Blockchain technology appeared in 2009 with the development of bitcoin, a virtual currency. Phil Aldridge, chief technology officer at Peoplewave, explains this phenomenon.
"Blockchain is a distributed and secure database. It records and stores every transaction that occurs in the network, and each new transaction is added only after being verified by the network. This creates a “historical ledger” of authenticated and trustworthy data."
It's not surprising that many industries have started to take advantage of blockchain technology: from finance, logistics, even all the way to energetics and recruiting. If you're a professional recruiter who follows new trends in the HR industry to stay on top of your game, then keep on reading and discover the ways that blockchain is changing the recruiting process.
7 SMART WAYS BLOCKCHAIN is changing The RECRUITING PROCESS
1. Straightforward Vetting
For recruiters, vetting is one of the most exhausting and time-consuming tasks. It involves hours of emails, phone calls, and record searches to verify information from all candidate credentials and qualifications.
Blockchain speeds up the whole process. A blockchain ledger would safely store all professional certifications, academic credentials, and related qualifications, so recruiters can access them anytime and vet the candidate in a matter of seconds.
That way, it wouldn't be possible to steal somebody's credentials or falsify them.
2. Easier onboarding process
For the Human Resource department, employee onboarding process also takes a lot of time and effort. It involves background checks, various information input, and a lot of tedious paperwork.
According to Tashina Charagi, a vice president at ADP corporate strategy groups, HR professionals would save both time and energy otherwise spent on these manual tasks if credentials and other relevant information for a new employee were filed on the blockchain.
3. Simple payroll management
With an increasingly distributed workforce, it's getting difficult to manage payrolls with efficiency. As a result, delayed processing of payments and unstable exchange rates can lead to employee’s dissatisfaction.
Thanks to blockchain technology, HR professionals could create their own cryptocurrency and, in that way, speed up all financial transactions and avoid the expenses of cross-border payroll. Employees would receive the payment in real time and later on they could convert cryptocurrency into the currency they want.
4. Safe data storage
It's important to emphasize the significance of safe data storage with blockchain technology given that the HR department keeps sensitive personal and financial information.
Today's systems for information storage aren't secure enough and can be easily hacked. As a consequence, various frauds and identity thefts can occur. However, blockchain is decentralized, and data can't be altered from a private computer. Therefore, all sensitive data is stored securely.
5. Enhanced recruiting
A standard recruiting process usually involves contracts between an employer and one recruiter or a recruiting company who covers all the process: from screening candidates to submitting them.
On the other hand, blockchain allows decentralized recruiting. For instance, HireMatch created a collaborative recruitment marketplace with their own cryptocurrency where members can get tokens for each action, like posting jobs, referring friends or submitting candidates.
This is a win-win strategy. Recruiters are motivated to engage in various roles because they receive compensation for different activities, while employers have the opportunity to work with more recruiters and access a wide range of talent.
6. Better productivity
Naturally, enhanced and quick recruiting process, with easier payroll management and onboarding would lead to increased productivity of the HR department. Likewise, the right candidates would contribute to the overall company productivity.
Besides, thanks to blockchain technology, repetitive tasks related to legal matters, supply chain management, and accounting could be automated or reduced. For example, self-executing contracts would reduce or eliminate legal involvement.
7. Better work experience
As you read above, the blockchain keeps information about your employees. More importantly, it tracks every alteration in employee's work history.
Elizebeth Varghes explains how HR professionals can leverage this benefit. She says that with such records, leadership can better understand employees' abilities and career aspirations. In so doing, they'll be able to offer them new opportunities to grow their career.
When workers can express their full potential, they are more satisfied, and they have better work performance.
CONCLUSION
In summary, using blockchain technology in the recruitment process offers many benefits, Not only does it significantly speed up the candidate vetting and ease employee onboarding, but it also considerably reduces the amount of repetitive financial and legal paperwork. Moreover, blockchain allows immediate and valuable insights into employees' record that show opportunities for their advancement and therefore better employee experience.
About the Author: Scott Mathews is from Birmingham, UK. He works as a media journalist and couldn't imagine his life without publishing.