How to Make Digital Transformation a Reality for Your Firm
Digital transformation is one of the buzziest terms in the industry. The transformative potential of technology is nearly endless for recruitment businesses, and recruitment professionals are understandably excited about it—80 percent think digital transformation will help their business. However, enthusiasm is not the same as action, and most agencies have a long way to go to reap the benefits of new technology. If you want to walk the walk AND talk the talk, here are five steps to make digital transformation happen for your firm or agency.
1) Make digital transformation a business goal
The digital transformation of your business will not happen by accident. It requires an investment in technology, the buy-in of your team, and an explicit openness to change and disruption. If your business isn’t bought into digital transformation from the top-down, it probably won’t be successful. One place to start: articulating what digital transformation means for your business and what you hope to get out of it. Only 20 percent of staffing professionals have a strong understanding of digital transformation, so demystifying it for your business is critical. (Pssst…In case you’re still fuzzy on digital transformation, we define it as the integration of technology into all areas of business for the purposes of improving operations and the way companies deliver value to customers.)
2) Appoint a sponsor
For digital transformation to be successful, it’s essential that someone at your business owns the initiative. Who should be leading your digital transformation strategy?
If you have a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Technology Officer (CTO), they make an excellent candidate for leading this endeavor. Businesses in which a CTO or CIO leads the digital transformation strategy are twice as likely to have a deep understanding of digital transformation and twice as likely to automate key recruitment processes.
Of course, not every business has a CIO or CTO. If this is you, you’re in good company. Forty-five percent of digital transformation strategies are led by the CEO. Businesses of all sizes can benefit from incorporating more technology into their recruitment processes, so don’t the lack of a dedicated tech leader stop your firm from embracing technology.
3) Determine your digital transformation goals
What does digital transformation actually mean in terms of benefits for your business? That’s up to you. The majority of recruitment professionals view digital transformation as synonymous with automation, AI & machine learning, or cloud-based software.
Likewise, most recruitment professionals are interested in leveraging technology to improve performance surrounding applicant tracking and candidate management (42 percent), but the actual possibilities are nearly endless. Maybe your priorities are around pay and bill, redeployment, customer relationship management, or something completely different. Start with your goals, and then explore the technologies and processes that will best allow you to reach those goals.
4) Take action and reap the benefits
Now it’s time to incorporate and adopt technology into your everyday processes. For most businesses, the most immediate application of digital transformation is through automation. What should you automate? Here are the most automated processes in the recruitment lifecycle.
Remember: investing in a solution is just the beginning. You’ll need buy-in, adoption, and regular use for any technology to have a meaningful impact on your business.
Check out how to make digital transformation a reality for your firm with our all-new digital transformation center.
