Recruitment businesses have more technology than ever, but is it actually making recruiters’ lives easier?
In a recent Recruitment Smarts Live, Louise spoke to Jay Slinger, Managing Director of JSBC Labs and My Talent Software, about what recruitment technology could look like by 2030.
One of the biggest problems today is the number of disconnected systems recruiters are expected to use. The CRM sits alongside job boards, sourcing platforms, prospecting tools, email and an ever-growing range of AI products. Moving between them creates more admin and makes it easier for valuable information to be missed. Jay believes agencies need a central system that manages clients, candidates and prospecting properly. If recruiters still have to rely on Outlook and spreadsheets to fill the gaps, the CRM is not doing enough.
AI should help recruiters, not replace them
By 2030, AI will be built much more deeply into the recruitment process. It could review applications, identify relevant candidates, analyse existing data and take care of repetitive tasks. But that does not mean automating every interaction. Recruitment still relies on trust, judgement and relationships. We have all received supposedly personal messages that were clearly written by AI. Used badly, the technology can make communication feel less human rather than more useful. The real opportunity is to let AI handle more of the admin, giving recruiters more time to speak to candidates and clients.
Make more of the data you already have
The right candidate may already be sitting in your CRM. Better technology should help recruiters rediscover people in their database, spot patterns in client behaviour and identify new business opportunities. The CRM should actively support recruiters, not simply store information. It also needs to fit the way an agency works. A temporary recruitment business and an executive search firm have very different needs, so their systems should not force them through the same process. As Jay put it, agencies need to become:
“Change agile, not change fragile.”
The recruitment businesses that succeed will not necessarily be those with the most technology. They will be the ones using it to remove unnecessary work, uncover opportunities and create more time for the conversations that matter.
Watch the full Recruitment Smarts Live conversation to hear Jay’s predictions for recruitment technology in 2030.
