When you think of "crowdsourcing," you probably think about people trying to raise money for a charitable purpose from friends, acquaintances and like-minded people on the Internet. But in the world of recruiting, crowdsourcing has now caught on in a big way.
Much of the work of a recruitment agency, in addition to employing a staff of recruiters, consists of lining up employers to use its services. Other duties include administrative functions, such as relaying information about its clients' staffing needs to recruiters and ongoing communication with those clients. Traditionally, these tasks have been done by recruiters beating the bushes looking for suitable candidates. Today, many of these communication and admin tasks can be streamlined and automated on an Internet-based service platform.
Employers can access the platform directly and relay in detail their "talent acquisition" needs, setting the recruitment process in motion. Information about potentially suitable and interested job candidates can be returned to employers via the platform, hitting the ball back into the employer's court.
Where crowdsourcing comes into play is that freelance (or gig worker) recruiters can access the platform to find recruitment-pending searches that they're most qualified to complete based on their contacts and talent market niche, and go about the business of finding viable job candidates. Those freelancers are also called "contributors" to the platform.
The platform's provider is the "middle man" between the employer and the recruiter, and the highly automated nature of the services it performs can significantly lower the overall cost of filling an open position.
Recruiters employed by traditional staff model recruitment agencies could also use such a platform if they want to and work out the arrangements with their own employers.
On most platforms you pay only if you hire a job candidate you connected with via the service, but some also establish an hourly rate to support you in your own recruiting efforts.
Here are four more developments in the recruitment field that are part an outgrowth of the intersection of tight labor markets and technology advances:
Technology can only go so far in solving your manpower requirements. The Global Recruiting Trends survey pinpointed several skills considered least likely to be replaced by technology. They include building relationships with candidates, seeing candidate potential beyond credentials, judging "cultural fit," gauging candidate interpersonal skills and convincing candidates to accept job offers.
Despite technology's impressive new capabilities in the realm of recruiting, it can't replace the essential human element. Only with an "all-of-the-above" strategy — combining the best of people skills and technology — are you likely to build and maintain the staff you need for today and into the future.
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