What’s more appealing to the job seeker — technology or touch? This question formed the basis of a survey conducted by Randstad India. The objective of the survey : Finding out which form of recruitment — one that is technology-oriented or one that relies heavily on the human element — the Indian workforce is more comfortable with.
According to “The Randstad Tech and Touch Survey”, the Indian workforce has said “no” to a completely tech-driven recruitment process, with 78% of the respondents indicating that they perform much better in personal interviews as compared to automated tests. A majority of the millennials aged between 21 and 26 years have expressed this viewpoint. 58% of them have stated that an overly automated interview process will be less transparent and will not provide the essential feedback they are looking for.
The human aspect
While most candidates find value in technology, they don’t want to see it overtake the human aspect in the hiring process, reveals the survey.
A whopping 83% have mentioned that technology makes the interview process more efficient but significantly less personal, with 86% of the respondents aged 36 and above subscribing to this view.
According to the data, 89% of the respondents have agreed that an ideal interview process is one which ensures a combination of technology and personal interactions.
The top three
However, more than half the number of respondents (52%) have stated that they have gone through an interview process where a significant part of it was carried out completely or aided by technology. The top three technology interventions are: online interviews through Skype/Google Hangout (40%); and technical online assessments (33%), followed by automated calling apps (13%).
Almost all of the survey respondents have said they believe that at least one round of the interview process needs human intervention. Close to 75% of them believe that three or more interactions are necessary during a standard interview process to make the hiring experience feel even more personal.
The methodology
The survey was conducted online with a sample size of around 2,500 candidates, out of which 70% were employed and 24% were job seekers. 43% of the survey respondents belonged to the age group of 27-35 years and around 27% were from the age group of 21-26 years. A majority of the respondents were from the IT/ITeS sector, followed by manufacturing and BFSI.
