In the rapidly evolving landscape of talent acquisition, digital orchestration is emerging as critical to optimize and conduct frontline hiring at scale. This approach involves meticulously designing and managing system workflows to ensure every step of the hiring process is efficient, compliant, and tailored to the needs of all end users. 

Let’s explore digital orchestration in recruiting and the dedicated roles necessary to make it a reality. 

Digital orchestration in recruiting refers to the integration and coordination of various digital tools and processes to create a seamless, highly personalized, efficient, and scalable hiring workflow. 

Key components of digital orchestration include: 

System workflows are the backbone of digital orchestration. They ensure that every action in the recruitment process is predefined and automated where possible. Digital experience experts leverage data, insights, and sentiment from lifecycle listening to refine and improve workflows continuously. 

With this comes responsibility to work very closely with compliance teams on regulations to ensure fair hiring processes are maintained. When there are significant experience re-designs or changes, adverse impact analyses should also be considered. 

Organizations that embrace a highly digital driven experiences typically find the need for further specialisms that include brand strategists, automation gurus, and technical consultants. The outcomes of this approach and having these capabilities include increased scalability, amazing candidate experiences, increase in manager satisfaction, decrease in time to fill, and more time available to spend in meaningful conversations with candidates and managers.

Digital orchestration is transforming the way organizations approach recruiting. 

As the hiring expectations for frontline talent continues to grow, the roles dedicated to digital orchestration within TA teams will become increasingly vital in ensuring successful volume hiring.

The outcomes of this approach and having these capabilities include increased scalability, amazing candidate experiences, increase in manager satisfaction, decrease in time to fill, and more time available to spend in meaningful conversations with candidates and managers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) anticipates that 23.1% of all new jobs projected from 2021 to 2031 will be in the hospitality and leisure sector, with the largest increase expected in food preparation and service. Given that there are already an estimated 2 million open jobs in the sector in the US and an aging workforce, this will leave a significant gap in workers to meet demand. The labor market challenges are compounded by the sector having the highest quit rates and the greatest need for in-person work, with over 80% of workers fully on-site.

Battling over the same workers using the same approaches for restaurants, hotels, and retailers will not change the results. In fact, it is risky because while competitors act, those that do not will face higher quit rates and less engaged employees.

Three Strategies to Attract, Hire, and Retain the Best Frontline Employees

  1. Invest in Responsible AI and Thoughtful Automation According to the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Technology Landscape Report 2024, 64% of restaurant operators consider their use of technology to be mainstream, yet only 13% think their restaurant is on the leading edge compared to peers. Hiring technology can be a great starting point for investment that will enhance or even transform the experience. Given that in this industry, your candidates are often your customers, it is a great way to embrace and lead the way while also increasing speed and efficiency.
  2. Amplify Worker Voice Constantly seek feedback from your frontline workers, even if it’s hard to hear. Staffing your restaurants, stores, and properties might be step one, but to sustain operations, it is critical to continuously listen and reduce friction so team members are best equipped to deliver on the quality that is most important to guests – happy, friendly, and attentive staff.
  3. Blend Technology with Human-Centered Design 82% of US and 74% of non-US consumers want more human interaction as technology improves. It’s not that humans are resisting technology; quite the opposite. Rather, there are key moments where a human provides connectivity, empathy, and compassion that only human interaction and kindness can deliver. The human touch fosters warm connections and empathy in recruitment, meaning understanding candidates’ aspirations, anxieties, and motivations. By incorporating one or two key touchpoints in a technology-led recruitment experience, candidates have the chance to feel valued and heard as they make a life-altering decision about joining and staying with a company.

In an industry as dynamic and people-centric as retail, restaurants, hotels, and consumer goods the blend of technology and human interaction is not just beneficial – it’s essential. By investing in responsible AI and automation, amplifying the voices of your frontline workers, and ensuring a human-centered recruitment experience, you can create a more efficient, empathetic, and engaging environment that ultimately leads to achieving business outcomes.

References

One of the most prevalent questions that hiring leaders ask my team is something to the effect of, “What talent technologies should we use?” When probing a bit further, the question usually turns to how to decrease cost, increase speed, drive efficiencies, improve speed to productivity, and/or increase quality. 

Ultimately, the underlying question is, “How can we create better hiring experiences that result in significantly better business outcomes?”

Historically, we may have said that HR, and more specifically Talent Acquisition, is a laggard when it comes to having access to great technology compared to other parts of an organization. That’s no longer the case. The technology exists, but the lag now is in putting the right solutions together and orchestrating the experiences. This means that we can now lead the hiring experience design, particularly in high-volume hiring, based on technology first. 

Instead of trying to determine what recruiting teams will do and then plugging in enabling technologies based on gaps or manual tasks, lead with the technology and then determine where and how people should be activated into the experience to achieve better outcomes.

If we look at the common challenges in high-volume hiring, they are generally around high no-show rates, low retention, and a mismatch of candidate and company expectations. So, what roles should exist in a high-volume recruitment team if you already have a technology-led experience that enables application to offer in a matter of minutes?

Now the roles may not be labeled exactly as these titles or there will be some nuances in the skills and roles for your specific business. When you have successfully designed and activated a technology-first high volume solution, you likely will not need as many people. 

However, the roles and type of the work being done by people is increased in strategic value and, overall, the solution should yield materially improved business outcomes. These outcomes should be measured through sentiment analysis, time, quality, and speed, as well as linked to overall business outcomes such as productivity and sales metrics. 

Figuring out what your next 6-12 month hiring roadmap looks like can be daunting. So many variables to consider, so many new technologies, you might feel pulled in various directions. The key is not to become overwhelmed by the array of twists and turns in the HR arena, but rather to lean-in to where you see your workforce in the future and plot the steps to get there. 

With every industry showing unique needs and changes, here’s a snapshot of some of the interesting directions companies are headed in the coming months.  

Energy, Engineering and Industrials 

With a shift towards green energy, new legislation in this sector will promote more green skills as workforces evolves to become sustainable and decarbonized.  

Investment Banking 

As banks consider their internal structure, they are analyzing how technology will provide more agility to their hiring decision making. In highly regulated environments there is more of a hesitation around new technologies like AI. But some are interested in piloting technology and new tools to drive efficiencies where it is seamless to do so.  

Construction, Healthcare, Retail 

In high volume, hourly hiring – such as in the construction industry – there is a focus on leveraging a skills-based approach to determine the best fits for roles. Quality of hire remains supreme in this area of sourcing and recruiting.  

Organizations will be looking to hire more contingent labor workers as they bounce back from lower hiring volumes. A continued uncertain economic landscape across many sectors is creating a greater focus on creating flexibility in their employee make-up. 

Food and Hospitality 

In California there has been a new minimum wage applied to the fast food sector, now at $20 per hour. An interesting development that will likely have consequences to other sectors and parts of the country. This presents an additional layer of complexity to an already evolving talent acquisition landscape. 

Technology 

Companies are exploring how to source talent for supporting and driving AI technologies. There has been an increasing interest in looking into the architect and planner roles involved in implementing and setting the stage for new AI technologies. Establishing a gameplan ahead of AI usage is a strategic step that is critical to ensure compliance is met and tools are utilized properly. 

Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences

Organizations are looking to their location strategy to reduce cost and drive scalability/agility – with India being an area of interest for some employers. 

An important thing to think about on your talent road ahead is what your destination will look like. With every hiring destination looking a little different, each industry is going to require different TA needs and will need to adjust to the changing economic and technological landscape differently.  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the TA landscape, promising increased efficiency, reduced costs, and a more nuanced approach to hiring. A McKinsey & Company study states that 40% of recruiting tasks could be automated, while current estimations suggest as much as $5,000 to $10,000 per hire could be saved using Generative AI (Gen AI). This transformation will allow TA and HR professionals to focus on strategic business issues, enhancing the quality of hires and building better teams. However, AI is difficult for companies to navigate, and many companies are still establishing their AI policies.

Speed of AI adoption is unprecedented

The rapid adoption of AI technologies underscores the public’s readiness to embrace intuitive and versatile technology. Gen AI, subset of AI technology that can generate new written, visual, and audio content by using datasets it is trained on. Gen AI also offers dynamic problem-solving capabilities and heightened personalization.

Current AI capabilities in TA

Gen AI is already enhancing efficiency and candidate experiences in several areas:

These AI applications allow TA and HR professionals to focus on more impactful work. We believe AI will unleash a productivity boom, freeing recruiters from time-consuming repetitive tasks so they can focus on what they do best – building connectivity with candidates.

Barriers and challenges to AI adoption

The fluid regulatory landscape poses challenges for AI adoption. Laws such as the NYC Bias Audit Law (effective July 2023) mandate independent audits of AI in decision-making, creating constraints for companies. Multinational firms face additional complexity with varying regulations across regions.

Enterprises buy new technology slowly. The necessary rigor around the deployment of AI tools in companies clashes with the start-up culture of the Silicon Valley. Implementing this new AI technology in organizations takes time. There is a lag between AI capabilities and when companies and their employees are willing to embrace the new technology.

Responsible AI is crucial

Responsible AI is the practice of developing and deploying AI in a fair, ethical, and transparent way. Companies have a responsibility to ensure that AI systems are aligned with human values and do not harm individuals or society. The use of AI in talent acquisition raises ethical challenges around bias, discrimination and transparency that must be carefully monitored and addressed. 

How companies are implementing AI

Companies have three primary approaches to adopt AI

Partners with global reach and ongoing investment in AI capabilities can provide on-demand access to advanced AI tech, helping organizations navigate the evolving landscape. Companies that decide to build their own AI tools will need AI engineering capability and integration resources. As AI tech evolves, continually testing for bias performance and other issues will also be required. Any company contemplating building AI tech in-house should be prepared for this level of commitment and expense. For most firms, this is impractical as their primary business endeavors consume most of their tech resources.

Future state

The future of work will be digitally driven, beginning with TA. AI will enable new ways of working, improving efficiency and candidate experiences. TA and HR leaders must prepare for a future where AI is integral to TA processes, ensuring their organizations remain competitive and attractive to top talent.

AI’s transformative power in talent acquisition is undeniable. TA and HR leaders must act now to implement AI strategies or risk falling behind. Partnering with AI experts can provide the necessary support to navigate regulatory challenges, manage ethical considerations, and realize AI’s full potential. By embracing AI, organizations can enhance their TA processes, driving success and innovation in the digital age.

To read the Future of RPO white paper, download the full report here.

We believe AI will unleash a productivity boom, freeing recruiters from time-consuming repetitive tasks so they can focus on what they do best – building connectivity with candidates.

I had the pleasure of hosting a panel discussion with three of our AMS clients, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and GSK at the 2024 Institute of Student Employers Global Conference last week.

Our panel are tenured Global Early Careers Leads and run recruitment campaigns and programmes across EMEA, the Americas, APAC and India.  It was fascinating to get under the skin of some of the benefits, challenges and regional complexities.
 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of running programmes globally?

My first question to the panel was around the benefits and disadvantages of running Early Careers programmes globally.

We heard about how a global Early Careers programme can provide the c-suite with a global lens on skills, diversity, and other key business drivers.  Bringing in an annual intake to pivot on skills shortages can provide strategic advantage and boost workforce planning efforts.  Different regions and locations bring different skills and the ability to leverage multiple regions and feeding this knowledge into the bigger picture is transformational.  For example, the growing trend of recruiting apprentices in the UK across back and now front office investment banking roles, and the strong growth of technology hubs in India.  

We know Generation Z are globally mobile and expect to be treated like consumers so selling a global product and introducing them to a global network resonates. There are also cost efficiencies around managing partnerships globally, streamlining resources more effectively and using tools and technology at a greater scale. 

Disadvantages mentioned were the time spent on the internal politics and complexity.  HR will drive for global consistency, but the business will often want the opposite so finding that ‘glocal’ approach can be a challenge.  Additionally establishing a global footprint will come with global risk exposure, particularly in the finance sector where managing risk is critical. This can be time consuming to get right and consistent governance and controls will need to be in place and regulated.   

From a marketing perspective, within countries, global brands can be diluted, for example the top ten organisations regularly appearing in the highfliers research are often those with a strong in country focus such as the big 4, NHS and BBC. A brand will have different levels of employee attractiveness across the regions.

 

What are the operational challenges?

I then asked the panel about the operational challenges of running a global early careers campaign.  We covered off multiple factors.  The fact that different universities have different approaches.  For example, some of the legalities in EMEA where universities can dictate salaries to be paid and the complexity of how campus recruiting works in India in conjunction with the campus placement officers.  

Assessment also is different per region so establishing a one size fits all is often not possible. For example, online testing in the US comes with its own legal complexities.  Another challenge is the ease of hiring and retaining the campus recruiter skill set in some countries where is has not been delivered as a specialism previously. 

Furthermore, with the number of stakeholders involved and the interconnection required, it can be complicated to get stakeholders to align and to make decisions.  Data is one of the key benefits of a global campaign but agreeing what to measure can be a complex and needs to have some consistency across an often-divergent process.  

The final challenge discussed was around diversity, equity and inclusion which has different meanings in different countries.  We discussed the focus in India, on gender and disability which is different to the US and UK so trying to find alignment in focus and reporting can be involved. 

What advice would you give to organisations looking to set up a global campaign?

The third question I asked the panel was about advice they would offer for organisations who are looking to set up a global campaign. And the main advice was that no one size fits all.  Consequently, it is key to focus on where your organisation want to be consistent and where it need to be different.  Bringing local embedded subject matter experts together as a global team with a common purpose will be a great starting point.  Matrix ownership can be beneficial i.e., the US regional lead also manages attraction globally, the APAC regional lead also looks after data. 

Alignment is of course valuable, but it is not necessary to shoe-horn countries into a global approach e.g. diversity will always need to be regionally sensitive.  Also, a reminder not to under-estimate the basics e.g. time zones for meetings, and networking events.  We also talked about the importance of working through the balance between cohort hiring and ad hoc hiring as you gradually create some cohesion across the global offering.  

As ever in the world of talent acquisition it is a challenge to balance the needs of the business and what works in recruitment however bringing early careers hires together in centrally managed cohorts rather than on an ad hoc basis does provide the ability to space hiring out.  Moreover, creating greater definition across the application process start dates and deadlines will come with benefits as we increasingly see early careers recruitment stretching across the whole year.

I would like to reiterate my gratitude to our panel members for spending time with us and helping grow our knowledge around global early careers programmes.

At AMS we support over 30 early careers and campus programmes, some global and some regional and have supported with over 28,000 hires this season.  If you would like to talk to us about how we can support you, contact us.

2023 saw a significant decline in hiring rate across the globe with LinkedIn noting a 24% decline across markets such as the UK and USA. Despite that weakening of hiring volumes, LinkedIn Chief Economist states that there was evidence the rate of decline was slowing. As a result, it is their view 2024 would see a return to stabilisation and potential for a cautious return to hiring at the back end of the year. This decline and stabilisation coincide with a noted increase in candidates applying to jobs across the year. 

In their Global talent trends article, LinkedIn report a 23% increase in the rate at which candidates have been applying for jobs in the UK as an example. The final factor that continues to cause a challenge is the impact of layoffs across multiple industries but particularly in the technology space. So far in 2024, at the time of writing, we have seen 213 different tech companies announce layoffs with approx. 45,052 people impacted, 1,251 people per day. 

With reduced opportunities and increasing applications this causes some fundamental challenges to TA teams to ensure top talent is considered for the right roles. 

“Hiring Challenges noted by The Josh Bersin Company. Time to Hire:45 days (1-2 days longer in 2023 vs 2022). Applicants up by 20-25%”

Given that backdrop there are number of steps companies will have to take to mature their application management processes and limit impacts in the short to long term.

Potential Solutions

There are many ways to pivot your existing strategy to help solve for this challenge. Below are some of the most effective to support your organisation, from fully utilising your existing technology stack, all the way through to tech that may require further investment but supports an improved candidate and hiring manager experience.

  1. Fully utilise your ATS
    Many of the leading application tracking systems have features that are regularly ignored or forgotten about that can help solve for this challenge. One such feature is sometimes known as the killer questions. These can be custom built key questions that can support qualifying an application, to ensure it has the most relevant experience necessary to support the role. Turning this feature on can support a reduction of profiles for your Sourcing team to review and increase the likelihood that the most relevant candidates are identified and supported much more quickly.
     
  2. Build nurtured Talent Communities 
    In periods of high applicant numbers, a well segmented Talent Community strategy, which is supported by best-in-class content regularly, will deliver a reduction in Time to offer and Recruitment Agency spend. The objective of any Talent pool is to create a warm, engaged, and relevant community of talent against job families that are recurring and critical in nature. Through carefully curated content released consistently, “fans of the brand” are created, which should perform more reliably through your hiring process. With application rates rising you can utilise the Talent Community strategy to offer a much better candidate experience when not selected to move forward in the role. As a result, you will build pipelines of future talent, engaged with rich relevant content, to support speed in the process later when additional roles become available.
     
  3. Invest in further technology solutions 
    In addition to the two pragmatic and sensible strategies above there are increasing volumes of tech solutions that can support a best-in-class candidate experience in addition to supporting a seamless and speedy recruitment process.

    Top of funnel chat bot
    Applications like RoboRecruiter or Paradox AI plugged into the very beginning of the application process, supercharge the candidate application process, asking key screening questions, serving up relevant job roles and essentially automating the response handling process in an easy and convenient way for the candidate. Removing this activity from a Sourcers capacity, will provide more opportunity to perform the necessary headhunting activities on those critical and challenging positions that are not impacted by this surge in applications.

    Technology enabled Screening. 
    A huge amount of lost time in a process is always in the organisation of a suitable time for all parties to partake in a meeting. This can occur during screening but also across every stage of interviews. A remarkably simple introduction of a calendar matching software like Calendly solves this issue instantly and again supports candidates with a best-in-class experience eliminating needless wastage in an already time restrictive process flow.

    Once we have a date and time, we can focus on improving the screening experience. Another potential byproduct of having Generative AI built into the Sourcers toolkit would be accurate instantaneous note taking, whilst conducting a verbal screening call. This allows the Sourcer to focus on engaging the suitable candidate instead of having to dual focus on note taking as well as having an interesting conversation.

    Integrated Recruitment Operating Systems 
    Having a consistent Recruitment operating system like AMSOne that integrates across your ATS, CRM and HCIS, with Stack and rank technology built in, enables your sourcing function to get to the most relevant and suitable candidates in a much quicker fashion. eliminating wastage in reviewing profiles that just do not meet the spec. In addition, time saved in having a system that overlays across your talent ecosystem, enables seamless disposition of candidates into Talent pools or more suitable live vacancies again supporting time efficiency. 

Overall, 2024 looks to bring with it a diverse set of challenges than the year that proceeded it, but with some tweaks to using your existing tech as well as some further investment, your organisation can come out on top with the best available talent in your market.

While we’re still seeing a year-over-year decline in hiring, the rate of decline is slowing in certain regions and countries, which we can take as a sign of stabilization.

https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/global-talent-trends

There are more challenges than ever in hiring hourly and high-volume talent, with 54% of workers quitting in the first few weeks and 45% of candidates “ghosting” recruiters, our ‘The State of Hourly & High Volume Hiring in 2023’ report with Talent Board reveals.

Report data findings include:

 

While we cannot control the dynamic nature of the labor market, companies can proactively react to the current environment and gain a competitive talent advantage by integrating proven hiring processes, such as leveraging technologies, services, sources and channels to deliver a great candidate experience. 

However, it’s important to realize the importance of continually improving the hiring process given the two million people in the U.S. who have still not returned to work after The Great Resignation.

The report dives into recruiting and hiring results by participant level, company size, top challenges, goals, time-to-fill, applicant volume, candidate experience, and more.

Read The State of Hourly & High Volume Hiring in 2023 report with Talent Board.

 

 

Amplifying High-Volume Hiring: Unleash the Power of Technology, People & Process

The pressure of high-volume hiring is real. And while it’s no David Bowie song, the impact of hiring hundreds – even thousands – of employees each month without a cohesive process will definitely be just as memorable, albeit much less enjoyable.

Unfortunately for many TA teams, the only systems in place are adopted from professional recruitment practices. But high-volume hiring comes with a unique set of challenges that requires a specialized approach.

In this week’s Recruiting Daily webinar, William Tincup and I will share strategies, practices, and insights to help you Amplify your High-Volume Hiring using the Power of Technology, People, and Process.

April 13, 2023 
2:00 pm ET

Let’s take a sneak peek at what you can expect to learn during the event.

First and foremost, we’ll discuss how to streamline and accelerate your high-volume hiring processes while still providing a personalized candidate experience. One-size-fits-all recruitment practices don’t work in high-volume hiring, and we’ll show you how to scale and personalize your recruitment process. You’ll learn about the different solutions available and how to implement them seamlessly into your workflow.

Leveraging technology is essential to manage high-volume recruitment effectively. Our webinar will highlight the best practices for technology implementation, from automating processes to screening resumes. The right technology stack can help you reduce costs, improve hiring efficiency, and enhance your candidate experience.

An essential part of high-volume hiring is showcasing your employer brand to potential candidates. It can be tough to differentiate yourself in a sea of job postings, but with the right messaging, visuals, and outreach, potential candidates can learn about your unique culture and benefits. We’ll give you insights into conveying a compelling, authentic employer brand that resonates with potential candidates and expedites the hiring process.

Our goal with this webinar is to help TA and HR professionals streamline and amplify their high-volume hiring to its fullest potential using the power of technology, people, and process. We’ll provide practical, actionable advice and insights to help your talent acquisition function become more effective and efficient in the competitive world of high-volume hiring.

Join us to learn how to transform your high-volume hiring, attract and retain quality talent, and give your recruitment process a significant boost.

Register for our webinar now, and let’s power up together!

Technology has transformed the talent industry at all levels, from mobile recruitment tools to AI in sourcing, interview, and assessment processes. But to increase speed-of-hire and reduce costs, high-volume recruitment needs the right tech, a people-first approach, and effective processes.

https://recruitingdaily.com/event/high-volume-hiring-technology-people-process/

The COVID-19 pandemic left retailers scrambling for talent as employees moved on to other industries with higher wages, better job security and improved benefits.