With reports of agencies failing to adopt automation at a time when more start-up firms are utilising these tools for rapid growth, Engage Technology Partners has urged recruiters to embrace digital transformation now in order to remain competitive.
According to the recruitment software provider, digital transformation has levelled the playing field in recruitment and helped facilitate growth, with the number of registered agencies operating in the UK increasing on average 27% per year with 8,448 new agencies launching in 2018 alone. However, while these start-ups have utilised the growth of technology to set up their business, some established agencies may be falling behind the curve as they struggle to keep pace with tech-heavy new entrants.
Alex Fraser, Director at Engage explains:
“There’s no doubt in my mind that digital transformation is leading the recruitment sector to evolve for the good, but while start-up agencies are using these tools to their advantage, some of the established agencies remain tied to legacy in-house systems or can’t adapt to exploit the opportunities. In fact, in its 2018 Recruitment Trends Report, Bullhorn revealed that 40% of agencies don’t automate processes at the prospecting or client engagement stages, while 30% don’t use it at all during the hiring process. This figure is particularly concerning in this digital era where technology and automation can deliver the personalised experience that candidates and hirers seek.
“In recruitment, digital transformation is levelling the playing field and lowering the ‘bar to entry’ like never before. Start-up recruiters placing contractors can access cloud-based platforms and enjoy similar tools as those used by long-established network agencies. For those start-ups, growth is no longer limited by the back-office overhead that the business can carry.
“It’s important to add, however, that this evolution doesn’t require expensive investment as some of the new cloud-based platforms have low ‘pay as you go’ pricing. Instead, the greatest change is in mind-sets. According to Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, ‘Digital transformation is about reimagining how you bring together people, data and processes to create value for your customers and maintain a competitive advantage in a digital-first world.’”
