Has technology already got recruiters acting like robots?

5 minutes on recruiters acting like robots, transcribed by Otter.ai

Hi, it’s Katrina Collier again today, and I have a different topic and I wasn’t expecting to talk about this. But last night Garry Turner, who does not work in the world of recruitment, recorded a beautiful seven-minute video, talking about his day, his podcast and having more resilience and vulnerability. And in it, he said, I’m going to read this to make sure I get it right, “We don’t need to worry about the robots taking our jobs. We have been acting like robots for too long.”

0:31
He’s not even in the recruitment profession but is a huge champion of being vulnerable. I met Garry when he attended DisruptHR London and then was vulnerable and spoke on the stage to share his opinion, which anyone who’s done that knows it’s five minutes that are very long and very kind of scary, but also a hell of a lot of fun.

0:51
So is he right? Have we been too robotic as recruiters for too long? I imagine there are many job seekers and candidates out there who’d agree. Every time that we see an email, and don’t see the human being behind that email and we don’t respond to it, we don’t respond to that application, we don’t close people so they know where they are in the process. That’s being robotic. Yes, that is the kind of behaviour that can be replaced by technology. Now, many of you have heard me go on about automation before, and I do actually believe there are parts of the recruitment process that will be replaced. The reason I go on about it is could we please make sure it’s the right parts. My concern at all times is that we already need to step out of the process and go through every step of the process to make sure that we automate the right parts. And you’ve heard me go on about this before in previous five-minute videos.

1:50
When it comes to the recruitment profession, those who understand that it is a profession, it’s, it’s almost a calling. Those that really love it, those who absolutely get a buzz when they make a placement, whether they’re an in-house recruiter or an agency recruiter, those that get a buzz when they make that placement when they fill that role, they understand it’s a calling. But what they do as well as use those uniquely human skills. They woo the candidate, from a passive candidate or applicant right through the hiring process to a successful hire or a properly closed rejected candidate. They understand what it takes, they can put themselves in their shoes.

2:32
Now, you will have seen many times that [I’m always pointing the wrong way, there we go] Pod 3 of The Robot-Proof Recruiter Mastermind is launching on the 30th. Now that is in three weeks time. And the aim of this 12-month program is to help you to develop those human skills, those human skills that will not be replaced by recruiters. How it works is you attend each month for an hour session with me and your Pod- Peers, so that’s whoever has joined that pod, and together, we go through and we run exercises and have conversations, and we talk about one specific human skill. And then you get little challenges during the course of the next four to five weeks until the next one, so that you really get it in the muscle so that every single day you’re using it. It is the thing that will set you apart going, going ahead.

3:20
Now, if right now you haven’t got the budget for it, please will you just let me know because we can discuss options. I know some of you are running out of training budget; January isn’t far away we can sort something out. Of course, your other option is to have a look at The Robot-Proof Recruiter, I talk about being human all the way through that.

3:39
Garry Turner’s words are ringing in my head. This, “We don’t need to worry about the robots taking our jobs, we’ve been acting like it for too long.” So please today, every single time that you see an email that has a CV attached or you see an application come through, just take a breath for a moment and think how lucky you are to be working right now. That you’ve got a job, that you’re in that situation where you’re not having to look, it’s really trying times for people. And for those people who don’t understand the importance of networking to an opportunity and to being bold and brave on LinkedIn, who are just applying, just remember, it’s really tough for them.

4:19
They know that they are one of however many hundreds, but they really do just want to know where they are, as we all do it anytime. I mean, think about the last time you were waiting for something, you just wanted to know where you were in the process. You just wanted to know how long it would be. You just wanted to know if you were going to hear, you just wanted to know if it was a no. Please, as you go through your day today, think about that. Think about just putting yourself in those shoes, using some empathy and compassion.

4:45
I hope you’ll come over and have a look at the Mastermind. If you’re at all interested in ensuring that your career is future proof. It is for In-house and Agency recruiters and any HR professionals involved in recruitment who just want to set themselves apart. Anyway, 3 weeks today, that’s why I’m super excited about it. Thank you as ever for your 5 minutes, the link will be there for Garry Turner’s post. Go and have a listen to his seven-minute video there. It’s really, really powerful and I shall see you tomorrow.