Businesses of all types and sizes, across multiple industries, find themselves in something of a transition period at the moment. Staffing agencies are in no way an exception to this truism. Depending on the national and local laws governing their various operating locations, recruitment and staffing firms are currently at one point or another in the multi-phase process of a return-to-work plan.
Not dissimilarly – both now and over the course of the last few months – technology allowing for remote work and other long-distance processes has been the saving grace of plenty of organizations inside and outside of the staffing sector. As various plans for a return to more conventional, on-premises labor experience varying degrees of success, it will be wise for leaders of recruitment agencies to take stock of how certain major tech trends may play into the near future of their businesses, including high-tech automation, recruitment tools, video conferencing and more.
Robotics as blessing or curse?
Throughout the 2010s and into the current decade, the constant fearful refrain about automation – be it advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, robotic process automation or another iteration – has been its potential for eliminating human jobs. Such suspicions haven't been entirely unfounded, merely exaggerated. But perhaps even more importantly, it's become clear that even amid a crisis like the new coronavirus pandemic, when there's an obvious use for robotics in the interest of public health, they do not represent a cure-all.
Harvard Business Review pointed out that in settings ranging from health care to air travel, robots were handling a wide range of routine tasks while these sectors' human workers were furloughed, quarantined or otherwise out of the picture due to the pandemic. These were effective temporary solutions that engendered a spike in robot sales. However, HBR also noted that the success of robotics is most contingent on the machines being used for "bottleneck tasks" that involve a surplus of some sort. Ultimately, the publication stated that it can often be better for company leaders to look for ways in-house or easily obtainable technologies can be leveraged to help workers, instead of looking for the next big thing to solve all problems.
Virtual hiring on the rise – for now
With organizations having transitioned to remote operations either partially or completely in response to the pandemic, the results of a recent Gartner survey regarding hiring strategy should come as no surprise: The poll found that 86% of its respondents, all of whom were HR leaders in their companies, had incorporated new technology to deal with their recruitment needs.
Lauren Smith, VP of Gartner's HR division, noted in an April 30 statement on the study that this practice could be the new normal for the foreseeable future among most companies.
"While most organizations are currently conducting interviews remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual interviewing may become the new standard for recruiting leaders and candidates long after social distancing guidelines are lifted," Smith said. "The most successful organizations provide candidates with the same level of information and feeling of connection with the organization as they would have with an in-person interview or onboarding experience."
In contrast to the aforementioned robotics trend, the adoption of "virtual hiring" – through wholly digital recruitment and interviews conducted using video conferencing technology – is not something likely to phase out even as businesses engage in their initiatives for returning to work. In fact, Gartner's research also found that 82% of respondents planned to cut down on external, conventional hiring, so it seems as if recruiting could very easily remain "digitally transformed" in the months and years to come.
The broader future of enterprise tech
Beyond identifiable larger trends like robotics, automation and virtual recruitment, many of the other developments in enterprise tech – whether it's adopting faster telecom through SD-WAN or using augmented reality – are fairly specific to industries where they would be most directly applicable. A June survey of CFOs worldwide by PricewaterhouseCoopers identified contact tracing for those at risk for coronavirus infection as one burgeoning type of technology that could become more prevalent due to its broad applicability, but thus far only 23% of PwC's respondents had committed to it.
However, what the PwC report also makes clear is that even as various corporate investments are on the decline due to the uncertain economy, including general facility, operational and capex payments, companies are more apt to keep their IT and research and development budgets intact. The consulting firm suggested that this pointed toward a desire to improve things for remote workers, but ideally it also indicates a broader desire to innovate and remain ahead of the curve, which is absolutely essential for survival.