Google & Facebook
Today, social networks are significant sources of candidates and information. LinkedIn has maintained its position since 2002. However, 2017 also saw a breakthrough for HR. Network giants, specifically Facebook and Google, have gained a larger share of the lucrative HR business globally and both companies have announced new tools for recruiters.
Last year, Google was rumored to be planning to create its own job board, which made many operators of similar websites uneasy. A simple website is already available, however, it is not clear which features Google Hire will offer. In any case, Google is undoubtedly set to compete with the biggest job searching platforms, such as LinkedIn.
The project will create an algorithm which will select offers regardless of the variety of names that employers assign to the same position and the different ways they describe a given position and the required skills. To do this, Google has categorized 250,000 specific positions and 50,000 hard and soft skills as well as the relationship models between them, which enables the popularity and relation of specific skills to any job to be determined. According to Google, a browser equipped in this way will be able to anticipate which offer might be attractive for individual applicants, including job content, locality or age and can thus suggest the most interesting position for every candidate.
If you want to search for a job in this way, you will only need a Google account to log in to. However, it should be kept in mind that such an account will be connected to your searching history, which will then be available to HR staff. The biggest disadvantage of the idea is that Google will be able to closely monitor its users. This means the tool can save recruiters’ time on the one hand, but on the other hand recruiters will have access to information that people do not usually wish to share with potential employers.
Facebook is not lagging far behind and has already added some special features to certain versions to publish job offers and collect job applications. Facebook is said to be testing a new option that allows employers to share specially formatted job openings in the company’s status update box and in a separate, dedicated jobs tab on the company page. Job seekers can click on the “Apply now” button to launch an application form prefilled with information from the user’s public profile.
Decision science – the HR technology of the future
Decision science is a set of algorithms that are intended to “digitalize” thinking. Experts see the future of this scientific field in HR and recruitment as a semi-automatic evaluation of employee´s behavior, which should bring many benefits. Decision science can, for example, predict that a new employee will be effective in the future, or that certain senior staff are planning to leave the company. The principles of these algorithms have already been used successfully in remarketing, which means the Google browser will be able to use its advertising space to offer the type of product which individual users have been attracted to in the past.
Based on changes in users’ working habits, the algorithms can predict that an employee might leave the company before they decide to do so. This provides enough time for their superiors to react and avoid the threat by solving the problem. Analyses also help to distribute and plan individual tasks in a team. As managers receive reports directly from the source, this could mean less work for HR departments and this implies less job positions. It is up to us to decide if this is a threat or a challenge.
Labor market globalization
One of the trends often mentioned with regard to digitalization is a gradual transition of the labor market to a global one – thanks to the Internet, companies have specialists from all corners of the world at their disposal, and employees have access to top-class firms on every continent. This pattern cannot be applied to all professions to the same degree, of course. However, freelancing and flexible working hours are becoming common in many fields, and employers can be located thousands of kilometers away from their employees.
Digitalization arrives in Slovakia
Digitalization is bringing various results. One app has replaced dozens of employees in dispatch offices of taxi services and HR is taking a similar path. New technologies have, for example, enabled the creation of – cvmango.com. Recruiting often requires studying up to 200 CVs, calling applicants, conducting job interviews and the outcome is still always in doubt. That is why the idea of using previously collected information about applicants and offers has been successful. And this has given rise to a portal of already interviewed candidates whose qualifications, skills and personal abilities have already been verified by a professional recruiter.
The aim was to create a platform that would save the time, energy and costs of all the parties involved – clients, candidates and recruiters. This web app is a shortcut for recruiters in the complicated and lengthy process of finding an appropriate candidate.
Martin Straka, Managing Partner, Balanced HR s.r.o
Follow us