It’s 2018, and millennials make up the bulk of the Canadian workforce. By 2025, 75% of working adults will be millennials. True digital natives (Gen Zers) are starting to enter the candidate pool and seeking hourly employment. As a result, technology and social media have become necessary recruitment tools. 82% of Canadians aged 18-34 use Facebook, 54% are on Instagram, and 41% are active on Twitter.
For recruiters, the ability to see someone’s social media profile gives enormous insight into their interests, network and personality. Access to these platforms costs HR managers nothing. Other forms of recruiting technology have become cost-effective and even free, like Workopolis, Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, and sites created by educational institutions.
To cater to this tech-centric generation of hourly working, here’s what you’ll want to know for your recruiting efforts.
AI is giving recruiters the gift of time
We all want a huge, qualified response to our postings. Some of the biggest time-killers for recruiters (especially for hourly jobs that can attract hundreds or thousands of over- and under-qualified applicants) are wading through a sea of resumes, arranging screening calls and interviews, coordinating with hiring managers, and responding to candidates.
Artificial Intelligence is saving the day for many high volume employers. For example, Indigo Books and Music has adopted recruitment automation for many of the manual administrative steps involved in recruiting. With AI, Indigo increased its talent pool by almost 200% and went from looking at only 30% of candidates to 100%.
It’s now possible to automate initial screening, interview scheduling, and candidate management without the candidate feeling like they’re being handled by a robot. Removing this burden from recruiters and hiring managers is a welcome relief, freeing them up for more value-added aspects of the recruitment process.
To be clear, AI isn’t autoresponder technology. It learns and evolves, and can mimic real human responses for all types of situations. It’s only going to get more useful and complex as time goes on.
Mobile recruiting puts your roles in front of the right job seekers
Smartphones have become integral to daily interactions and transactions, and for many people, they’ve replaced traditional computers. This trend is weaving its way into hiring. The application process has evolved from dropping off a resume in person to applying online, and job seekers, especially millennials, are calling for shorter and easier-to-use application systems and apps.
Mobile recruitment is becoming more popular for recruiters and hiring managers, but it still has a long way to go. There’s a clear discrepancy between the 33% of self-described ‘talent-centric’ employers actively using mobile for recruiting and the 70% of job seekers who search for positions on a phone or tablet. Hourly job seekers, in particular, are using mobile devices to find work.
Imagine doing all of your recruiting and candidate management on your phone, whenever and wherever you want. SMS technology can be built right in the platform for automated messaging, notifications, and responses. Managers can quickly review applications and candidates, record notes, and advance top candidates without the risk of losing good people due to a slow employer response.
Technology is constantly changing, and it’s bringing more speed, quality, and efficiency to talent acquisition and the job seeker experience. Ignoring these changes would mean sitting back and watching everyone else in the market move forward. The only way you’ll be able to reap the benefits of these new tools is to properly implement and manage them. If you want to know more about how technology can support your hourly recruiting, feel free to get in touch.
About Mindfield
Mindfield is a Recruitment Outsourcing solutions provider that partners with companies to create powerful hourly workforces. Our solutions combine a recruitment team, simple to use technology and a data-driven hiring strategy that promises to improve the quality of your hourly workforce. This approach focuses on tying business outcomes such as sales performance, tenure, and engagement to the selection, hiring and measurement of quality candidates.