One of the most challenging issues for any company is the hiring process. From an external viewpoint, one would imagine hiring to be as simple as eating a favorite meal. Companies actually spend a lot of money just to get qualified individuals to show up for interviews. Interviews also cost money. Searching and selecting qualified individuals for job positions can be time-consuming and hectic. Some of the conventional hiring methods include printing ads in newspapers, putting vacancy notice on company gates, campus hiring, and using referrals, among others. Traditional methods of recruitment are still used by many companies worldwide, and most organizations are not willing to switch to technology-based hiring methods. Conventional hiring methods, however, have been found to be time-consuming, costly as compared to technology-based hiring and may bring about other issues such as lack of diversity.
Technology-based hiring comes with added benefits such as global outreach, social influence, online testing, diversity screening, convenience, and cost-friendliness. In technology-based hiring, artificial intelligence tools and the internet are used to find suitable recruits locally and globally. Social media platforms provide easier and cheaper ways of advertising jobs and finding suitable recruits. Technology-based hiring also eliminates the problem of bias and enhances recruitment and workplace diversity, which is vital in the modern business space. More convenient methods of interviews, such as video interviewing, also save the company time and money. It is necessary that businesses switch to technology-based hiring to improve various aspects of operations and production, given the numerous limitations of traditional hiring and the added benefits that technology-based hiring brings.
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Research Method
In order to clarify the necessity of technology-based hiring for businesses, research was conducted to find out the opinions of various individuals concerning traditional and technology-based hiring. A survey was conducted in a large company with over a hundred employees. Survey questions were presented to a total of fifty-six individuals comprised of twenty-six women and thirty men. About a third of the individuals in the study took the test at a given period while the rest continued with their regular tasks. The tests were conducted in three groups, and all the individuals completed the questions in the survey test. Among other questions, the employees were also asked to put down the method of hiring that they have encountered in their previous recruitment programs.
Results
About ninety-five percent of the employees reported having been recruited through traditional forms of hiring. Most of the employees made their applications after they had encountered print ads in newspapers. About seventy percent of the employees supported the idea of companies using technology-based methods of hiring to recruit employees. Over sixty percent of the employees wished they had been recruited through technology-based methods of hiring. About eighty percent of employees confirmed that traditional hiring methods were time-consuming and stressing from a recruit’s point of view. Most of the employees, however, stated that it is easier to trust in the traditional system of hiring than in the technology-based system.
Discussion and Literature Review
Traditional Hiring
Hiring, in most cases, entails getting as many qualified professionals for a given job position, who would then be interviewed to get the desired number or the most qualified individuals. Sometimes, a higher position needs to be filled within the company, and there is no need to look outside for recruits. In such a case, a company may simply decide to interview existing employees in lower positions to get the most qualified one for the higher rank. This is referred to as internal hiring, which is commonly used in many organizations. Internal hiring presents as an example of the conventional or traditional hiring methods. Other methods of traditional hiring include the use of temporary employment agencies, print or paper advertisements, local employment office postings, campus hiring, referral, and vacancy postings on company gates (McKnight et al., 2015).
Physicality is a key factor in traditional hiring. Employers or recruiters need to see physical documents to confirm that an individual meets the qualification criteria. A recruit must also demonstrate his or her abilities related to the job, such as people and communication skills. The recruiter needs to see these qualities, as demonstrated first hand by the recruit. In-person interviews are conducted once a good number of individuals have been shortlisted. Interviews are often held in specific locations within or outside the organization. Interviewees may not be asked similar questions and not experience equal treatment.
Temporary employment agencies . An organization may delegate the work of recruitment to firms that specifically conduct employee recruitment. These firms work on temporary terms with the goal of presenting organizations with the most suitable employees. The employment agencies scout around for qualified professionals with the job position requirements in consideration. They present the company with experienced and suitable professionals for specific fields, as indicated by the company.
Paper adverts, Vacancy postings on company gates, and Local employment office postings . Ever since the invention of the printing press, companies have advertised job positions or hiring in newspapers and magazines as these papers reach a lot of people within a short duration of time. People looking for jobs would always hurry to the job advertisement sections to see if they could qualify for any of the jobs. Sometimes, companies post job vacancies on their gates to make it known to the locals that certain job positions are available. Other companies take their hiring issues up to the local employment office. People looking for all kinds of jobs visit the local employment office to see they could be lucky enough to land jobs.
Campus hiring . Top colleges and universities produce high-quality graduates with the capability of working in big companies. Sometimes the best way to get the best and highly qualified employees is to look around campuses. Top students with inventive qualities can be great assets for organizations.
Referrals . In small companies, managers may simply ask for employee referrals from those already working at the company or those planning to leave the company. It is easier for a manager to get referrals rather than spend a lot of time and money looking for a bunch of candidates to interview (Morimoto, 2018). Also, it is easy to trust fellow employees to provide qualified and experienced referrals.
Problems of Tradition Hiring
The results from the survey indicated that while companies are still using traditional hiring methods, these methods have a lot of challenges and limitations. The modern world is highly globalized and diverse. Big companies can conquer the whole world and operate in all countries. Multinational companies with centralized leadership structures still require to recruit, interview, and employ people. The cost that would be incurred in hiring people from long-distance places is unimaginable (McKnight et al., 2015). Also, recruits would have quite a hard time getting to the employment center to stand a chance at getting employed. Other than the problem of global outreach, some of the issues facing traditional hiring include the issue of diversity, time constraints, costliness, and Lack of social influence.
Lack of diversity . Traditional hiring relies heavily on human opinion, and recruiters often make unconsciously biased decisions. Hiring decisions may be influenced by other factors such as stereotypes, bribes, and ethnicity, among others. As a result, people with similar work styles and perspectives may be hired. Lack of diversity may negatively affect the progression and productivity of a company, especially given the modern business environment (Raghavan et al., 2020).
Time constraints . Traditional hiring often involves processes such as sourcing and attracting candidates. A huge number of candidates are initially listed down to participate in interviews, after which a small number of candidates would then qualify. It takes time for the message to reach people and for a good number of qualified individuals make applications. Also, given that all the recruits have to be interviewed within a limited period of time, there is no guarantee that each candidate will get a similar and fair treatment as others (McKnight et al., 2015).
Cost . Companies spend up to five thousand dollars per recruit during the hiring process. The larger the number of recruits, the higher the cost of hiring. Money is spent in various stages of the process, such as the advertisement and the sourcing stages.
Social influence . Traditional hiring lacks the input of social media. Companies have to rely on hardcopy materials and the physical outlook of candidates during recruitment. Using social media platforms would help get the message faster to many people, get potential candidates quicker and recruiters would have a chance to get to know a few things about their candidates and not have to rely totally on their certificates and materials (Anderson, 2017).
Technology-based Hiring
Technology-based hiring involves processes such as sourcing, assessing, and screening of candidates with qualifications and skillsets fitting specific roles. Professional network sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook are screened for potential candidates who fit a given job description or a manager’s requirement (Melanthiou et al., 2015). With technology-based work is made much easier as thousands of individuals have their specific qualifications and skillsets available in popular social media platforms. With such tools and platforms available for managers, candidates can be sourced from any parts of the world. Social media plays a massive role in technology-based hiring (Anderson, 2017). Tools used in sourcing and screening for potential candidates can be programmed to eliminate bias by ensuring diversity. The typical ‘in-person’ interviews, which are time-consuming, costly, and unfair to recruits, are unnecessary in technology-based hiring. Potential candidates are screened and assessed through the details in their social media or professional network site pages, and if necessary, interviews are then held online to avoid inconvenience for both parties.
Benefits of Technology-based Hiring
Global Outreach . One major benefit of using technology-based hiring is its efficiency in getting candidates for job positions from anyway around the world. The world is full of talents, and companies have the opportunity to get the best of the best (Pandita, 2019). Big companies with branches all over the world often need to recruit new employees. With technology, one does not need to go around announcing job positions. Technical tools or software screen and source competent and highly qualified candidates from various professional network sites such as LinkedIn (Anderson, 2017). Every other aspect of the hiring process, such as interviews, can all be performed online, which is convenient for both the employer and the candidates. This is applicable in every part of the world, and employers are guaranteed to land the best available candidates.
Increased productivity . Technology makes work easier and, at the same time, saves time. Video interviews, for example, can be recorded and sent to various stakeholders who would then make the assessments without having to make appointments to meet the candidates. The money and time that would have been spent in hiring are reduced, and productivity increased.
Eliminates bias and enhances diversity . Technology-based hiring does not discriminate and only looks for the best talents and skills in individuals. Video interviews, for instance, are offered at the convenience of the candidate, and there is no time-rush (Oksanen, 2018). Software used in sourcing and screening for potential candidates can be programmed to ensure maximum diversity is achieved (Raghavan et al., 2020).
Convenience, Cost-effectiveness, and the Time factor . Taking the case of a multinational company such as Uber, Coca-Cola, or General Electric, one would imagine difficult, costly, and time-consuming it would be to source and recruit employees in the various parts of the world in which such companies operate. International borders do not present as obstacles to technology-based hiring. Generally, implementing technology-based hiring techniques would save a company a lot of money and time, and not mention, it would make the process less hectic, as compared to traditional hiring techniques.
Recommendations for Implementation of Technology-based Hiring Methods
Two main points can be derived from the study results and the above discussions. One, many companies out there are still using traditional hiring techniques and are still reluctant to switch to technology-based hiring. Secondly, technology-based hiring techniques come with a lot of added benefits, not only to recruiters and employers but also to job candidates. It would be wise for a company to incorporate aspects of technology-based hiring in order to reduce its hiring costs and time, make the process convenient, improve the diversity of its workforce, and enhance its productivity. One recommendation for companies, concerning the move to switch towards technology-based hiring, is to install and implement artificial intelligence tools for hiring employees, in their human resource departments. With such tools and software in place, a company would no longer have to publish job vacancies in newspapers or local employment offices. Video conferencing utilities must also be installed to help with processes such as interviewing and online tests. This way, companies would get to reduce their hiring budgets, increase the scope of their hiring, and make the process more convenient.
References
Anderson, I. U. (2017). Social Media in the Hiring Process: Uncovering Top Talent or Lawsuits. Marriott Student Review , 1 (3), 8.
McKnight, M. A., Plouchard, M. S., &Bizal, M. N. (2015). Organizational hiring preferences: Comparison of traditional and non-traditional hiring and recruitment practices. International Journal of Human Resource Studies , 5 (2), 52-59.
Melanthiou, Y., Pavlou, F., &Constantinou, E. (2015). The use of social network sites as an e-recruitment tool. Journal of Transnational Management , 20 (1), 31-49.
Morimoto, M. (2018). Referral Hiring of Miners.
Oksanen, R. (2018). New technology-based recruitment methods (Master's thesis).
Pandita, D. (2019). Talent Acquisition: Analysis of Digital Hiring in Organizations. SAMVAD , 18 , 66-72.
Raghavan, M., Barocas, S., Kleinberg, J., & Levy, K. (2020, January). Mitigating bias in algorithmic hiring: evaluating claims and practices. In Proceedings of the 2020 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (pp. 469-481).
Appendix
Survey Questions
(Respondents are encouraged to provide expansive answers, but brief answers are also accepted).
Quiz1 . Would you describe the method of hiring used in your organization as traditional or technology-based?
Quiz2 . Have you ever taken part in technology-based hiring in the course of your career?
Quiz 3 . What is your personal view on conventional or traditional methods of hiring?
Quiz 4 . Are you aware of the various methods of technology-based hiring?
Quiz 5 . Are you aware of the various benefits of technology-based hiring?
Quiz 6 . Would you describe traditional methods of hiring as excellent, average, or hectic?
Quiz 7 . In your opinion, is the traditional hiring system time-consuming, inconvenient, or stressful in any way?
Quiz 8 . Do you wish that the traditional hiring processes were made more convenient and simpler?
Quiz 9 . As an employee, do you think the traditional hiring process is productive for the company?
Quiz 10 . Which method of hiring seems safer for the recruit? Traditional or technology-based hiring.
