How to Use HR Tech to Humanize and Improve the Hiring Process

In today’s digital world, we are more connected than ever. 

Yet, authentic human moments – when we connect on a deeper level – are few and far between. This is especially true in recruiting.

Candidates job search online and network on social media without ever leaving the house. HR tech is expensive, and there are a lot of software options to help them form real connections with recruiters (and vice versa), even talking in person. For instance, candidate relationship management software can provide candidates with a personalized experience, leading to improved engagement in the hiring process.

How HR technology enhances human connections

Today’s recruits have many choices, which can be both a challenge and an opportunity for your business. Candidates are looking for companies and brands that fit their values, lifestyle, and work environment needs in addition to their skills and career goals.

Recruiters know that candidates need a real, human connection before they choose their next home away from home. At the same time, these candidates live in a world of immediacy and instant digital satisfaction. This predicament has left many HR departments looking for the right balance between the two.

Candidates don't just want a job, but an experience out of their employment. And with so many opportunities in a strong job market, companies need to break through the digital noise to attract recruits that are the best match for them.

A candidate’s experience with your brand has to be easy and exciting if you want to capture their heart and mind.

How can companies use technology to innovate the recruitment process and look attractive to top prospects without losing the human connection that’s so important when looking for a job? By utilizing new HR recruiting software.

Types of HR technology

When it comes to HR technology, companies need to focus not only on the cost-saving benefits of automation but the time-saving ones as well. Where is your time being spent? What can you automate? 

Technology can help streamline mundane tasks that feel less human, freeing up more time to focus on what really matters: authenticity.

Many companies have moved toward programs that enhance communication and collaboration. These technologies not only help with cost reduction and productivity, but availability, reliability, and performance. Even as employees travel, work remotely, or work from home, these platforms allow quicker response times and more collaborative connections with colleagues and clients. 

The same holds true for HR tech and recruiting. Online HR tools that assist companies in sourcing talent are trending in the automated world we live in. These days, any lag time between initial contact and hire can cause even the best companies to lose their top prospects.

It isn’t just about reviewing resumes – recruiting teams need an approach that will get them in front of the best talent faster, and candidates need the opportunity to make a real human connection with your people and brand, from any device. These types of HR technology can help make that happen.

Candidate relationship management software

HR professionals should utilize candidate relationship management software. These tools help deliver a personalized candidate experience during the interview and hiring process. This software allows companies to maintain an engaged talent pipeline, so it's easier to hire qualified candidates for open roles.

The HR team must consider the candidate's experience when interviewing, because offering a positive one can help companies attract more applicants, better compete against other businesses for top talent, improve the quality of hires applying for roles, and increase brand awareness. 

Recruiting automation software

There's also recruiting automation software, which helps hiring managers and recruiters create applicant pools for current and future openings. These tools may use artificial intelligence to identify the most qualified candidates, verify social profiles, and export complete candidate profiles and resumes.

Essentially, they assist in managing candidate pipelines, making the hiring process streamlined for both the HR team and qualified applicants. Being able to source top talent from an array of sources while providing companies with the screening and assessing tools needed to find the right talent for the job means filling open roles faster and with greater longevity.

Video interviewing software

Another ubiquitous technology is video. Video is everywhere, bringing content to life like never before. Video interviewing software can help companies connect with candidates in a streamlined fashion before bringing them into an office for a second interview.

For many companies, video interviewing – either prerecorded or live – is a good first step in creating a more humanizing process for candidates rather than a traditional phone interview.

Companies can harness the power of technology while connecting with candidates on a more personal level. Teams can quickly screen candidates and get to the best recruits in less time.

Instead of spending hours on the phone interviewing multiple candidates, recruiters can record questions, add branding videos, and enable various team members to ask questions, thus building a truly immersive, personal experience for candidates.  

With this approach, recruiters add a human element to an online process and make it feel like a two-way conversation. In turn, candidates can get a real feel for company branding, culture, and team members just as they would in person.

Video allows recruiting teams to vet more candidates, add consistency to interviews, and bring their company to life earlier in the recruiting process. Teams can easily record, share, and playback candidate interviews as needed, streamlining the process.

Challenges of HR tech

While there are many benefits to utilizing HR technology, there are some potential challenges to consider, too. Some include:

• Replacing human interactions: While yes, software can often streamline the interviewing and hiring process, some may argue it provides a replacement for human recruiters that is best avoided. But in reality, HR tech can automate tasks and give them more time to build an effective talent pool and fill open roles with top-tier candidates. 
• Price: Some HR technology can be costly, so companies should do their due diligence in researching tools with the features and functionality they desire.
• Length onboarding: The more HR software is within a company's tech stack, the more time is spent training and learning how to use the new tool. Because of this, it's often best to find an all-in-one solution where onboarding only has to occur once.

Don't dehumanize, personalize

The goal of HR tech is not to replace people or dehumanize the recruiting experience. When used correctly, the opposite is true. Organizations are now using everything from video and texting to targeted advertising and chatbots to help expand their searches and target the best candidates with a more personalized (and quicker) approach.

These tools can help you identify the right talent sooner, automate mundane tasks, and spend more time getting to know candidates, making recruiting a better experience for everyone. 

HR technology can help internal recruiting teams attract and source job candidates to convert into applicants. Browse a list of the best recruitment marketing platforms on G2.

This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information.