Integrating Pre-Screening Into Online Recruitment Platforms: Statistics and 5 Important Questions!
Pre-screening is something we are passionate about here at EPSI. Since many large and medium- sized Canadian organizations have begun integrating part of their pre-screening processes into their online hiring platforms, we have, in turn, begun to give such an integration a high degree of importance. As a result, following the establishment of validated criteria that predicts a candidate’s performance or fit within the organization, thousands of candidates are pre-screened without having to leave the comfort of their home!
One of the main advantages of putting in place this kind of strategy is that it simplifies the rather tedious task of selecting candidates by allowing talent acquisition experts to meet only those candidates that are qualified. The latter reduces the costs and time involved in hiring.
During the workshop I presented at the 2013 CLICCC (Congrès de l’Industrie du Centre Contact Clientèle) on the topic of contact center selection processes, I realized at what point the participants appreciated seeing statistics and reflections on the matter. For all of you fanatics of such information, here are some interesting articles:
Some statistics:
- If you are looking for some statistics on recruitment and the full journey of a candidate, here is an interesting link: http://www.ere.net/2013/05/20/why-you-cant-get-a-job-recruiting-explained-by-the-numbers/
- Here is another interesting article from 2012 which presents different strategies that can be observed in selection as well as examples of organizations that apply them: http://www.ere.net/2012/04/09/leading-edge-candidate-screening-interviewing-and-assessment-practices/.
- Here is an article regarding mobile recruiting: http://www.ere.net/2013/06/26/employment-tests-say-give-us-mobile-or-give-us-death/#more-32713
Important questions:
There are different pre-screening formulas, but before you reach the elaboration stage, here are 5 questions that you should ask yourself:
- Technologically speaking, does your platform allow you to add pre-screening steps? If not, you might have to invest in order to add this capacity to your platform. It is important to keep this in mind from the beginning.
- What is the expected or desired improvement following the implementation of this function? You need to ask yourself exactly why you are adding this function. Do you want to help out your talent acquisition experts? Do you want to reduce the turnover rate of a particular position? Do you want to accelerate the process in general or reduce its costs? What is it that you want to achieve?
- How will the implementation of such an initiative affect you brand image? It is important to ensure the congruence between the image you want to portray, the values you wish to convey and your integrated process.
- Did you get the opinion of your managers and of other team members in order to get a global vision of the possible advantages and disadvantages involved in the implementation of such a project? A change management plan will be necessary for the success of this project.
- Is there an internal project manager available? Often times, internal (IT, HR, legal and marketing departments, among others) and external (test suppliers, consultants, etc.) stakeholders are involved, and thus it becomes important to have such a resource at hand in order to achieve success.
There are many other aspects to consider while implementing such a project, including the candidate experience, choosing the steps to be integrated as well as the solution providers, knowing how you will measure improvements or impacts once the process has been put into place, and something that people tend to forget about but that is equally important, having a contingency plan in the case of technical problems.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at cparis@epsi-inc.com for more information or for any questions you may have regarding such a process.
Until next time,
Chantal Paris,
