Technology Can Help Recruiters Embrace Global Hiring Trends

In a world where so many people are now working from home instead of physical locations, the world of work is beginning to look very different. As companies and their HR professionals and recruiters begin to realize the opportunities this new environment may hold for recruiting outside their traditional physical locations, some are beginning to consider casting a net not just around the country, but around the globe.

It’s an opportunity we’ve identified here at AC Lion and a topic our CEO, Alan Cutter, was recently interviewed about for The National Law Review.

Remote Hiring Likely Here to Stay

Long after the pandemic subsides, we believe that remote hiring will remain an option for many companies. During the pandemic, while some companies were decidedly a bit lukewarm about the idea of sending employees home to work, it was a choice that had to be made. In the process, though, they’ve gained some insights into the value of remote work for both employers and employees.

Both employees and employers are realized benefits from remote work.

For employees, the ability to work from home means greater flexibility and more convenience. Gone are the daily commutes, saving employees both time and money. Gone are the distractions that are common in the workplace. In fact, with the added time and fewer distractions that employees have realized while working remotely, evidence has emerged indicating the remote work can boost productivity.

In the long-term, employers may be able to save significant costs on facilities and other costs related to maintaining a brick-and-mortar workplace. In both the near- and long-term employers are already recognizing benefits from the ability to recruit from a much broader talent pool—including global talent.

In making adjustments to their traditional hiring practices, employers can benefit from the use of cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline the process of recruiting globally.

At AC Lion, we’ve seen first-hand how some of our enterprise clients have been able to quickly invest in the digital expertise and technologies needed to expand their reach.

During the pandemic, many companies have found themselves quickly pivoting from their offline models to online service models, subscription, or software-as-a-service; or from an ‘in-person’ experience to virtual, all because of the interim change agents they were able to pick up, who could implement advanced technologies.

Using AI in recruitment, says Cutter, makes the process more transparent and more accountable in terms of employers’ diversity efforts. Removing the “human element” from the equation can help address concerns about unconscious bias. Especially when recruiting in global locations, protecting against even inadvertent misconceptions about applicants is critical.

Alan Cutter, CEO, AC Lion

The trend is not without its challenges, though. Fortunately, technology already exists to help recruiters, HR pros and others successfully expand their reach.

Pivoting to Address Both Challenges and Opportunities

At AC Lion we’ve seen the big value that a broader pool of talent can offer employers, especially companies looking for highly skilled talent for hard-to-fill types of roles—like those with skills in advanced technologies. It’s a shift, though, that will require new methods and processes to efficiently traverse disperse settings.

Those companies that are able to adapt from offline to online service models, or from in-person to virtual operations will have an edge in the “new normal.”

Fundamentally, they will be aided by technology that can help them quickly pivot from in-person to remote interviews, screening, onboarding, and other aspects of recruiting and hiring talent. This is true whether hiring talent globally or locally.

The ability to stay up-to-date on wide variations in laws and regulations related to recruitment and labor practices that exist between states can be as complex as navigating global regulatory variations. California and Wisconsin, for instance, are notorious for having far more stringent and unique requirements than many other states.

We know that technology can help to handle these variations seamlessly.  We’ve helped many of our clients do that already.

Technology Creates a Level Playing Field

The impacts of COVID-19 have significantly changed the terrain for employers around the globe. Technology can certainly help to navigate some of this new terrain, removing barriers and saving time that recruiters can use to assume a more strategic role as their organizations consider how global hiring trends are likely to impact their operations now and into the future.