Don’t let the increasing influence of tech undermine relationship building

Overflowing with tech and awash with data

Generally speaking, digitisation of the recruitment industry started with the use of accounting software by the finance function. Before long, there was a PC on every desk, electronic address books of clients, databases of candidates and reams of spreadsheets. Now, it seems technology is overflowing! We have the convenience of hand-held computers linking us to powerful immersive technologies and cloud software tools that let us conduct business anyplace, 24/7.

Today, there is no shortage of information about how important it is for recruitment businesses to keep up with tech. ATS, job boards and recruitment platforms. Business Intelligence (BI), Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI). Don’t get left behind is often the message!

We are also awash with data and the insight it provides; recent years have seen the emergence of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) dashboards that tell us how the business is doing in real time. Reporting tools deliver analytics that show trends, helping to identify opportunities for improvement.

Upheavals in the operating environment may increase the pressure to acquire tech. Disruptive events act as accelerators, often causing rapid adoption of specific technologies as they provide a solution or a workaround to help businesses cope with disruption. Covid and the increased use of video technologies is a prime example.

In short, the recruitment industry is awash with technology. It can be distracting and detract from managing the core business.

How is this impacting recruiting?

The fact that technology is changing work is unarguable. Automation is reducing – if not destroying – the need for some jobs. However, technology is also creating new jobs. The problem is that there are fewer of them and they tend to require digital skills, often in proprietary technologies. ‘Technology and the Future of Work from the CIPD’ provides some really good information around this topic.

Tech tools help to sift through high volumes of application forms and CVs by searching for required qualifications and skills, helping to shortlist. Tech also helps with assessing candidates through video interviewing and scoring, skills testing and psychometric profiling.

The danger of depending too much on technology and data is that it is easy to lose sight of the importance of the fundamentals of good recruitment practice. The good news is it doesn’t look like technology is going to replace recruitment for skilled roles and executive search and selection. Good recruitment practice is, first and foremost, a people-centric business. It requires good interpersonal skills and trust, two of the key foundations for building strong relationships.

Tech may be impacting the recruiting industry, but it isn’t displacing the need for skilled recruiters. The fact remains that developing strong relationships is the key to building enduring, profitable client-side partnerships and forging ongoing career development relationships with candidates.

Enjoy greater focus on high value recruitment practice with ETZ

ETZ is an enabler of good recruitment practice. By taking care of many routine back office tasks, it frees the agency to concentrate on the core business. Whether that is letting agency principals manage recruitment teams better, or enabling better service for clients and candidates, ETZ is technology that won’t distract or detract from high value recruitment practice.

ETZ’s automated system processes a timesheet into an invoice in less than 60 seconds and sends it to your client in the preferred way without human intervention. Quite simply, this enables outstanding efficiency gains, streamlining the back office and maximising profitability.

To find out more about how we help agencies like yours to focus on core business issues by taking care of the back office book a demo.