Before the 1950s, recruitment occurred mainly between either an individual’s family or friends, word of mouth, or mass media advertisements recruiting people to serve during the war. However, post-war, the rise of white-collar professionals sparked the demand for recruitment agencies to work as an intermediary between professionals and businesses. Their function was to identify suitable matches through sourcing and screening candidates.
As recruitment agencies multiplied, the CV became a necessary prerequisite for job seekers, which still has its place in modern-day recruitment.
Video Interviews
Some agencies prefer a face-to-face interview; however, this can be time-consuming for all involved. Telephone conversations and video interviews have grown in popularity. Free technology, such as Skype, allows recruiters to gauge a candidate’s skills, abilities, and suitability for a position, without wasting company resources and time. An option that shall eventually be used more by recruitment agencies in the future is asynchronous video interviews. This process entails providing candidates with a list of interview questions to answer via video. Asynchronous videos reduce the usual interview process from 3 weeks to 2 days.
Payroll Apps
Umbrella companies, such as Payroll services, currently offer its users an app to show recruiters and contractors their timesheets, working hours, expected pay, and tax deductions in one place. With people of all ages owning smartphones, other recruitment companies will soon see the benefit of sourcing a forward-thinking payroll service that can offer their business and candidates access to this information.
Recruitment Role
The responsibilities for recruiters will change in the future as technology takes over time-consuming administrative tasks. This will afford recruiters the time to be more creative in their hiring approach for sourcing, interviewing, and hiring candidates. Aside from their typical responsibilities, in the future, recruiters shall also be expected to not only execute a hiring process but to create one too.
A shift in responsibilities will mean that extra training and development for existing recruiters are needed to develop problem-solving and business acumen skills. Otherwise, the change in duties shall open up opportunities to a diverse set of candidates from different career backgrounds.
Flexible Working
Some recruitment agencies may consider flexible working, such as working from home or a hot desk company to support employees’ work-life balance. The premise of providing recruiters more freedom is to boost employee productivity. Technology has made it possible for colleagues and managers to stay connected by apps such as Slack easily.
With healthier, happier employees, a more enjoyable work culture is created. This often translates to positive and motivated recruiters providing an excellent opportunity to candidates and companies. It also reduces overheads for companies renting office space.
The most significant driving factor that stimulates all predicted changes in recruitment is technology. With the ability to simplify lengthy processes, collect and organize data rapidly, and shorten the hiring process, there is an abundance of tools that shall free up time for recruiters to take a leading role within their company.