Innovations pushing frontiers of hiring landscape 

As the world adjusts to new technological innovations in the ways things are done, so also is the hiring landscape changing in the ways employees are hired.
     
Traditionally, the only way an employee gets a new job is through presenting a formal Curriculum Vitae (CV) that contains basic information of job seekers. But that is gradually dying as employers are now leveraging new technology to find ideal candidates.
    
Increasingly, employers are gradually moving away from having physical CVs, and instead, are opting for virtual space to store prospective employees’ data in a digital profile.

Top HR executives and employers have asserted that the biggest impact on recruitment will be technology augmenting the hiring process in the next three years.
    
According to them, this would be how technology will make the hiring process more effective through easier filtering and more accurate matching.
    
In an in-depth research conducted by market leading job portal, Ringier One Africa Media, (ROAM.africa), which encompasses the market-leading job portals in West Africa (Jobberman) and East Africa (BrighterMonday), as well as Executive recruitment and HR solutions firm, The African Talent Company, surveyed over 50,000 employers who use their services, to understand how employers see the hiring space.

As more candidates embrace digital profiles, it is imperative that employers leverage the sourcing technology available or risk missing out on ideal applicants.
      
Already, ROAM’s Head of Jobs, Matthew Page, credits a strong shift in the behavioural patterns amongst job seekers as the main driver behind piloting research to better understand the trends.

He said: “As advocates for the use and power of technology in the hiring space, we are pleased to see technology is on top of the HR agenda. It aligns with our vision to transform productivity on the African continent. We are seeing some pretty incredible trends coming out of our millennial users.

Firstly, the growth in job activity is massive over the last three years. It differs by market but some countries are seeing as much as 50 per cent of the workforce being made up of millennial – these users are actively searching and enquiring about opportunities. More than any other demographic we have seen before.”
This aligns with the trends ROAM has uncovered on employer beliefs for augmentative hiring processes. 

Page added: “Having structured data in a digital profile is good for the employer and job seeker. The data is in the cloud, is easily edited and allows for a seamless desktop to mobile experience. For employers, filtering through 100 CVs in hardcopy is a nightmarish task.

“Being able to match profiles to role requirements with technology takes out the manual element and allows for focus on what really matters – the top matching candidates.”

Similarly, CEO of ROAM, Clemens Weitz doubles down on the potential for growth in African productivity.
     
He said: “In the future, hiring decisions will be vastly improved through technology. The hard copy CV as the main instrument for candidate selection is a 20th century practice that our generation will be the last to see.

“For both candidates and hiring managers, there are tremendous positives ahead. As more candidates embrace digital profiles, it is imperative employers leverage the sourcing technology available or risk missing out on ideal applicants.”

Olosunde argued that social platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter provide additional and fast background check about the suitability or otherwise of job applicants though such information may not determine the degree of success of applicants.
     
His words: “Writing Curriculum Vitae has gone beyond just writing stuff. Many people will write that they can work with minimum supervision but on getting to the job, they find that it is a different ball game altogether. This often happens because there is no technology to verify their claims.
     
But these days, even if prospective employees send me their CVs, I will still have to go to their LinkedIn platform to check out what they are talking about and who they follow on social media; what are their comments on topical issues, who are they following in their chosen fields or trailblazers in their areas of specialisation. Employers these days are interested in background check of their prospective workers.”  
     
“Conscious efforts are made these days in order not to bring in wrong hands because the cost to the employer when a wrong person is brought into a business is huge well beyond the monetary terms. Facebook for instance provides solid background check of employees. Not that whatever we found on their Facebook page would be used to discredit them or judge them based on what we find there, but it will guide an interviewer who is trying to form an opinion.

“There is nowhere an employer cannot get basic information on employees now. Employers can Google anyone online. Most of the basic information of people that use Internet is retained there. So, anyone that searches such individuals can get it,” she said.

She submitted that nowadays, employers are no longer looking for technical skills, because people can train for technical skills.  
      
She added: “What is more important is to find the right ‘culture fit’, and then train people on the technical side of the job.”

She urged jobseekers to convert their social media account to job platform where they can advertise their skills or competencies, saying, “unfortunately, most people that are looking for jobs use their social media accounts for unproductive stuff. There is so much going on now in the social media that can offer massive opportunities to a lot of young people that have assess to the Internet. There are areas now in some parts of the country where free Wi-Fi is available. These areas should naturally serve as hubs for people to explore the Internet for their own benefit free of charge. Social media harbours limitless opportunities.”