As the year draws to a close, Ross Slogrove, UK and Ireland country manager at recruitment business phone system provider Ringover, reflects on the needs of the recruitment industry.

At this year’s Recruitment Agency Expo, which took place in October at the NEC, Birmingham, more than 60 experts delivered presentations and guidance to help foresee the opportunities that lie ahead for the industry.

While Ringover’s aim was to demonstrate how its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution can help recruitment businesses to future-proof their communications, the company encountered a range of other topics and concerns from recruitment professionals.

Here, we examine some of the common themes that we discussed at the show and how this will influence the market in 2023.

Ease of use

With an increasing number of candidates on recruiters’ hands, the last thing they need is a crowded and complex system that make each case harder to manage. Having a streamlined candidate management process in place means less time clicking and more time talking.

Recruiters are not only under pressure to manage their workload, but also from the candidates who expect faster response times from recruiters. A survey from talent engagement platform Sense found that 80% of respondents want faster response times and nearly one-third have quit applying for jobs because of slow responses from recruiters.

To help speed up the process, simple is best. Software should be easy to navigate, provide real-time insights into the most important data the recruiter wants to see and unite with the recruiter’s phone system.

Getting automated

Automation has redefined the process of high-volume recruiting and transformed the way recruiters conduct hiring a lot of people in a short period of time. Traditionally, when a business announces mass hiring, the hiring manager or recruitment agency can get thousands of applications for a limited number of roles, which can be difficult to manage.

Now, almost any part of the process can be automated. That includes tracking the progress of applications, auto-posting adverts across multiple channels and reviewing candidate CVs and approving or rejecting them based on a pre-determined set of criteria.

However, it doesn’t appear the industry is ready to automate everything. A few years ago, when Amazon pulled its AI recruiting tool due to apparent discrimination issues, we saw there’s still value in human interaction. While we’re seeing an increased use of automation across each step of the recruitment process, and that’s really saving valuable time for recruiters, this doesn’t mean we’ll be totally moving away from human decision any time soon.

Global calling capabilities

The rise of hybrid and remote working has allowed businesses to recruit candidates from further afield. The benefits of recruiting from different countries are becoming realised as global employees can support business growth and presents talent with a different perspective, knowledge and new connections.

In fact, a study conducted by The University of Law Business School, found that more than a quarter of UK businesses consider hiring new staff from outside of the UK, while the remaining three quarters will hire from anywhere in the country. The convenience of remote interviews and working is allowing businesses to expand globally with quicker onboarding and fewer costs. To execute this, recruiters need a system that enables global calling with minimum fees.

More integrations

Faced with a rising number of job vacancies, recruiters need to rely more heavily on technology to help communicate with candidates and manage their applications. This requires more than having a phone system in place, and instead, recruiters want a solution that can easily integrate with various platforms.

In two steps, Ringover can be integrated with CRMs such as Bullhorn, Hubspot and Zoho to help recruiters manage the entire recruitment process end-to-end. In fact, Ringover’s calling software can be connected with over 60 different integrations that can improve productivity and operations for recruitment businesses. This provides them with flexibility to create a comprehensive solution designed specifically for their business needs, while handling an increased volume of candidates.

As the recruitment industry changes, the requirements and demands of recruiters shifts too. Looking to 2023, recruitment businesses must anticipate the role that technology will play in helping to manage candidates, maintain productivity within dispersed teams and crucially, make operations easier.