I recently read a blog from Greg Savage, Is Agency recruitment going to be Uber-ised? The answer here. Greg’s premise is that there are a ton of new start-ups in the recruitment space offering the latest and greatest idea to revolutionize recruitment with technology. Many, if not most, of these start-ups are offering new tools that seek to streamline or improve the “matching” part of the process.
But here’s the thing: recruitment is so much MORE than matching.
There are a million ways to “match” a candidate to a job order using technology – heck, job boards have been offering this for years as have most ATS solutions. You can match by advertising, by smiling and dialing, or by utilizing the services of a great names sourcer like Maureen Sharib (disclaimer: Maureen has been a paid speaker and guest blogger for NPAworldwide in the past).
Recruitment, however, is more art than science. Skilled recruiters are able to find candidates who may not be currently looking for a new opportunity and pique their interest. Once the candidate is interested, the recruiter then has to successfully convince a client to interview (and we know there are some clients requiring WAY too many interviews!). The candidate may have to be further sold on a new location or a different salary structure. And a trailing spouse and family is also an important piece of the process. Never mind negotiating the offer, coaching the candidate through the resignation process and making sure the deal doesn’t fall apart before the first day.
When it comes down to it, candidates are people. And while you can certainly influence people, you can’t ultimately control them. And technology tends to make things LESS people-oriented, not more. By all means invest in appropriate technological tools to improve your process. But don’t discount the human element, which is the real value (and art) of a successful recruiter.
