3 Tools to Automate Your High Volume Recruiting

AI and Automation are all the rage right now and if you are working in a high volume recruiting environment look for automation to be a coming attraction at a process near you.  There are several tasks in high volume recruiting that are prime targets of those involved in process automation. I am going to give a high level overview of some of the tools available and how you might use them to reduce time to fill, cost per hire while improving the overall candidate experience.

Programmatic Job Advertising Platform

The first tool to consider for high volume recruitment is a programmatic job advertising platform.  It may not be the first suggestion you would expect but I believe it is one of the simplest and most cost-effective places to start.  A programmatic job advertising platform is an AI-powered tool that is designed to monitor and adjust your advertising placement and spend.   While it may seem trivial the correct application of this technique has made Amazon billions of dollars in sales and should not be underestimated.  

A programmatic job advertising platform can adjust your spend so that the jobs that are not seeing enough traction get more funding and are seen by more relevant prospect while reducing funding of roles that are performing well organically.  Some are also even able to remove job postings after a certain number of prospects have applied. This is a double efficiency gain as it helps you stop spending money on advertisements that are working organically while focusing the advertising dollars in the places where the most focus is required.

Getting a better ROI on your job advertising dollars should be enough to justify the expense of a platform but it isn’t the only benefit to this approach.  In the US alone there are over 7.5 million jobs posted online.  Unemployment is also near record low levels.  The tactics that worked when there were 4 million jobs online will not produce the same results when there are 7.5 million jobs posted online.   As an industry, it is time for us to change our tactics and adapt to our new environment. To my mind, this is one of the simplest, inexpensive ways to being the path toward process automation.

Chabot

Another type of tool that would be worth investigating is a Chabot.  NLP (Natural Language Processing) is a rapidly improving technology in the world of AI.   Last year Google demonstrated their new Chabot that could actually make phone calls and schedule reservations with a live person.  NLP is a term used to describe the technology that allows a computer to understand and converse with humans.  A Chabot can be programmed to get take a basic application, create a profile, apply for jobs, request updates and take assessments.  The nice thing about chatbots is that they are available 24/7 and can talk to more than one person at a time.

In addition to using the latest in NLP, chatbots can also take advantage of machine learning.  This means that generally speaking over time, they not only get better at understanding and responding but they are also able to begin to predict who will and who will not be a match for the organization based on previous hiring decisions.  This can be a double-edged sword and it is imperative that the reporting produced by a Chabot be monitored closely. Amazon learned that their matching technology, that included chatbots, was automating an unconscious bias in their recruiting process.   However, closely monitored a Chabot can greatly increase recruiter production by allowing them to focus on the prospect most likely to be hired.

It also improves the candidate experience.  One of the great frustrations of candidates today is that they feel like their resume falls into a black hole never to be heard from again.  A Chabot is a practical way to minimize this experience and interestingly I’m told by the vendors and end-users alike that nearly 75% of all people who engage with a Chabot say, “thank you.”  I would guess this is higher than the number of people that thank an ATS for taking their application. Chatbots can help you not only sort out the no but also help you get to yes in less time.

Video Interview Platforms

The final tool I would recommend considering is video interview platforms.  Video interviews have a number of advantages in a high volume environment. The first advantage is of course scheduling.  Candidates can take the interview whenever they have the time. The data indicates that as many as 40% of all the interviews conducted on video interview platforms are recorded after business hours or on the weekend.  

Additionally, it can help standardize the recruiting process and help to make it fair.  Everyone gets the same questions in the same order in the same way. It gives candidates a chance to show, not tell, their skills and abilities.  To my mind, it is a part of a solution to the candidate black hole problem. Finally, it allows your hiring managers to compare candidates side by side.  They are able to move from candidate to candidate with ease and this not only helps them save time but gives them a true candidate pipeline to review. An on-demand candidate pipeline has been a dream of many of the world’s hiring managers.  

Automation can be a powerful way to not only sort out the no’s but also to get to yes faster.   The high volume recruiting programs are the ones that will see the largest ROI from programmatic advertising, chatbots and video interviews.  So if you are in a high volume recruiting team then I would start looking seriously at these tools, schedule demos and bring them to the attention of leadership.   If we want to be seen as true business partners one of the things we must do is bring ideas to the table that help our organizations run better, faster and cheaper.

Authors

Mike Wolford

As the Talent Intelligence Titan with over 15 years of progressive experience, I've dedicated my career to revolutionizing the talent acquisition landscape. My journey, marked by leadership roles at esteemed organizations like Claro Analytics and Twitter, has equipped me with a deep understanding of recruiting, sourcing, and analytics. I've seamlessly integrated advanced AI technologies into talent acquisition, positioning myself at the vanguard of recruitment innovation.