HR has a lot of work - posting job offerings, searching for candidates, collecting the database, sending letters, calling applicants, endless interviews, reports, etc. Moreover, the specialist needs to be in charge of a lot of processes.
For example, build a personal brand for the company, take care of the reputation of the organization (in the media as well), hire the right talent , and help newcomers adapt to the workplace and the team. Additionally, labor exploits should take into consideration the expectations of the people in the complex and make sure to positively impact them.
The recruiter’s task list is so big and varied that sometimes there is no energy and resources for the most important things. The IT implementation in the HR sector allows the responsible professional to increase the productivity of the personnel department, reduce the cost of recruitment processes by using the full cycle recruiting process, facilitate employee management, and speed up CV screening for getting a certified specialist as a reward.
This sphere offers many products for startups, small organizations, medium-sized companies, and large corporations. Modules can implement specific functions (e.g. chatbots for better consultation) or serve to develop/improve an HR strategy.
How Can Blockchain Help During the Recruitment Process?
Blockchain recruiting is worth the attention. The role of blockchain technology is revolutionary for the HR industry because there are also transactions and contracts in recruitment. However, it’s essential to understand the very concept of blockchain and get the most intelligible picture.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is information stored not in one place but several at the same time. That’s why it is difficult to steal or hack it. Why? The whole point is that this information is stored simultaneously on multiple devices and is encrypted (everyone knows the encryption key).
The mentioned solution helps users to exchange their data without fear that it will be stolen. Using this information, you can identify the user and facilitate most of the transactions that exist on the market. It’s also possible to eliminate many checks and the provider system. It looks like the impossible is nothing and this is a unique phenomenon!
Distributed ledger technology finds applications in the most unexpected areas. It’s used in finance, logistics, or workflow but the potential opportunities in the HR direction still need to be clarified. It is likely that soon such a phrase as “We found you due to the blockchain” will not surprise applicants for any position.
Blockchain technology is a great tool for solving several problems for HR, especially for those concerned about the unreliability of the information provided by the applicant and the considerable time spent on confirming the data.
If we talk about the wider use of recruiting blockchain, you can use it as a centralized database of all hospitals, from where doctors can read the history of all examinations and operations of the patient in general. It’s also suitable to make a single base for the sector of land ownership.
All purchase and sale transactions will be tracked and you can understand what belongs to whom. All this is possible without the possibility of forging documents.
Examples of Blockchain Recruiting
Here are a few examples of applications of blockchain in HR:
The personalized choice for data storage
Let’s imagine that social networks will store candidates' data on more than one server in the near future. Users themselves will be able to decide who and how to show their data and the way it can be encrypted. Moreover, people will be able to monetize their content with the help of blockchain, which is posted on a social network.
Assessment of abilities and skills
Blockchain technology which is used in recruiting databases evaluates candidates based on anonymous profiles (when it is proposed to evaluate their motivational features and skills).
For example, a similar experiment of blind hiring has already been carried out in Finland. Helsinki and Espoo are piloting recruits by looking at anonymous CVs.
Specialist software and services make it easy to perform the candidate’s evaluation on a completely anonymous profile, based only on skills, motivational factors, and personality values.
All of this contributes to the fight against discrimination against employees based on race, color, religion, culture, gender, national origin, age, or disability. It hardly needs more research that it has a positive effect, right?
Confidentiality and talent acquisition
Blockchain in education allows you to achieve confidentiality in education and the reliability of the knowledge exchanged by participants. The mentioned technology also helps students and teachers to contact directly from multiple locations without intermediaries.
The whole solution ensures the transparency of work and creates conditions for maintaining the confidentiality and reliability of information added by participants in the system.
By the way, the problem of plagiarism can also be solved!
Crypto recruitment
Blockchain is inseparably linked with cryptocurrency as well. Searching for jobs related to crypto is a delicate matter for recruiters. Such companies do business by creating new cryptocurrencies or by advising people on where to invest money. Therefore the process of hiring relevant candidates is greatly simplified due to blockchain technology.
In addition, new companies focused on narrow specialist searches and smart contracts exist and are actively developing. Their ability to offer crypto recruiters for "great talent and big sales" and technical executive search of candidates makes them stand out in the market.
Convenience for job seekers
Blockchain affects the labor market directly through the creation of a new market for qualifications and skills that did not exist before. By the way, the placement of profiles in the blockchain will also become convenient for employees:
There will be no need to send out hundreds of CVs and search for suitable vacancies. The smart contracts will send the questionnaire to companies currently looking for employees with your knowledge and skills.
The interview will be only the final stage (when the employer needs a personal meeting).
It will be possible to monetize your profile in the HR system. The money that the employer now pays to third-party services for access to applicant profiles will now be sent to specific specialists for the opportunity to view their data.
As you can see, the use of blockchain digital technology in the recruitment industry promises benefits not only for HRs but also for employers. However, all this works on the condition that the system covers as many participants as possible and that the information contained in it causes mutual trust.
IoT and AI technologies should be involved and not limited to the blockchain. Maybe it is too early to talk about the full recognition of the distributed ledger technology role in recruitment. However, there are already working projects in the field of HR blockchain, and the number of users of which is constantly growing.
The benefits of automation systems
The main advantages of automation systems include:
💎 Freedom from routine processes
Many repetitive HR activities do not require much involvement from the
recruiter, but they eat up a good half of the working time.
💎 All data at your fingertips
Correspondence in social networks, instant messengers, e-mails with
candidates and customers, working out vacancies, and long reports. When all
the information is collected in one place and communication goes through a
single channel, it becomes much easier to work.
💎 Fast feedback
Approached by the candidate or not - the response/refusal must be sent. And
it is desirable to do this quickly.
The most popular ways to automate the recruitment
HR bots based on artificial intelligence
HR bots are mainly used for primary recruitment. Usually, the bot selects candidates on job sites according to a given algorithm and sends them messages. For example, with the time and date of the interview. Bots can send links to testing or trial TOR, image videos, or business presentations.
Automated text messaging also comes in handy for alerting potential employees of their status in the hiring process.
Information Systems
Information systems are probably the most popular method of automation, which is not used except perhaps by a completely lazy recruiter. The list of information systems for HR-process includes both free Excel and more professional options, like 1C. The choice depends on the scope of the activity.
Modules for the search and recruitment of personnel (ATS)
There is both heavy recruitment software and lightweight software. In this area, there is a huge number of products for startups, small organizations, medium-sized firms, and large corporations. Modules can implement specific functions or services to develop/improve an HR strategy.
Programmatic advertising of vacancies
Allows you to control (and reduce!) the cost of hiring. Vacancy announcements are automatically distributed on effective job boards, attracting the attention of the best specialists due to high-quality personalization. For many recruiters, this will definitely come in handy.
