The HR and recruiting industries are going through a bit of a renaissance. Following in the footsteps of the financial, healthcare, and transportation industries, HR and recruiting are becoming much more digital and tech-focused – and for good reason.
One of the main drivers of this technology transformation is that job candidates now expect a digital, tech-driven recruiting experience. As a result, more and more companies are investing in high-tech platforms to attract the right candidates, streamline the application and interview process, and measure benchmarks. The challenge here is that, while many companies may be investing in the technology, it’s rarely leveraged to its full potential.
According to a 2018 study, the worldwide investment in branding and recruiting technology will reach $2 billion by 2022. In the CDL driver recruiting space, recruiters are in a unique position of being able to introduce drivers to a tech-powered recruiting experience while still delivering personalized engagement. While more and more CDL recruiting teams are investing in technology, there is still a ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ stigma that prioritizes manual data entry over platform utilization. The challenge for CDL recruiters is figuring out how to bridge this gap without losing sight of the driver in the recruiting life cycle.
Here are a few actionable ways CDL recruiters can start to utilize tech platforms more:
Build processes that leverage technology and in-person engagement.
Investing in new recruiting technology solutions is one thing, but actually using them is something else altogether. For many recruiting managers, it’s getting your recruiters on board with new processes and procedures that can be tricky. CDL recruiters rely so heavily on personal connections and driver engagement that they can be reluctant to rely on technology instead of these personal encounters.
In a perfect world, however, your recruiting technology should be complementing and optimizing your driver-first recruiting process – not replacing it. Recruiting managers should work to build out workflows that combine digital elements (like mobile-first applications and automated follow-up emails) with in-person touches (like video chat interviews and personal phone calls).
Create a tech-first recruiting process from the very beginning.
Another common sticking point in technology utilization is whether or not drivers will be open to new digital methods. For instance, adding in a technical component in the middle of an application lifecycle with little precedent can be a bit jarring for drivers and recruiters alike. But building a digital recruiting process from the very beginning helps introduce drivers to tech platforms and pave the way for the process down the road.
Recruiters can lay the groundwork for a tech-first recruiting process by optimizing online application webpages, connecting online forms to a digital Applicant Tracking System (ATS), and leveraging text messages for that all-important first touch.
Start small and build upwards as your recruiters become more comfortable.
CDL recruiting managers can’t expect every team member to latch on to new technology overnight. After all, there needs to be a sense of confidence and trust in new technology to make it stick long-term. That’s why not everything needs to happen at once. If your recruiting department has a long-term technology strategy in mind, try phasing it in over time. Start small by gathering applicant data and benchmarks and then build your strategy from there as recruiters become more comfortable and open to newer technology.
As the CDL driver shortage continues, recruiters must be able to connect with candidates on a digital level. Being part of this technology revolution goes beyond investment, however, and a successful CDL recruiting team will be able to bridge this gap between a digital platform and actual process improvement.
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