True Reply allows for open-ended data collection via phone or Alexa powered devices. Because of the way it can automatically collect, process and analyze voice-based content, it has the potential to significantly impact recruiting and hiring, changing the way we screen candidates for open positions.
Recruiting for today’s workforce is a complex and time-consuming endeavour. Recruiters and HR personnel assess the needs of a role and establish parameters for their posts and searches. They then collect the data in the form of resumes from a variety of inputs (job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, and many more), and then analyze all of that data to find potential matches. They then begin the arduous process of pre-screening potential matches in an endless cycle of phone calls and emails.
In the US alone, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were roughly 5.8 million job openings in December of 2017 ( BLS Dec 2017 ). Along with this, there were approximately 5.2 million separations (quits, layoffs, discharges, etc.) measured in this same time period. While unemployment is historically low, the number of jobs needing filling per month is still incredibly large. Additionally, 42% of people ages 18–34 are considering a new job and 20% of people over 35 are considering a new job ( Fit Small Business ). What this equates to, is that month over month, there are millions of job applications and interviews being conducted in the US alone.
The True Reply platform excels at is allowing people to answer open-ended questions via a voice interface, letting candidates elaborate on or add details to their responses. Where the value to the recruiter or HR representative comes in, is where the platform transcribes the audio data, provides detailed analytics and allows the pre-screen questionnaire administrator to review keywords in order to quickly narrow down the applicants into the top prospective candidates, quickly, easily and best of all, cost-effectively.
The Scenario — A company is in need of a manager
A company is looking to hire a sales manager for one of their new products. They use an external recruiter to begin the search for them. The recruiting firm posts the job opening on all the usual job boards and within a few days they have an influx of over 100 resumes. Of those 100, maybe only 20 of them are viable candidates, however, that’s still 20 pre-screen interviews the recruiter needs to run. This can take hours of time to connect with the potential candidates and ask them a battery of standard questions in relation to the posting.
With True Reply, once a resume is submitted and reviewed, the recruiter can send an automated response to those 20 potential candidates and include a QR code or dial-in number for the potential candidates to call into and take a pre-screening questionnaire. The questionnaire can be as long or as short as it needs to be (generally 10 questions to ensure enough data is collected to decide whether or not to pursue this candidate further).
The candidate dials into the survey, relieving the recruiter of the need to reach out and contact potential candidates, and answers open-ended qualitative questions, meaning the questions can ask the candidate to provide details and elaborate on topics as necessary. The candidate finishes the survey, and their audio data is saved, indexed and transcribed and analyzed for context using True Reply’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) engine.
The HR administrator or recruiter gets this data in realtime and can review the analysis and reporting via the True Reply data visualization dashboard, showing keywords and other details which the HR admin or recruiter can then drill down into.
Through this advanced data collection and analysis, the recruiter can quickly assess the responses and decide which candidates would be the best to follow-up with or provide to the hiring managers for interviews.
Automated Pre-screening: True Reply and the HR Business Case.
The value for HR administrators and recruiters is undeniable. An automated pre-screening method would provide the following:
- Saving the recruiter time by automating the pre-screening process.
- Reducing calls and call-backs as well as the time to manually pre-screen.
- Saving the recruiting company money by allowing them to process more applicants quickly and effectively.
- Saving the hiring company time and money by focusing interview efforts on more qualified candidates through a more effective vetting process.
Using True Reply to setup a pre-screen questionnaire is extremely simple. The admin simply enters the questions in the True Reply platform. The platform automatically generates the number and/or QR code, and the recruiter publishes that number as part of the application process, either within the job posting or as part of an automated follow-up email.
She or he can then quickly analyze the results of the audio data collected from the pre-screen questionnaire via the True Reply dashboard in real time. The decision can then be made to follow-up with the best candidates in person with a much higher degree of confidence, all while saving the recruiter time and the hiring company money.