Technology has led talent acquisition trends over the past decade – but only now are businesses getting a handle on how it can revolutionize their recruitment processes.

Because QJumpers was born out of two specific snapshots (firstly 12 years ago in New Zealand, and more recently in Texas) of real companies voicing their real concerns about reducing their time-to-hire and expanding their reach to potential candidates, we have been able to gauge first-hand exactly what issues affect hiring managers and HR departments.

QJumpers President Simon Oldham says applicant tracking systems have become the norm for companies looking to develop their talent acquisition strategies – but that doesn’t mean all ATS are created equally.

“Our research showed us that American companies are commonly used to having a recruitment system so they don’t have to learn how to operate QJumpers. Instead, our role has become more about educating them about how to get the most out of their new system and get it to work for their specific needs,” Simon says.

“They understood, for example, straight away that it should collate candidates into one area and you should be able to communicate with them, but then they are looking at the bells and whistles such as more functionality and a faster response.

“Support has also been a common recurring theme as it became apparent that companies would get all excited with a new recruitment system only to realize that it was difficult to use and there was no one to help them. As the speed of technology has increased, so the need to fix problems fast has also increased.

“Other issues that arose from companies who already had recruitment systems was that many were using old systems that didn’t even post to all the different jobs boards, or that the overall candidate experience was horrible, meaning that in a tough market they were losing half of their candidates simply because they weren’t finishing the application process.”

From this perspective, QJumpers is leading the field in key talent acquisition trends for 2018:

1. Mobile and flexible: A competitive market requires companies to harness the latest technology so they can target the right candidates fast and in the manner in which they want to communicate. With nine out of 10 candidates searching for jobs on a mobile device that means having a system that allows a hiring manager to upload roles on to multiple jobs boards at a single keystroke and know that those roles will be in front of potential applicants fast. Companies are optimizing their social and online visibility at every level – and recruitment is a key area where it can pay dividends.
2. Own your data and use it well: By retaining the data of applicants to grow talent pools and combining that with new technology that can identify talent via social media or search millions of profiles for potential candidates, businesses are finally able to harness “Big Data” and have it work for them.
3. Customizable: Because every company’s recruitment and HR department structure requires something different, it’s important that an ATS is tailored to suit. Talent acquisition can be streamlined via technology so that companies can cast a wide net and identify ideal candidates fast – but that technology only works well if it sits inside a well-run system. For example, referrals are tipped to become a key part of most companies’ recruitment strategies because they lower the cost and time-per-hire considerably – but the system has to be set up to allow referrals to be identified and controlled.
4. Trusted support structure: As more and more processes and decisions are being handed over to technology so being able to trust that technology becomes all the more important. Downtime costs not only useful worktime but could be the difference between hiring the ideal candidate and missing out on them to your opposition. QJumpers prides itself in having a free, human, 18-hour support structure as well as building an ongoing relationship to help grow a recruitment strategy alongside a growing business.
5. Candidate-friendly: Competition has created a world in which the candidate has almost all the power so businesses need to be able to provide a coherent, outwards-facing brand profile and combine that with a fast and simple application experience. Talent acquisition has to be fast for the company to save money, but it also has to be fast for the applicant to keep them interested and then backed up by clear messaging and consistent communication.

To experience QJumpers’ innovative approach to recruitment technology and seamless talent acquisition, or for more information on how QJumpers can help you develop a successful recruitment strategy and system email us at [email protected].