Digitalization: what are the impacts on recruitment?

Following the recruitment difficulties encountered in recent years, there has been a significant evolution in practices in the sector. In 2021, we found that 84% of companies that digitized hiring had access to better qualified candidate profiles and were able to engage with them in a more personalized way. If digital transformation is democratized for a majority of companies, what impacts can we expect in the future?

Summary

1. Globalization of the labor market

2. Digital technology at the service of humans

3. The risk of total automation

Globalization of the labor market

Digital transformations have had a strong impact on the job market. Businesses now benefit from more efficient tools while talents observe changes in their work environment. It is possible to obtain a wider geographical coverage, both to access a greater variety of talents as well as to jobs that they had not considered before the emergence of teleworking. This globalization therefore implies changes in recruitment methods, if we consider, for example, that remote work is becoming an integral parameter in taking a job. This also encourages us to rethink contractual modalities and to be open to other types of collaborations, including the intervention of freelancers.

On the other hand, we are witnessing a flight of highly qualified French talent to foreign countries. Instead of worrying about it, let's see these talent flows as an opportunity to open your business to new profiles, as foreign candidates are likely to have the expertise they are looking for. Recruiting internationally is becoming a real response to the challenges of diversity and inclusion in companies.

In general, we can see greater talent volatility, even within the country. They can communicate their situation and be open to opportunities. There is therefore, and perhaps even above all, an issue of loyalty within companies. Let's be open to digital transformation, but let's not replace what makes up the identity and culture of our companies: human values.

Digital technology at the service of humans

Optimizing searches

In recent weeks, AIs have been at the heart of the news and have worried professionals in particular, because of their ability to adapt and speak language. But when it comes to recruitment, artificial intelligences are rather considered as valuable tools by employers. Some recruiters have developed AIs that refine searches using certain keywords. All you have to do is indicate a few tags in the job description, such as software names, soft-skills, technical skills or a pay range. The algorithm is then responsible for identifying the profile or profiles that combine as much of this information as possible.

This search process has the advantage of significantly reducing the time required for recruitment. These tools also make it possible to increase the number of applications, in particular thanks to the data available in CV libraries or search engines of certain professional networks such as LinkedIn. In the same way, recruitments are faster because offers are directly distributed to the right targets, while having more finely selected candidates. The success rate of recruitments is increasing, not because digitalization guarantees better results, but rather because it reinforces the recruitment techniques already in place.

Streamlining HR processes

The internal management of employees and candidates is also impacted by these digital transformations. When the company receives a lot of applications, their centralization becomes crucial in order to track recruitment from end to end and, for example, not to leave rejected applications unanswered. Other digital solutions also guarantee the security of contracts between the company and a third party: we think in particular of the electronic signature. But it concerns just as much the internal management of documents and confidential information of employees. The multiplication of management tools such as Payfit or Deel is thus a real boon for HR functions! We facilitate the interconnection between the various tools, we streamline communication between the different teams and we ensure the link between the company and the market.

People at the heart of recruitment

Recruiting is a sector of activity that brings together many passionate people. And for good reason, it is a sector of activity that values social skills. It's not just a process story, it's a job that hides many subtleties that are incomprehensible for artificial intelligence.

Digitalization has thus allowed the development of numerous tools, promoting better data processing. But it is essential to know how to analyze them in order to assess the quality of the profiles selected. Regarding job descriptions, the progress of ChatGPT is not enough. Writing them requires human knowledge and a good dose of emotional intelligence to present the context of the company, describe the expectations of the profile, while promoting the employer's culture.

The risk of total automation

This is not a surprise: we are facing an increasingly important automation of all trades. The recruitment industry is no exception. Today, there are tools that automate, for example, the reference taking of well-advanced applications. By sending a questionnaire to the candidate's former managers, an algorithm is then responsible for processing the data by identifying business skills and soft skills, summarized in the form of a graph. While it's a good way to save time on this critical step, intuition is subtracted from the process. However, sometimes, this is precisely what makes it possible to reinforce the signs of a promising collaboration, or on the contrary, to validate doubts about an application, even if on paper, the talent seems to correspond perfectly to the profile sought.

Can we really grasp the uniqueness of these profiles, without human intervention in the process? Aren't there risks if you automate recruitment steps that require a thorough understanding of the subtlety of human relationships, or even the hidden potential of each talent?

Digitalization makes it possible to recruit more quickly, to better qualify talents or even to open up recruitments to international profiles. But it is more than essential to combine it with human interventions to ensure the quality of the profiles selected, to explain the employer's context and to highlight the company's culture. Without this, how can we better understand the personality of the candidates, their posture or confirm their fit with the team?