to their fullest capabilities, they can guarantee that candidates receive the coveted feedback they desire.
Feedback can be in the form of automated feedback through these automated tracking applicant platforms, where the feedback can be in the form of pre-programmed emails. A recruiter can simply use an existing email template such as the one Manatal offers, set a designated time for the email to be sent out depending on the candidate's stage, and give the candidate the feedback they’re looking for.
So normalizing e-recruitment means understanding the current trends, such as diversity hiring, and how tools such as an applicant tracking system can make the recruitment process much more efficient.
To understand further why it should be normalized, read on because we will answer any doubts you have by providing you a guide to 3 key steps any HR professional should undertake should they want to progress along the path of success in this space.
Steps to take
Here are some of the key steps you should take to fully understand e-recruitment, and be aligned with the current and future trends. You will also be able to correctly use an applicant tracking system to boost your chances of success.
1. Educate yourself
If you’re new to the recruitment industry, well, a lot has changed over the years. You must become accustomed to the changing nature of the industry and learn the ropes by familiarizing yourself with what the industry entails. You can start by finding out where best to source talents from, who you should be connecting with, and the best tools you should be equipping yourself with to ensure you are hiring quality candidates in a timely manner.
To have a head-start, begin your journey by researching the different HR tools available such as an ATS and CRM. You can take it one step further and read up on online onboarding systems and services. Research is important because there are many different platforms to choose from, so you should be aware of all the features and decide carefully on the one that is right for you. You might come to find that Manatal’s ATS is your pick.
2. Build your network: it’s all about the connections
E-recruitment shouldn’t be something that scares you because of assumptions that it’s new and vastly different from traditional recruitment. Instead, you should consider it as being an enhanced version of the latter.
When working under the scope of e-recruitment, you should still have a mindset where as a recruiter, you are working on building connections and still networking. Every great recruiter knows that the key to successful hiring is through having a strong talent pipeline.
The next step would be for you to take your research further by finding out who you should be connecting with. Then, you can plan a course of action on how you should go about connecting with these people. A recruiter needs to be mindful of hiring active candidates who are always on the lookout for a vacant position. But, a proactive recruiter knows that staying connected with passive candidates can also yield results.
A candidate might not hit the mark for you today, or there might not be any vacant positions for them. That doesn’t mean that further down the line, there won’t be something that will open up for this candidate. It is important you continue to stay connected with that candidate by making them feel as if they are valued – doing so means you’ve built yourself a great talent pool, filled with networks of candidates.
Here at Manatal, we have been lucky to have been in conversation with a range of guests coming from different industry verticals in the recruitment space. Each one of them has stressed the importance of networking and building a strong talent pipeline as a driving factor toward success.
PODCAST: Listen to this episode of All-In Recruitment to learn more about what it takes to build a great talent pipeline.
After all, what good is the use of tools if you don’t have the right connections to use them with right?
3. Dare to take risks
Recruiters were pushed toward taking risks back in 2020 because the normal way of doing things was no longer possible. This paved the way for e-recruitment to really step up to the plate and gain popularity. As work-from-home became a standard across the globe, many countries shifted to allowing organizations to offer some degree of a hybrid work landscape.
E-recruitment is practically the new normal of recruitment and is here to stay, well, at least for the next couple of years or so. With that being said, the next step for a recruiter would be that you shouldn’t be afraid of taking risks in this space. Especially, if it means you end up at the top of the ladder.
You should have a mindset where you want the best of the best, and that means daring to do something different to get the best. There’s an abundance of competition in the industry, which means you need to find a way to stand out as a recruiter.
With an array of tools and technologies to use under the scope of e-recruitment, you can dare to be different via the path of social media. It is something that almost everyone around the world is familiar with. Whether it be sites like Instagram or Facebook, you will constantly come to find that people are using these platforms to stay connected with one another.
In a modern world, recruiters who are looking to attract the next generation of talent who are deemed to be the tech-savvy generation should take advantage of these social media platforms.
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Once you’re aware of the target group of candidates that you’re seeking to recruit, you can take that risk and put yourself out there on Instagram. Work by building your employer brand, post relevant content that aligns with current trends, and sooner or later, you’ll find yourself with a basket full of talent.
To wrap it up, normalizing e-recruitment means looking at the past and learning from what has worked and what hasn’t worked. Then, you can find ways to adapt certain principles, tactics, and strategies in a new world where digital tools and technologies are slowly sweeping the world.
Add in the fact that there’s a new generation of workers present in the workforce, plus the foreseeable growth in the future places an implication on recruiters that they need to always be on their feet, ready to anticipate the next trends and challenges.
A successful recruiter knows and understands the importance of conducting research, knowing whom to connect with, and the right tools and technologies to use. Moreover, a great recruiter isn’t afraid to do something different.
It’s the only way you’ll be able to stand out in an already competitive industry that’s only growing more competitive each day.
Take it one step further and invest in a solid and efficient automated tool that will not only help you craft that coveted talent pipeline you seek but also present you with an opportunity to take a risk. You might find that you can build a solid employer brand, ready to attract the next set of talents.
Look at Manatal’s applicant tracking system for your one-stop needs to really enhance your recruiting game, as e-recruitment slowly becomes the norm over time.
Start your 14-day Free Trial to explore the features of our ATS and how it can help you normalize e-recruitment.
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