In-house recruiters are spending almost two hours a day on administrative tasks, according to s study by Cornerstone OnDemand, a global leader in cloud-based talent management software solutions.
A group of 53 in-house recruiters revealed the accumulated time spent on administrative tasks equates to more than an entire work day each week. This reveals that the time lost on administration could have both productivity and financial ramifications for businesses.
While administrative tasks keep in-house recruiters busy, they are not the most time sensitive. Almost half (44%) reported that searching for candidates takes up most of their time, followed by reviewing CVs and applications (22%), and conducting interviews (18%).
In-house recruiters would like to incorporate more ‘recruitment hacking’ techniques. These involve using technology, shortcuts and new ideas to automate certain tasks, eradicate low-value activities and focus on activities that help them find and hire the right talent.
Recruitment expert Peter Gold, who worked with Cornerstone on the study, says:
“Recruiters tell me that it’s becoming a candidate-driven market, and finding talent is becoming harder all the time. This is borne out by research from the likes of ManpowerGroup, which showed 2015 to have a seven-year peak of talent shortage.
“Recruiters have to work really hard to get noticed and even harder to persuade the best talent to join them. In order to accomplish this, they will need to reduce process inefficiencies and increase personalisation – both of which can be addressed through recruitment hacking techniques.”
Nearly two-thirds (62%) said they wish they could automate searching for candidates, more than half (58%) wished to automate arranging interviews with candidates, and 47 percent want to use technology to streamline reviewing CVs and applications.
Vincent Belliveau, senior vice president and general manager, EMEA, Cornerstone OnDemand, says:
“The research aspect of recruitment roles is proving to be a time-intensive task for many of the respondents, and coupled with so much time spent on administration, it is clear that there are burdens that in-house recruiters need help with. To attract the best talent requires automating the right parts of the process, allowing more time for relationship-building and assessing a good fit from both sides.
“Fortunately, software exists that can help recruiters take more control of their time and increase efficiency. Cornerstone Recruiting provides in-house recruiters with easy to use applications to attract, target and identify candidates – and importantly in light of this research, offers recruiters new sourcing tools such as social sourcing and employee referrals.”
Amie Filcher is an editorial assistant at HRreview.
