Company Announcement - ManpowerGroup Solutions Recruitment Process Outsourcing , the global leader in the industry within ManpowerGroup, asserts that recruiters must have a broad set of hard and soft skills to attract the right talent and enable organizations to maintain a competitive advantage. Automated Recruiting and the Human Factor, a new insights paper released today, explains that as technology has transformed recruiting from manual procedures of yesteryear to the automated systems of today, it has raised the bar on the type of skills recruiters need to be effective in the race to secure the best talent.

“While technology enables more specific, faster and potentially cheaper recruiting, it is important to remember the challenges it can present for both recruiters and candidates. Face-to-face interaction is necessary for a good candidate experience, and recruiting will always require a human element. For candidates, it is important to take heed of their online presence, as this is a large contributing factor in automated recruitment and can often be a deciding factor for the recruiter. This is especially relevant in South Africa, where the latest statistics for 2014 released by World Wide Worx and Fuseware found that there are 9.4-million active Facebook users and 5.5-million active Twitter users in South Africa,” says Manpower South Africa Managing Director, Lyndy van den Barselaar.

“Recruiting technology is here to stay and its impact on the art of recruiting is inescapable,” said Kate Donovan, senior vice president of ManpowerGroup Solutions and Global RPO president. “While the global race for talent accelerates, a critical differentiator is the human touch that recruiters bring to the talent acquisition process. Recruiters, who make the most of technology by using it to engage and connect with candidates, create stronger relationships that ultimately benefit employers.”

Despite its undeniable advantages, automated recruiting has become an equalizer as most recruiters have access to a similar variety of tools. Since they can now access talent faster and more efficiently, they have more time to engage with candidates. This is when recruiters’ soft skills become essential as they can “make or break” relationships with job seekers.

“By creating tailored, one-size-fits-one interactions with candidates and showing a genuine interest in their aspirations, recruiters can understand candidates’ preferences, identify whether they are the right cultural fit for an organization and uncover their potential to succeed in new roles,” added Donovan. “Well-balanced high-touch and high-tech recruiting creates positive candidate experiences and will help employers win the war for talent.