How technology mitigates the challenges in remote recruitment

Remote and hybrid work models are here to stay, so how can remote recruitment be far behind? It offers recruiters and candidates flexibility in terms of time and location, is less expensive and has a very wide reach. On the other hand, malpractices during assessments and the lack of face-to-face interaction between candidates and recruiters can hamper the recruitment process. Technology, however, has ways to overcome such hurdles.

HirePro carried out a market study to understand the advantages, factors behind its adoption, challenges and way forward for remote recruitment. Opinions from about 300 HR managers and talent acquisition leaders across different industry sectors were obtained and analysed.

How widespread is remote recruitment?

The study reveals that before 2020, only about 10 per cent of recruitment was fully remote. The numbers reversed when the pandemic struck and 80–90 per cent of organisations moved completely to remote recruitment. In the new ‘normal’, 85–90 per cent of recruitment continues to be partial to fully remote. In campus hiring, a little over 70 per cent of organisations are still using remote recruitment methods.

How technology drives remote recruitment

1. Cost and time savings: As per the HirePro study, remote recruitment saves both time and cost across all levels of hiring, from campus to senior level. Physical recruitment involves travel, boarding, space and equipment, printing and other miscellaneous costs. Each step is time-consuming too, especially in cases of high volume recruitment such as campus hiring.
2. Access to global talent pool: Remote recruitment automatically enables access to the global talent pool, which is not bound by geography. It works well for both recruiters and candidates.
3. Better screening: Screening candidates at the beginning of a recruitment drive is very time consuming, especially when it involves large numbers such as in campus and junior-level hiring. Remote recruitment uses filtering tools that help search engines pull up appropriate candidate resumes. The more sophisticated the search tools, the more refined the results. Automation can further help with screening. The HirePro study found that efficient screening was a significant advantage in the mid-level hiring process.
4. Efficient selection processes: Using an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven selection procedure after the initial screening can make testing and interviewing more systematic and thorough. Online assessments help reduce time and the chances of human error affecting a selection.

Assessment tests for different openings can be customised, making each test relevant and on point. HirePro’s Automated Coding Assessments offer all of these and more. Fitted with over 2000 questions, the tests can be customised first for filtering and later for assessments. The platform provides qualitative insights about every candidate that takes the tests. It is also built with automated detection and control of cheating.

5. Efficient interview management: Remote recruitment processes can not only assess candidates through written tests, but also through live coding interviews and asynchronous and live video interviews too. Video interviews allow recruiters to observe candidates while providing candidates the opportunity to interact with representatives of the organisation, perhaps for the first time.

Outsourcing interviews is gaining popularity too. Small organisations sometimes do not have the necessary resources to conduct the interview round. They have the option of outsourcing the interviews to an interview panel. Large organisations may also outsource the interview round when hiring for the junior levels of the organisation. Hirepro’s interview platform offers numerous benefits including AI-powered proctoring.

6. Conduct proctored tests and interviews: Impersonation is a real problem during remote recruitment processes. Cheating, fraudulent behaviour, plagiarism during written tests and the presence of other people with a candidate during virtual interviews are other prominent hiccups of remote recruitment. However, there are solutions to tackle these issues. Proctoring software is one such solution.

HirePro’s AI-powered proctoring platform can handle almost all these problems. Automated warnings, live proctoring, auto-expiration, question randomisation and many other attributes enable organisations to carry out safe and fraud-free selection processes.

7. Engage candidates and offer support: Remote recruitment makes it a little difficult for candidates and recruiters to build a connection that keeps both sides engaged. Organisations can stay connected with the top candidates through emails, social media, virtual helpdesk and other communication platforms. Candidates can be updated about organisation news and other project-related information at regular intervals. Complete disengagement between the selection stage and the onboarding stage can make top candidates lose interest or accept offers from competing organisations.

8. Make pre-onboarding and onboarding a welcome experience: The recruitment process is complete only after a candidate joins the organisation. Until then, it is important to keep the candidate engaged and feeling welcome. Chat and other communication channels should be kept open so that information can flow freely.

Enabling candidates to submit their documents online before joining is a big plus. It eliminates the pain of filling out numerous forms on the first day. The documents can be verified by using AI-driven tools to save time and increase efficiency.

HirePro’s AI-powered onboarding platform can help organisations handle all these processes. Other than enabling smooth communication between the organisation and the candidates, the tool’s advanced analytics and reporting features enable organisations to make informed decisions about the offers they make.

Given all the advantages, it is no surprise that the HirePro study reveals that remote recruitment is not going away soon. Organisations may prefer to use both remote and physical recruitment processes. In fact, a new term has been coined to explain this: phygital hiring. Recent times have shown that the challenges of recruiting remotely can be managed by using appropriate tech tools and strategies. During the pandemic, the first challenge of remote recruitment was probably the lack of sufficient experience. Now, people are aware and prepared. Technology can sort out this exercise too.

Sources:

1. https://hirepro.in/resources/reports/e-recruitment-the-new-normal-of-recruitment
2. https://pluo.jobs/blog/the-challenges-of-remote-recruitment/
3. https://www.peoplematters.in/article/recruitment/can-technology-mitigate-the-challenges-in-recruitment-18291
4. https://www.turing.com/blog/challenges-to-remote-hiring-and-how-to-overcome-them/