How Human Resources managers are harnessing digital tools for talent development

4 min read

Companies are increasingly looking for dynamic, well-rounded candidates who can drive change with innovative technology. But that’s easier said than done. In order to find the right person for the job—and keep them there—HR managers need to take a similarly innovative approach.

New tools and technologies are transforming how we search for and retain talent. At every step of the process, they give us an edge to refine the talent pool and gather insights, resulting in more suitable and satisfied employees.

Recruitment

Looking in the right places

Generally, the recruitment process begins with a job posting. That’s usually followed by spending copious amounts of time searching through the relevant platforms or social media channels.

Programmatic advertising, for example, is an automated tool that places your ad on the appropriate job board or even on the social media feed of relevant candidates. It automatically sorts through huge swathes of information to help your ad stand out in the most optimal digital spaces.

But even after you find the right platforms, there’s a problem: you keep getting the same profiles that aren’t quite right for the role. There could be many factors influencing this—and one of them could be the ad itself.

Advertising the right way

The way you phrase a job opening can have a huge impact on the people you attract.

For example, sometimes the words we use can have a perceived gender bias one way or the other. This is where the gender decoder for job ads comes in. While this tool won’t write the perfect copy for you, it will help guide you toward producing a more neutral ad that will boost engagement.

Other websites such as Textio or Boost Editor provide augmented tools that can help you produce better copy to attract the perfect applicant. It might take some time until they bring predictable results but like any AI software, the more they’re used, the better the algorithm will get.

These are just a few of the tools to facilitate the recruitment process, though. There are seemingly endless novelties in the field, lending a hand to human resources professionals by chatting with prospective candidates, leveraging social media metrics and much more.

Management

Onboarding

Now that you’ve successfully recruited the right person for the job, the next step is to onboard them. Gone are the days when you hired someone and let them figure everything out for themselves. Not only does this result in a negative first impression for the new employee, it also makes it more difficult for them to fit into the corporate culture.

But onboarding doesn’t have to mean spending your day holding the person’s hand as you ignore more pressing tasks. Automated digital onboarding can be both engaging and time-saving: the new employee simply downloads software like BambooHR or HROnboard onto their phone and it will walk them through every step.

Performance and satisfaction

Once the team member has been successfully onboarded, it’s important to ensure their performance and satisfaction levels.

PerformYard is a flexible, highly customizable platform that streamlines performance reviews, goal management and employee feedback, ensuring there is always a healthy conversation taking place. With a multitude of dashboards, charts, and other features available, it helps build a mutually beneficial professional relationship that boosts retention.

Compensation and benefits: can we afford them?

Compensation has always been tricky. There are so many factors that need to be taken into account when deciding what to offer the candidate. Of course, if you want the best talent, you have to be prepared to make an investment—but how much is too much?

This involves taking a serious look at the data on hand, exploring exactly what stage your company is at and how much you can afford. Sometimes, this even means hiring a consultant to make sure that you read all the data properly, which can add extra costs to the equation. Luckily, there are several platforms out there to help you make sense of this data while also providing ongoing updates and performance metrics to ensure you made the right decision.

Ultimately, this extra effort will pay off. Using AI optimizations, machine learning and other digital tools to accurately gauge the right compensation for your candidates will result in motivated employees who feel valued and recognized—rather than an underpaid, disgruntled workforce whose default setting is doing the “bare minimum.” With this move, you can expect higher performance levels and greater commitment to your business, which will boost your bottom line.

What does the future hold for HR managers?

The world of human resources and talent development is evolving fast. Innovative tools are taking the place of tedious and frustrating tasks while also providing clearer insights, allowing HR managers to better spend their time on what they love most—working with people. It’s an exciting time to get into the sector as there is huge potential to bypass repetitive tasks and make a lasting impact.