E-Recruitment: How to recruit online?

With the Covid -19 health crisis, the world of employment and human resources has been turned upside down by the sudden arrival of remote activities and relationships . The Internet and social networks then became our main communication channels, and companies had to rethink their recruitment methods in order to adapt to this new way of life.

E-recruitment, or online recruitment , has then become a modern and effective practice for finding the best talent on the job market. This refers to a process that consists of doing all of your recruitment via digital platforms .

Where traditional recruitment required that we submit physical CVs and cover letters, e-recruitment makes it possible to overcome these trips by offering a faster solution. and accessible to anyone .

This new generation method uses the Internet to attract candidates, evaluate them via Assessments Digital Centers , sort them and select them for a position.

Nowadays, videoconferences are sometimes insufficient to make a decision, and the usual CVs and cover letters do not always reflect reality. But then, how to recruit online?

In this article, we will give you all the keys to mastering your e-recruitment in a qualitative, complete and effective way. We will start by presenting the new challenges , then we will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of this digital method, and finally, we will give you some practical advice to start your transition to digital today .

1 - The challenges of remote recruitment

First of all, the first issue is data protection : online recruitment involves receiving tons of applications containing personal or even private data. In order to guarantee the protection of this data and the respect of the confidentiality of the candidates, it is essential to respect the rules as given by the RGPD in Europe (General Regulation on Data Protection).

The second issue concerns your brand image, also called employer brand . It is necessary for an employer to monitor the image of his company on the web, because candidates can easily find out about it via social networks or opinions left by Internet users. Since most networks are free and easy to access, they offer you enormous visibility, and the importance of monitoring your image takes on its full meaning in this context. Thus, it is essential to maintain a positive and attractive appearance to avoid scaring away candidates and attracting the attention of your future talents. We have just written an article on how to develop your employer brand.

Finally, the last of its challenges is the candidate experience , throughout the recruitment process , you must guarantee a fluid, user-friendly and transparent experience for your candidates, otherwise they could become discouraged and leave to look elsewhere. The company must ensure that its application processes are simple and accessible , while maintaining clear and regular communication with applicants. The more satisfactory your candidate experience, the more positive the feedback related to your structure and the more talent you will be able to recruit in the future. Discover 9 tips to improve your candidate experience.

2 - The advantages of e-recruitment

First of all, one of its many advantages is that it allows companies, regardless of their sector, to expand their audience and reach a much wider perimeter. Multicasting is done via the Internet and social networks, recruitment announcements are not limited to a city, a department or a region; they can be distributed across an entire country, and even abroad as part of a telecommuting position. Consider writing a catchy catchphrase ! This massive distribution makes it possible to enlarge its pools of candidates, in addition to causing a reduction in costs: indeed, online job offers often cost less than advertisements published in the media in paper format.

Second, e-recruitment is a great way to speed up your company's recruitment process . Forms on career sites or job boards save time because they are designed to easily retrieve all relevant candidate information. There are also sorting systems to filter applications according to certain criteria, which immediately disqualifies profiles unrelated to the basic advertisement. Finally, remote interviews make it possible to avoid planning constraints linked to travel.

The last advantage of e-recruitment lies in the possibility of carrying out online skills tests , also called Assessment Centers . These tests make it possible to evaluate a candidate's soft skills by putting him in real professional situations, because soft skills can hardly be seen with the naked eye; this is why the assessments centers are increasingly sought after by recruiters. However, these tests often take the form of multiple-choice quizzes or clumsy mini-games... There is another solution, but we'll come back to it later.

3 - The disadvantages of e-recruitment

First of all, information overload : when you publish a job offer on the web market or social networks, it will often have a much greater reach than you initially imagined. However, the more visibility an ad has, the more responses it will receive. It may seem obvious, but keep in mind that too many applications will be difficult for a single recruiter to manage. Dealing with them can then prove to be more complex, and will require effective management so as not to miss out on qualified talent.

Then, there are times when online recruiting can lack human interaction. By dint of communicating only through machines, we can lose the essence of our social relationships. This is why it is recommended to keep a humanistic approach to recruitment , and to avoid considering candidates as a simple list of profiles. For example, if you decide to refuse a candidate, consider responding to him via a simple email to inform him of your decision. This will save him from waiting for nothing, and you will be able to stand out from the mass of recruiters who leave many of their candidates unanswered.

Finally, we mentioned it earlier but the biggest challenge of online recruitment remains the assessment of skills . In most computer-related fields, technical skills are easy to verify. In contrast, behavioral skills are much harder to identify without a one-on-one interview.

4 - Method for switching to e-recruitment

Now, we are going to give you the steps to follow to make a successful transition to digital . If you follow these steps and manage to familiarize yourself with the digital world, online recruitment will no longer hold any secrets for you.

4.1 - Above all, the first action is to set up a recruitment strategy to determine your needs. You will need a candidate whose profile corresponds to the position sought, but also one who can adhere to your internal functioning and your values. To do this, we recommend that you make a job description with everything that candidates might find relevant: your profile expectations, a taste of the tasks to be performed, etc. Thus, there is no risk of confusing the reader at the time of application.

4.2 - Secondly, it is becoming more and more important to make your recruitment original. Many companies are posting job offers that look more and more alike. This is where sourcing comes in, this term refers to a recruitment method based on the active search for candidates by an employer. To put it simply, instead of waiting for them to apply for your job offer, you go directly to them to optimize your chances of finding the ideal profile! Whether they are at the end of their studies, looking for a job or already working, we advise you to draw up a list of all these profiles using the 3.0 recruitment tools.

4.3 - Once your profile database (or CV database ) is complete, you will have to sort through these candidates and keep those who are most likely to interest you. Or conversely, those who are most likely to apply for your job offer.

4.4 - After that, the next step in your online recruitment will be to adapt your processes to the digital universe . You can set up forms with relevant questions for your candidates, offer them videoconference interviews, or even choose to submit them to assessments centers .

4.5 - And finally, the last step will be to assess the soft skills of your candidates using our Yuzu software :

After several years of R&D with researchers in Work Psychology and Neuroscience, we imagined Yuzu : a new generation Assessment Center, specialized in the assessment of soft skills , intended for HR departments and more. especially recruiters.

With Yuzu, talents are immersed in situations developed with the latest Video Game technologies. For what is time, each adventure evaluating a know-how in 10 minutes. It is no longer a simple entertainment but a tool in its own right to effectively measure a person's performance.

As for the assessments, they are accessible to all profiles thanks to simplified controls and cloud technologies (all you need is a computer and an internet connection to be assessed).

Click here to discover our gamified solution!

The advantages of the solution:

Improving the candidate experience to make your employer brand exceptional
A solution accessible to everyone and from any computer (Cloud).
A decision support tool to make the best decisions about your future employees.

We transform the assessment of soft skills into a strong and playful moment in the recruitment and internal mobility processes . Which is real progress in how to assess soft skills . In addition to being a good means of integration, it is a real added value for selecting the best talents.

5 - Some practical advice

Now, we are going to give you some tips to apply when recruiting remotely, to keep your employer brand intact and gain trust points with candidates:

5.1 - Confirm candidates' interest in the position

To avoid unpleasant surprises, make sure that your candidates are indeed interested in the position you are offering. The job boards are filled with ads of all kinds, so it is not uncommon for candidates to apply randomly hoping to hit the jackpot. During a 10 to 15 minute call, confirm their desire to apply and focus the discussion on potentially awkward elements: location, salary, reminder of assignments, etc. If everything is in order, you can then plan a longer discussion in video or face to face. To learn more, check out our article on job interviews !

5.2 - Provide them with documentation

For your candidates to reveal their true potential, you must try to put them at ease during your first contact. Give them as much information as possible about the company , so that they have no doubts about their motivation and their desire to join you. To do this, provide them with brochures, photos of the offices, a video presentation of the company and more generally, anything that could give them an idea of life within your structure and the work culture that you maintain.

5.3 - Do not only value hard skills

As opposed to soft skills , which are interpersonal skills, hard skills are raw, technical skills, those that are necessary for the execution of tasks. Although the latter are essential in the context of a job, the human side of the candidates should not be neglected . They are not machines, but potential future recruits. An exchange by videoconference often helps to establish contact, so do not hesitate to do so as soon as your candidates are available. Of course, we must remain attentive to their requests and ensure that this process does not bother them.

5.4 - Do not underestimate the assessment of soft skills

Conversely, it should be remembered that a videoconference is not everything . Thinking that a simple phone call is enough to successfully assess soft skills is a big mistake. Skills assessment is a complex discipline, and software like Yuzu is there to facilitate this process . Moreover, although the assessment tools help you assess the potential of your candidates , they are not able to make decisions for you. Basing all your choices on an assessment center is a bad idea , because it should only remain a support, a decision-making tool. In the end, you will have the last word.

Summary:

To conclude, online recruitment represents a real transformation of the traditional recruitment process. By using digital tools for job posting, data processing and applicant analysis, companies can achieve optimal efficiency in their search for top talent.

Ultimately, e-recruitment provides significant visibility and attracts candidates from different regions. Thanks to specialized online platforms and social networks, recruiters can target specific profiles according to the skills and personality sought.

By considering every part of the process, from job posting to application intake, recruiters can efficiently manage large numbers of applications while improving the overall quality of recruits . The use of software and assessment methods allow precise analysis, thus facilitating the selection of the most relevant candidates for the company's project.

If you do not yet have an ATS-type recruitment software, discover our article: HRD methods for choosing their recruitment software .

In short, e-recruitment represents a modern and effective approach to recruiting differently and achieving greater efficiency in the search for talent. By mastering digital tools and adapting traditional recruitment methods, recruiters can optimize their recruitment process and effectively recruit the best candidates for their company.

By investing in this transformation of the recruitment process, companies can position themselves advantageously on the labor market and build teams of talented and complementary employees , ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.