Staffing’s Next Evolution: Where the Industry is Headed & the HR Tech Making It Happen

In the second quarter of 2020, the hiring landscape made a 180-degree shift from the start of the year, forcing staffing firms to shift the focus of their teams almost overnight. Now, as we enter into Q3, the global job market remains pretty uncertain. The one constant during this time has been the need to innovate, with the future of HR technology playing a critical role in that innovation.

At Bullhorn’s EngageX 2020 conference, members of the interviewstream team were able to attend sessions and roundtable discussions with the future of HR technology at the center of the conversation. We learned that this year alone, 74% of companies plan to increase their investment in recruiting technology. It goes without saying that implementing new HR tech helps to increase time saved through the automation of everyday HR tasks. Studies show that teams save an average of fourteen to twenty hours per week, allowing HR pros to spend that time tackling more EQ-heavy tasks like diversity and mental health.

The real question around HR tech lies a little bit deeper — as margins for staffing firms continue to get leaner, how do staffing leaders differentiate amongst which technologies are make-or-break for success vs. those that are just a passing fad?

To help make that more clear, below is a breakdown of the 3 types of HR tech that your staffing firm likely needs to succeed (and also may need to recommend to clients).

Human Capital Management (HCM) Software

As your list of HR processes continues to grow by the day, automating time-consuming admin work is a must. Human capital management (HCM) software ensures that leaders are keeping track of their workforce while taking menial tasks off the plate of HR team members. HCMs assist with workforce planning, performance management, compensation planning, expense management, and so much more, leaving your HR pros to focus on value-adding work. All in all, HCMs are proven to simultaneously enhance problem-solving, empower employees, and improve your bottom-line.

Mobile Learning Tools

Employee engagement is at the heart of every company (and if it’s not, it should be). The proof is in the pudding; research from MIT has found that companies with positive employee experience outperform their counterparts when it comes to innovation, customer satisfaction, and profit. To improve employee engagement in a WFH world, your staffing firm should offer mobile learning opportunities, like skills education or personal and professional development courses.

For example, when the pandemic hit, L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, had to pivot 55,000 of their 80,000 employees to remote work. Immediately, the company began offering online classes and webinars to workers, covering topics ranging from remote team management to handling stress and employee wellbeing. In an age when 70% of workers feel that career development opportunities are essential to remaining with their current company, mobile learning tools are a one-way ticket to employee happiness (with excellent ROI).

Video Interviewing Tech

Video interviewing software is not emerging tech on the HR scene. In fact, many companies were already capitalizing on the software well before any shelter-in-place orders were on the horizon. That’s because having the right video interviewing tech provides HR pros with an end-to-end hiring solution (that reduces time-to-hire and cost-per-hire), while ensuring candidates enjoy a high-quality experience.

When National Heritage Academies, a network of more than 80 public charter schools across nine states, needed to streamline their hiring process, video interviewing was the best solution. Their recruiters were bogged down by interviews their entire work day, meaning they didn’t have any opportunity to effectively evaluate candidates. Once they integrated video interviews into their hiring process, they saved 750+ recruiting hours per year.

Over the course of the next six months, we can expect the hiring landscape and future of HR technology to evolve even more. Regardless of which direction the economy trends in though, by integrating these 3 technologies into your staffing firm’s workflow, your team will be able to hire better candidates, more quickly than ever before.

About The Author

Esteban Gomez is a marketing consultant with interviewstream. He loves learning and has a passion for traveling, having visited many countries including China, Colombia, Italy, and Peru.