How technology is helping startups hire the right candidates

Sourcing is often the first step in hiring, but it does not have to be an area where you spend most of your time. However, talent professionals frequently spend almost 13 hours a week in sourcing. Traditional methods of searching for top talent are not always the most effective. When your requirements are unique, or you have a mandate to hire a large team with niche skills, it becomes even more challenging and the value of the technology becomes clear.

With challenging requirements, you want a smart solution to deliver your mandates. Sourcing platforms can automate your Search and develop a targeted talent pipeline. Some of these tools are using Artificial Intelligence and analytics to fine-tune and automate your searches. The result is an intelligently sourced pool of new candidates, every day.

When the pipeline is readily available, your recruiters will save several precious hours of search. They can immediately start engaging with the candidates and have meaningful conversations with them due to additional time availability.

Manual processing of resumes can compromise the efficiency of the hiring process. The impact is more prominent for startups that want to make decisions quickly.

Due to the time constraints, recruiters tend to give only 7.4 seconds to each resume that they receive. Often, Talent Acquisition professionals have a lot on their plate and are tasked to fulfill their mandates within short timelines. When technology comes into this space, the result is a finely-pruned list of candidates who have automatically been assessed, scored, and ranked for the given job opening, before the recruiter reaches out!

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked the developments being made with remote working and virtual hiring. For instance, many organizations have become more comfortable with remote working, and after what can be called a test run, several of them are considering adopting this for the long term. Read this article from the New York Times to learn how organizations are shifting towards virtual hiring – Job Interviews Without Interviewers, Products of the Pandemic.

This situation has also prompted recruiters to explore virtual hiring. Many of them have warmed up to automated video interviews. Using these tools, recruiters can administer a set of questions to the candidates, which can help to connect the hiring managers and the candidates. Many platforms record the answers which the recruiters can view at a convenient time, along with technologies to automatically assess the recorded answers.

Hiring the right employees is all about finding the right fit. More often than not, startups are looking for unicorn candidates who can challenge the status quo and fuel innovation. Such candidates are difficult to come by.

One solution is to hire more experienced candidates with a proven track record. However, this talent comes at a price and typically has more expectations. Another option is to hire with the right attitude and potential.

Unfortunately, interviews are not always the right solution for this. Despite using the best methods, several hiring managers and recruiters still depend on gut feelings while making hiring decisions. A better approach is to use assessments that have been designed to assess particular attributes. These tests evaluate an individual’s skills, knowledge, abilities, traits, attitudes, and more. Moreover, they can help you identify the candidate’s potential, and even validate your existing talent so you can hire more of the same!

Such assessment tools allow you to administer questions that relate to the set of attitudes and traits that match the job opening. Based on the answers, you can probe further during the interviews for additional assurance.

Gone are the days when onboarding would begin on the day of joining! In these times, pre-boarding engagement has become crucial to keep candidates warm and reduce the risk of any last-minute surprises.

Historically, onboarding was a term that referred to the processes of form-filling and handing over decks of company policies.  These days, it is a much broader term for a range of activities and processes that enable new starters to become productive from day one.

Early productivity is even more crucial for startups that are battling a time crunch. Pre-boarding tools provide a glimpse to the new joiner about how the organization is structured. Modern pre-boarding is now essential to deliver a delightful candidate experience and to start the new chapter with positivity.

No startup can become successful on just the basis of a great idea. What they need is a team of talented employees who can translate this idea into reality. In light of this, their recruitment habits form the foundation of their success. With the help of technology,  startups can boost their hiring performance and help to build their desired environment.