How technology makes your recruitment process smarter

The labor market forces us to work differently

“Recruitment has changed incredibly fast in recent years,” Sepp explained during the webinar. “The labor market is under pressure, candidates are scarce and expectations keep rising – both on the side of employers and candidates.”

Yet he sees that many HR and recruitment professionals are still working the way they always did. “Manual searching, sharing vacancies only via your own website or LinkedIn, and in the meantime keeping track of everything in Excel. That was efficient once, but let's be honest: that is no longer sustainable.”

According to Sepp, that is not necessary either. “Technology is ready to make your work not only easier, but especially more effective. From smart automation to AI-driven matching and sourcing tools: it all exists. And the best part? You don't have to reinvent the wheel. You just need to KNOW what is possible.”

That is often the catch, he explains. “As a recruiter or HR professional, you can no longer get by on just your experience and network. You need to start recruiting more consciously. Handle your time smarter, understand your target group better, and deploy technology that strengthens your work.” The tools are there. But, as Sepp emphasized: “You DO need to deploy them in the right way.”

Determine your goal, then your tool

The market is bursting with recruitment tools. Sourcing, matching, referrals, job marketing, employer branding, ATS, onboarding… There is a tool for every step. But which one really fits your organization and your way of working?

According to Sepp, it is important not to think in tools right away, but to take a step back first. “What is your process? Who is your target group? Where is the bottleneck? Only when you have that clear, can you select in a targeted way. Otherwise you will keep tying tools together without real results.”

For example, use an Empathy Map to understand what your candidates see, hear, feel and expect. After that, map out your candidate journey and discover where the pain points really are. Is sourcing your biggest bottleneck? Or do you lose too much time on administrative tasks? By mapping your process in a smart way, you know where automation or tooling makes the difference.

Example of a candidate journey

Best of Breed: choose the tool that fits

Many organizations are still looking for one big system that should be able to do everything. Sepp: “Honestly: such an all-rounder is rarely really good at anything.” Instead, he advocates a different approach: choose the tool that excels in each step of your process. From sourcing to onboarding. “That gives you much more flexibility, better performance and, perhaps most importantly, control over your process,” says Sepp.

According to Sepp, a successful Best of Breed approach revolves around a number of things:

• Choose tools that fit your unique process

• Think of integrations, security and scalability

• Let technology work for you, not the other way around

• Keep the user experience central (for both recruiters and candidates)

Download the toolkit: all tools and steps at a glance

Do you also want to get a grip on your tooling again? You can read all about it in the Best of Breed toolkit. Sepp shares 5 must-have tools and explains how to get a grip on your tooling in three steps: identifying, selecting and integrating. Download the toolkit here.