Cagatay Guney is a HR professional with more than 20 years managerial experience in the industry. Here he discusses new shifts in recruitment technology, and gives tips on how best to use this technology to your advantage to make your recruitment process thrive. 

It is no good denying. With the constant push for cost optimization, shifting demographics and new technologies, HR needs to become much more digital.  Any conference you go to, any event you attend or anytime you start reading about HR trends, digital is the King. Data analytics, video technology, online interviews, assessments etc.  We have even started to discuss robots and artificial intelligence.

Maybe it is still very premature to talk about robots replacing HR jobs, but it is quite certain that digital will replace manual. Even today, 63 per cent of all job seekers are looking for their next career opportunity on their smart phones. Having noticed where the action is, 93 per cent of all recruiters are also in on digital, searching for talent on social media. These are huge numbers. But given the gravity of the need for digital and mobile, only 16 per cent of  global companies report that they have a mobile application process.  If you compare the need and what is actually being done in terms of transformation, the gap is very concerning. Especially if you think about the 67 million Generation Z’ers that will join the job market in the next 4-5 years in the US alone.

It will be much more difficult to explain to the young talent of 2020, why they need to copy a 50-year old CV format to express their uniqueness, embellish stuff in bullet points and then re-type most of that same info into a tired looking application page that takes more than 40 minutes to complete. And then do the same for another company, again. How many of them do you think will read a 4-page long job description and connect with your brand over a single slogan on a crowded career web site? Look at the numbers: According to Career Arc’s survey 60 per cent of the candidates say that they had a poor experience and 72 per cent of those would share this information with their friends online. Ouch!

Well, this is not news to anyone. Everybody in the HR world is aware of these numbers. Everybody understands the need. But how on Earth do you explain the gap?

Either the HR departments do not care much about the talent experience and attraction of young talent to their brands while utilising new technologies, or they are not very sure about where to start, what works and what does not.

I meet a lot of HR leaders in different countries because of my job and I am sure of the latter.  Transformation is always difficult, confusing and at times overwhelming especially because HR does not want to get this important concept wrong. So they are reviewing, benchmarking, checking out alternatives, attending conferences, events and of course, reading blogs about digital HR.  Getting ready to get it right.

Experience taught me that in times of major tidal shifts, being late is often the same as being wrong. Given how fast and strong the technology and demographics tides are that are upon us, I suggest 5 simple starting points to get into the journey, now:

  • Re-write your job postings: – They do not work. They’re just too long and they do not convey the type of information that the applicants are looking for. There are great studies and tips on how to write an attractive job description on the web.

 

  • Use video content – You do not need huge budget productions. Talent is looking for opportunities to understand what success means, what the working environment looks like, how the team is. Give them quick, sharp, fun videos to engage with you and get answers to their questions via videos.

 

  • Smart screen instead of phone/1st interview – Instead of long application processes or screening interviews, ask the most important qualifier questions by setting up an intelligent digital screening session. A typical smart screening session takes 4-5 minutes on mobile. Video screening is an excellent way to get culture-fit and competency questions

 

  • Don’t just post, promote as well – Posting and waiting for talent to find your posting is not social media hiring. A small budget and a targeted ad campaign goes a long way. Pair your advertisement campaign with mobile screening to maximise your efficiency and brand power.

 

  • Involve hiring managers into digital – Share video screening sessions for them to review and evaluate. Set online interviews, have them play part in promotional videos, testimonials and onboarding. Their presence and commitment is invaluable.

 

There are great companies on the cloud that can help all on these first steps. Check them (and us) out and let’s get on with our journeys.

 

 

 

 

 

Avatar
Cagatay Guney

Cagatay is a Human Resources and Organization Development professional with more than 20 years of experience both as a manager in and as an external consultant to several Fortune 500 companies in USA, Canada and Turkey.
 
He specializes in organizational structure, strategic planning, talent management and workforce planning. He is the consultant and technical specialist for HR domain.
 
Prior to the Peoplise; company he owned was consulting enterprise HR teams. As a professional; he worked for Deloitte Turkey as Director of HR, for Toyota Turkey as Director of HR
 and Ford Motor Company as North American, Regional Workforce Readiness Manager.

Cagatay holds a MSc Degree from the Master or Organization Development program at Bowling Green State University. He holds a BSc degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the Middle East Technical University.

He served as a member of the State of Illinois Workforce Investment Board and Employment Committee of The Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD).

He is also the author of two fictional novels.