Ok, so you know about recruitment, we know about SMS, so lets talk about SMS for recruitment…
According to a recent labour market overview, the number of job vacancies from October to December 2021 rose to a new record of 1,247,000, an increase of 462,000 from its pre-coronavirus level. Most industries have declared a record number of vacancies. The job market has never been more competitive. For most UK recruitment agencies, this means employees are no longer queuing up outside the door waiting for interviews. They are being tempted by many employers and the traditional methods of recruitment could be ignored by potential candidates. If you are messaging an applicant with a recommended interview date and the quick response is “yes”, happy days! That leaves you free to work on your next candidate rather than sitting around waiting for a return phone call or email. Studies show that on average in the UK around 97% of SMS messages are opened and read within 15 minutes. As a nation, we are totally obsessed with our phones and look at them on average every 4 minutes. Even when we are not with our phones, a growing number of us have taken to wearing smart watches and can pick up texts with the flick of a wrist. By contrast, emails and post can take days and weeks to be opened and actioned.
1. It’s faster, more reliable and can speed up your recruitment process
We all know that the recruitment process can be a lengthy affair. You apply for the job you want and you wait to hear back. Meanwhile, the employer or agency is busy engaging with multiple candidates whilst balancing day-to-day business.
Traditional methods of recruitment usually involve calls, emails and direct mail, all of which are timely and less engaging means of communication. In a fast-paced world where we expect everything yesterday, recruiters could be losing out on the best candidates when opting for timely communication methods. As we know the convenience of texts, why not opt to use SMS for recruitment?
How to use SMS for recruitment:
- Send out a text to keep your candidates interested and informed – perhaps let them know that you have received their application form and that you will be in touch.
- Send a bulk SMS to a host of interested subscribers to see who is looking for work.
- Personalise your recruitment SMS messages with names, dates and times for interviews or screening – texts also mean that the candidates have physical evidence of the process, always handy.
- Keep candidates up-to-date with your stages of recruitment.
- Send out reminders.
- Text out contract links, job offers or rejections.
2. It’s the most popular form of communication
The sheer volume of communications we have to keep up with in today’s world can leave us overwhelmed and we are generally far busier these days than we were 20 years ago. We don’t have the time to engage in everything, so inboxes get messy, voice-call messages are ignored and post sits on the side. Did you know that most millennials actually hate talking on their phones and admit to never listening to voice messages (they are so last century!). They are also likely to receive less physical post since they have paperless accounts for everything, so mail through the door could get overlooked. That is a lot of opportunities lost and efforts wasted.
Now, more than ever, your employees are driving you towards new technologies and they want to control life from the palm of their hands. If it can’t be done on a mobile phone device then it could get dismissed entirely.
3. Use custom fields to categorise your applicants
To help with your pre-screening process, our software allows you to separate candidates or potential candidates on your database by their skills and experiences. You can set up keywords to filter your database to only those who match the job role. With two-way SMS, candidates can even reply with specific key words to ensure that they are kept informed of any jobs in their field of expertise. This level of data organisation enables you to engage with people who are specifically suitable for the role.
By using SMS or recruitment you will be able to gauge interest in the vacancy within minutes of sending out the information. You may even ask the recipients to recommend friends who might also be interested. Once new contacts have been received, a quick text to let them know you are looking for new recruits could open the talent pool even further. Recruitment SMS messages of this nature will need to be accompanied by an Opt-in or Opt-out feature. The new people who wish to Opt-in can then be added to your database.
4. Those awkward moments
There will be many job-seekers out there who are already in work, but looking to move jobs. For these people, taking phone calls from potential new employers whilst at work in their existing job or even emails can be risky. By using SMS for the recruitment process means messages are delivered straight to candidates phones, the recipient’s privacy can remain intact and they are far more likely to respond to you promptly.
Trying to contact applicants who are tied up with work is also tricky from a time perspective. When trying to call them, there is a high possibility that you will be leaving messages and waiting for a call-back. The chances of actually being able to talk to your working candidates flexibly are slim.
Once the ice has been broken with two-way text communications, you will find that your candidates are more relaxed with your exchange and will already feel like they are getting to know you and are more likely to be comfortable when you do meet.
5. Arrange interviews and screening more efficiently
Once your recruitment process has made it to the next step, you will want to keep everyone informed of the dates and times of your recruitment activities. This may include testing, interviews, role-play sessions, or meet and greets.
Using SMS for recruitment in this stage of the process is most effective with two-way texting due to liaising directly with the recipients to confirm or rearrange appointments. The applicant will be able to sync appointments with their calendar and have the message readily available for confirmation. Depending on the vibe you want to create, you could even wish them luck!
6. Improve your recruitment experience
We have all experienced what it’s like to deal with a bad recruiter. Trying to get more information about a job can be more difficult than it should be and it can be so off-putting. Your first contact with your screened candidates can contain the highlights of the job, so people can show interest or dismiss it almost instantly. Once you have their attention, you can send out more information or include links to full descriptions, person spec, and even the application for itself by SMS, rather than having to contact them with a call, which can be difficult for the candidate, especially if they are currently employed. Your potential new employees will thank you for your level of efficiency and will be really impressed with how progressive you are. Reaching your audience using their preferred method of contact will earn you lots of brownie points for your communication style.
7. It’s cost-efficient
We have already talked about how using SMS for recruitment can streamline your employment process. Sending out correspondence and receiving sporadic replies, creates a lot of admin work for your team. They could waste time chasing people, envelope stuffing, and dealing with wordy emails. Time spent calling candidates on the phone can soon rack up too.
With the cost of postal mail continuing to rise, very few employers feel that sending post is financially viable when there are digital options available. Sending recruitment paperwork out digitally also helps to reduce your company’s carbon footprint, ensuring that you are more environmentally friendly. In addition, sending automated texts in the recruitment process means that you are potentially cutting some labour costs as time spent on admin may decline.
8. It’s perfect for temporary positions
As well as permanent employees, SMS recruitment is particularly handy for employing temps. For those days when you need people to work at the drop of a hat or need access to a wide range of people and skills to cover a short period of time. You could send out the job to lots of people who match your job-role within minutes.
9. It integrates perfectly with your existing software
You can achieve your recruitment goals via our Powerful in-house API. Texts can be sent from your PC straight out to your desired contacts with the click of a button. Our SMS gateway can integrate with your existing software and seamlessly deliver your SMS recruitment messages to as many people as you want all at the same time.
10. Hiring may not be the only thing you use SMS messages for
Once you have filled your vacancy, the relationship with the successful candidate need not stop there. Agencies or employers using SMS messaging technology will be able to continue with important communications. For example, you may wish to congratulate new employees. Following that you can use SMS messaging to remind employees about completing timesheets, attending training, or just to check-in to see how things are going. You can even send out surveys to get feedback about their experience to help you to mould your business.