If I read one more article about how technology is going to put traditional recruitment firms out of business, I think I might weep (with frustration). I have a few grey hairs ( well quite a lot actually) and I get so bored with the same old scaremongering thats trotted out during every recession! Now don’t get me wrong – I’m a big fan of technology. But, as I pointed out in my last post, it has to be used as a tool, not as a replacement for a consultancy service that’s supposed to be based on relationships and people!
A decade ago, online matching technology was seen as a huge threat to the traditional agency model. Did they all go out of business? No! But what did happen was that once that ubiquitous war for talent reared its head, lazy recruiters thought they could source a CV from a job board’s CV database; send it to a client, place that candidate and claim a fee. That’s not recruitment – that’s taking the proverbial.
In my view, the recession has , quite rightly, hit those ’recruiters’ who thought that it was ok to just press a few buttons and if technology is going to threaten any recruitment model then lets hope it’s that one. What really makes my blood boil is that some of the real recruiters – the professionals in our sector – get tarred with the same brush.
So embrace all the technology at your disposal and add it to your toolkit. But don’t forget that ‘added value’ that all your clients will be looking for. It’s what they have always wanted – and more importantly it’s what they always will want!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
At GAAPS we find that the best way is to combine technology with a personal touch. A strong database underpins our search but all candidates are interviewed on a one to one basis.
http://www.gaaps.com
Thanks for the comment Hannah and yes you are right – part of the toolkit – not a replacement!
I think there is some great technology out there, but it should only be used as an aid to making the whole process run smoothly. How anyone believes that technology alone can replace such an emotive process as recruiting staff is beyond me. I read recently somewhere someone saying that job seekers need to be treated like consumers. To me that means less about technology and more about wooing them through the whole recruiting process – from the moment they read an ad that actually appeals rather than blandly informs (as so many do on the web these days) through to treating them with respect by keeping in contact with them or at the very least acknowledging their application, and beyond. Online recruitment has become so vast that some recruiters are losing their way, convinced that yu just have to throw out some copy and the candidate will bite. There’s a real danger in my humble opinion of rec cons alienating people from applying online because of their poor offering to the marketplace – and no amount of technology will change that. recruitment is an emotive business and computers and software and gizmos do not have emotions.
Absolutely Alasdair – its a people business after all