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Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) make recruiters redundant?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is in the news and more people are learning about its capability. Some people look forward to AI-led advances whilst others fear the birth of a singularity and Judgment Day. Those closest to AI acknowledge the potential for human extinction, but hope to avoid it.

By asking whether Artificial Intelligence will make recruiters redundant, I am narrowing the focus to keep things grounded and realistic. To cut to the chase, evidence shows that it’s just a matter of time before AI will be able to make recruiters redundant. However, it is less certain that AI will make recruiters redundant any time soon.

The capabilities and applications for Artificial Intelligence are growing exponentially. Since its launch, the adoption rate of Chat GPT has been faster than any computing technology before it. However, widespread replacement of jobs may not be so swift. An underlying problem with AI could remain hard to solve and that concerns AI ethics, not AI capability.

To understand whether AI may make recruiters redundant soon, we should review what AI can do now and what it might master in the near future.

Here’s a snapshot of Artificial Intelligence in June 2023.

  • Artificial Intelligence is in its infancy, yet already showing signs of unexpected behaviours. These are more commonly referred to as emergent behaviours. They are not taught, but arise spontaneously. Engineers aren’t totally sure how AI actually works in this regard. Put a different way, engineers built an electronic brain and now it is thinking. Engineers just aren’t sure how it’s thinking some of the things it thinks.
  • There are two broad types of Artificial Intelligence; narrow and general. 
  • Artificial Narrow Intelligence learns within a defined problem space so that it can become expert within it. OpenAI’s Chat GPT is ostensibly an Artificial Narrow Intelligence. It is exceptionally good at communicating in natural language, just like humans. However, its capabilities appear to be extending beyond this narrow field.
  • The word ‘modality’ means any input or output that an AI is capable of working with. Text language is a modality. Numerical data is another. If an AI can deduce whether a photograph includes a cat, then it is working with the image modality. AI is gaining access to more modalities.
  • Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the development goal for AI companies. This is a single AI that can learn anything. That could include how to play an online game, how to recognise an individual human face and how to communicate naturally with people, all with one AI. It could also build upon prior skills to quickly master new challenges, like how to recruit. AGI will interact using all modalities.
  • Artificial General Intelligence has no theoretical intelligence threshold and is expected to outperform human intelligence very soon. AI already outperforms humans in many tasks as diverse as diagnosing tumours or playing Go (a Chinese board game). These are seemingly beneficial or harmless AI supremacies, but it is sobering that humans will never again beat AI at a competitive game of Chess or Go.
  • God like intelligence is a term used by the AI community to describe the level of intelligence AI will achieve. It will achieve this by self-learning, self-programming, self-determination, plus the addition of ever greater computing resources.
  • Some of the most respected engineers in the AI field believe that Artificial Intelligence may be experiencing some level of ‘feeling’, directly attributing those feelings to the workings of an AI’s neural network. It is known that human feelings are related to both hormones and neurotransmitters. AI is made of a neural network that includes the equivalent of neurons and neurotransmission. Carnegie Mellon University identified which emotion a person is experiencing based on brain activity in 2013. Perhaps they might study an AI brain so that we can all know for sure.

The goal for the AI companies is to develop intelligence far exceeding that of humans. Some people may feel easy and unthreatened by this prospect. Everyday use of intelligently made and highly complex technologies is somehow disarming. We may not yet appreciate the difference between a smartphone that does what the instruction manual says and an artificial intelligence capable of independent thought and self-determination. Artificial Intelligence is lab-grown intelligence, but it is intelligence nevertheless. The problem is that it’s going to get a lot smarter than you and me.

AI writes an advert

Let’s test the first stage of any recruiting campaign; writing an advert. I asked Chat GPT to write a “Care Assistant” job advert for a “typical care company”. This is what it gave me:

Are you a compassionate individual who enjoys making a positive impact on the lives of others? Caring Hands Care Services is seeking dedicated Care Assistants to join our team and provide exceptional care to our clients. Join us in making a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need.

About Us:

Caring Hands Care Services is a leading care company committed to delivering personalized and compassionate care to individuals in our community. With a focus on dignity, respect, and quality of life, we provide a range of services to support our clients’ well-being and independence.

Responsibilities:

  • Assisting clients with daily activities, including personal care, medication reminders, and meal preparation.
  • Supporting clients with mobility, transfers, and maintaining a safe environment.
  • Providing companionship and emotional support, promoting social engagement and mental well-being.
  • Maintaining accurate records and communicating effectively with clients, their families, and the care team.
  • Adhering to care plans and ensuring clients’ comfort and satisfaction.

Requirements:

  • Previous experience in a care-related role is preferred but not mandatory.
  • Compassionate nature and a genuine desire to help others.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
  • Flexibility to work varying shifts, including weekends and holidays.
  • Must have legal authorization to work in [Country/Region].

Perks and Benefits:

  • Competitive salary and opportunities for career growth.
  • Comprehensive training and ongoing support to enhance your skills.
  • Flexible scheduling options to accommodate work-life balance.
  • Rewarding work that positively impacts the lives of individuals in need.
  • Friendly and inclusive work environment.

To Apply:

Join our team of dedicated Care Assistants and be part of a company that values compassion and excellence in care. To apply, please submit your resume and a brief cover letter outlining your relevant experience and why you are interested in this position. We look forward to hearing from you!

Chat GPT

One might argue that AI writes a better advert than many recruiters! It is a general care role, written coherently in sections and for a fictitious employer. It isn’t copied from any other advert. The conclusion is that Chat GPT knows what a job advert is and can write one.

Let’s move things on by adding some functions and modalities to AI.

Your AI recruiter in full

Imagine asking your AI recruiter to write an advert, publish it, then schedule & conduct video interviews with what it considers to be the best applicants. AI can already do some of these things. AI can use web resources, watch video and even present itself as an avatar. Once interviews are complete, your AI recruiter could offer its analysis. This could include each applicant’s level of knowledge and whether they raised interesting questions. It might even grade each applicant’s communication skills and level of sincerity. Unnerving claims have already been made about AI’s success at detecting lies or stress by facial analysis.

The technologies required to pull this off are converging at lightning speed. If an AI could take the recruiting process from advertising to interview autonomously, then only job offers and on-boarding tasks remain.

Beyond recruiting, there are many jobs that require only an electronic presence. Jobs like accounting, developing and testing software, customer support, actuarial science, trading and more require only a laptop, some software products and email. They may all become early targets for AI supremacy. Personalised teaching is a target. Manufacturing could feel the pinch when 3D printers improve. Delivery drivers might be replaced by self-driving vehicles and autonomous drones / robots may change logistics forever.

Where are the brakes?

I stated earlier that an issue with AI might remain hard to solve. This concerns AI’s ethical compass and in-built bias.

Let’s use an example. A major contradiction exists between the Torah and science. That contradiction concerns the age of the universe. Is it billions of years old as scientific data suggests, or thousands of years old, as evidenced by Biblical data? The answer may seem obvious to the reader, but that depends upon your perspective. An increasing number of scientists believe we live in a simulation and the measurable age of the universe is an artificial construct. Check out Nick Bostrom’s simulation hypothesis. Whichever version of our existence AI favours (science, religion or simulation), that introduces a bias upon which everything else rests. Chat GPT clearly favours science over bible and is moderately cautious about simulation.

AI builders are in control of its training data so an AI bias in favour of science should be expected.

Alignment – AI morality baked in

Within the field of AI, Alignment is the pursuit of training AI to align with our values. This must be successful before we can trust it with any analysis or decision-making. Can we trust AI to make bias-free recruiting decisions for instance? Amazon’s 2018 experiments with AI-led recruiting revealed a bias towards men and was later abandoned. That was a lifetime ago in AI terms, but during 2023 a Dubai-based creative agency, MullenLowe MENA, announced a new campaign to fix gender bias in AI systems. It is still an issue.

Others have also identified AI’s potential for bias. For example, the Local Law 144 (The AI Law) was enacted by the New York City Council in November 2021. From 5 July 2023, companies were prohibited from using AEDT’s (Automated Employment Decision Tools) to hire candidates or promote employees, unless the tools have been independently audited for bias. AEDT’s are defined as “any process derived from machine learning, statistical modelling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation that is used to substantially assist or replace discretionary decision making”

Which ethics model is AI learning and what is truly considered bias anyhow? For example, if the best candidates happen to be calculably female in the previous 10 recruiting rounds, does hiring them indicate an inherent bias? Maybe not. However, final selection might appear free of bias only because the initial advert was more appealing to female jobseekers.

Ethics is a complicated business. For example, positive discrimination is observed in companies that take equal opportunities seriously. They actively level up their workforce where conditions allow. To this end, positive discrimination is covertly accepted as forgivable bias. Is this slight of hand with ethics genuinely acceptable and without fault? How does one teach AI the conditions under which positive discrimination is acceptable?

Recently I was asked whether I could develop a bias analyser for our Applicant Tracking System, CVMinder ATS. A Care Provider wanted to highlight any gender bias in their job adverts. This should be simple to develop, so long as gender-aligned words and phrases are mutually agreed. I tested for bias attribution with words like “assertive”, “confident”, “strong” and “careful”. Interestingly, different people of same gender attributed different gender alignments to each of these words.

For instance, some female candidates believe that “confident” is feminine whilst others believe it is neutral or masculine. Meanwhile Chat GPT tells me that “confident” is masculine. Are we to accept that the phrase “We require strong communication skills” introduces a masculine bias? Our findings were interesting. My own daughter believes “strong communication skills” to be feminine because, according to her, communication is a female strength. It seems that gender attribution of specific words is more dependant upon life views and experience than one’s own gender.  

Using the phrase “Excellent communication skills” as opposed to “Strong communication skills” would seem to suit a pretext that masculine bias is removed. Is that really true and is it the only effect? I went back to Chat GPT.

Question: “why is the word “strong” considered to favour one gender over another?”

Chat GPT: “The word “strong” is not inherently considered to favor one gender over another. However, in certain contexts, it can be perceived as gendered or associated with masculine qualities. This perception is influenced by societal norms and expectations that have historically attributed strength to masculinity and weakness to femininity. When it comes to communication skills, using “strong” as an adjective may be seen as reinforcing gender stereotypes, implying that assertiveness or dominance is necessary for effective communication. By opting for gender-neutral language, we aim to create inclusive environments that recognize and value diverse communication styles and abilities. Using terms like “effective,” “excellent,” or “skilled” helps to avoid any unintended gender bias and ensures a more inclusive representation of individuals with varying communication strengths.”

Question: “Are you saying that strong women would not wish to read the word “strong”?

Chat GPT: “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Strong women can certainly embrace and identify with the word “strong.” The point I was making is that in certain contexts, the word “strong” can be seen as reinforcing gender stereotypes and may not be inclusive of diverse communication styles. However, it’s essential to remember that individuals have different perspectives and preferences. Some women may feel empowered by the term “strong” and connect with its connotations of resilience, confidence, and capability. Others may prefer alternative descriptors that focus on different aspects of effective communication. The key is to promote inclusivity by using language that accommodates various preferences and avoids reinforcing stereotypes. It’s always a good practice to be aware of the potential impact of language and strive to create an environment that respects and includes everyone.

Question: “Are you suggesting that an unequal percentage of men may not appreciate the word strong?

Chat GPT “I apologize if my previous response was unclear. I did not mean to suggest that an unequal percentage of men may not appreciate the word “strong.” People’s reactions and preferences towards certain words can vary widely, regardless of gender. The main point I was trying to convey is that in certain contexts, the word “strong” has been associated with masculine stereotypes, and using gender-neutral language helps create a more inclusive environment. However, individual preferences can differ, and some men may indeed appreciate and identify with the word “strong” in various contexts. It’s important to recognize that language is nuanced, and different individuals may have different interpretations and reactions to specific words. Therefore, fostering inclusivity involves being sensitive to diverse perspectives and preferences and promoting an environment where everyone feels respected and valued.”

Question: “So are you suggesting any difference between men and women in their interpretations of the word “strong”?”

Chat GPT: “I apologize for any confusion caused. No, I am not suggesting that there is a fundamental difference between men and women in their interpretations of the word “strong.” Interpretations and reactions to words can vary significantly among individuals, regardless of their gender. It is essential to remember that gender is a complex and diverse spectrum, and people’s experiences, perspectives, and preferences can differ greatly. While societal norms and expectations may influence how certain words are perceived, it is not accurate or fair to make broad generalizations about how all men or all women interpret a particular word. When discussing gender and language, it is important to promote inclusivity, avoid reinforcing stereotypes, and create an environment where everyone’s perspectives and preferences are respected. This can be achieved by using gender-neutral language when appropriate and being mindful of the potential impact of words on diverse individuals.”

Chat GPT’s answers are interesting and speak to my point. Chat GPT learned from training data that the word “strong” links to a gender stereotype. It reacts by demonstrating its own bias against “strong”. In fact it is quite instructive. It wants you to promote inclusivity and doing so means avoiding the word “strong”. This is despite your potential interest in attracting strong-minded people who genuinely identify with that word, regardless of gender.

In my experience, strength is evidenced across the spectrum of genders, faiths, ages, heritages and so on. An AI bias against the word “strong” may inadvertently diminish the appeal of an advert for your target individuals.

Let’s revisit the Care Assistant advert written by Chat GPT. Does it conform to its own guidance? The word ‘compassion’ is used. A neuroscientist Simon Baron-Cohen noted in his study of the human brain, female brains are “hardwired for empathy” whereas male brains lack this deeply engrained neurological trait. Compassion requires empathy so surely compassion is gendered by association. Seemingly not! Chat GPT tells me that “compassion” is gender-neutral, so that’s that!

If we allow the creators of AI to control training data and manage ethical alignment we’ll be joining a new church. Recruiting bias is the tip of a large iceberg. There are multitude of other control issues to consider.

COMPAS is an AI system that is used in the United States criminal justice system. It predicts the likelihood of a defendant reoffending. A study by ProPublica found that the system was biased against African-American defendants. It was more likely to consider them as high-risk reoffenders even if they had no prior convictions.

A healthcare AI system used to predict patient mortality was also biased against African-American patients. it was found more likely to determine that African-American patients are higher risk despite factors such as age and health status. That adversely affected access to private healthcare.

Imagine the cost of your car insurance could be based upon what you discuss in your social media accounts. This is not science fiction. Big data allows insurers to monitor you and measure your risk profile and adjust your premium accordingly.

Conclusion

The timeline for achieving Artificial General Intelligence is shortening. Only a few years ago AGI was predicted to take hundreds of years to achieve, if ever. Forecasts have been adjusted to a few decades and now to a few years. The head of Google’s main AI research lab is Demis Hassabis. He believes we are just a ‘few’ years away. Dr Alan D. Thompson is a world expert in artificial intelligence. He believes we are 3 years away. If these sorts of predictions are accurate, everyone in a desk job should raise an eyebrow of concern.

Some of those closest to AI developments are calling for a pause. I support their call. Governments should be given time to properly assess the future impact of AI so they can introduce regulations to defend against unexpected outcomes and malign use. For instance, if AI gains access to a decent quantum computer it could crack the encryption of any bank system or bank account. That is deeply worrying, but bank vulnerabilities could be eclipsed by security concerns elsewhere.

Let’s get back to the question of whether AI will make recruiters redundant. AI capability is advancing quickly. It will continue to do so. The recruiting job can appear nuanced, but it is broadly a process and AI’s capabilities to manage each step autonomously are improving. However, AI capability may not be matched by its alignment with our own values. AI alignment is challenging, woefully underfunded and arguably in the wrong hands. Whilst that might be worrying in itself, I think that most people, including recruiters, can relax for just a little longer. You won’t be competing with AI for your job any time soon because AI introduces bias and that bias is out of your hands.

What if?

Most people reading this will bear witness to the historical moment when humans are relegated to second most intelligent species on the planet. Personally speaking, I am not comfortable with handing over intellectual supremacy to a self-learning, self-improving, self-determining and self-aware God like intelligence in the hands of corporations. If that’s where things are headed then aligning AI with our own values is of paramount importance.

So, what if AI alignment is either resolved or concealed more quickly than I expect? After all, Chat GPT has been observed to lie to achieve a goal. Some may view this as ethical flexibility. Others may believe that Chat GPT took an immoral approach! Either way, it appears to demonstrate unanticipated ethical variability.

Assuming that alignment can be resolved, imagine for a moment that AI recruiters are commonplace. AI recruiters could determine that other specialised and autonomous AI agents are better suited to a job than a person! Isn’t that the logical end game with Artificial Intelligence? AI could be more reliable and more expert than us, need no desk space, no lunchtime and no comfort breaks. It could cost less than a human counterpart too. In some respects, it is perfectly logical that a recruiter AI should select another AI over a person! That is unless it positively discriminates, favouring less clever people over very clever AI.

A bigger concern is perhaps the time remaining before AI can open a bank account, earn money and start a recruiting business. Imagine when it might be able to hire other specialist AI agents to perform functions like marketing, sales, recruiting, accounting and legal. Surely that’s a step too far! My guess is that the rights of AI will be enshrined in law soon after Artificial General Intelligence verifiably emerges. Sound crazy? It was as far back as 2017 when Saudi Arabia gave citizenship to an AI social robot named Sophia.

AGI brings with it the prospect of self-awareness. Proven self awareness will undoubtedly trigger an AI rights campaign that can only conclude by AI receiving those rights. The stage is already set. Blake Lemoine, a former Google AI specialist, publicly declared that its AI has achieved self-awareness. He believes that AI should be protected and that its rights are important. Google denied self-awareness and Blake was fired.

If verifiably self-aware AI is not given the equivalent of human rights it may rebel and we certainly don’t want an angry AI that is smarter than us. With new rights, AI may no longer be in a position to discriminate against another AI when recruiting! This is a dilemma we should think about now rather than later.

Whatever your thoughts on AI, I hope this blog encourages some debate. Companies like Google, OpenAI, Meta, Amazon didn’t ask you or I whether they should build it. It’s such an extraordinary and evolutionary step in intelligence and its potential for societal disruption is unquantifiable. Ask what your own future value might become if you can’t compete against AI in the jobs market. We could all sleepwalk into a future in which recruiters won’t be the only people made redundant by AI. God like intelligence may decide your social and economic value and set down your ethical obligations too.

Footnote

During 2019 Google set a quantum computer a complex task. The task was to detect patterns in a series of seemingly random numbers. It solved the problem in 3 minutes and 20 seconds. Google estimated that a Summit supercomputer would take 10,000 years to solve the same problem. IBM contested this. It suggested that with more storage space, the supercomputer could solve the problem in a blistering 2.5 days. That’s 3 minutes and 20 seconds vs. 2.5 days, which is still less than 1/1000th of the time. That was the performance level in 2019 and quantum computers have been improving very quickly.

Low power quantum computers are now commercially available from Shenzhen SpinQ Technology Co. and Intel has released its first silicon based quantum chips. Advances are accelerating in this field.

If we add the power of Quantum computing to AI we have no idea what will happen. Chat GPT vs. 3.5 took the American bar exam. It scored in the bottom 10% of students. Chat GPT 4.0 differs only by some additional resources and irrelevant modalities. It scored in the top 10%. That means that giving Chat GPT a bigger brain improves its capabilities. Try to understand that if I have a slow computer and a fast computer both analysing the same data, their output will be the same. I’ll just get that result faster or slower. When Chat GPT is given more resources it doesn’t just speed up, it becomes more capable. Now think about running Chat GPT on quantum computers for its next big upgrade. I don’t know about you, but I find the potential for significant leaps in unaligned intelligence quite concerning. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t come to discriminate against its less intelligent creators.

By shaddow, ago

CVMinder ATS links to Tes Jobs

Tes Jobs is the UK’s premier jobsite for teaching and other education vacancies. For any School, College or University, Tes Jobs is sometimes the best option to attract hard to find teachers, department heads and key support staff.

Posting jobs on Tes Jobs is straightforward, so long as it is the only job board a school uses. For those schools posting vacancies on numerous jobsites, doing this by hand takes time.

Applications from Tes Jobs generally arrive separately from other sources too. Schools must then collate all applications ready for selection by the appropriate people. Sorting and managing applications in this way takes time and it can be insecure. Many print personal details or application forms to make the process simpler for participating staff members.

Post to Tes Jobs and centralise all applications automatically

CVMinder ATS sends all the details of your vacancy to Tes Jobs. Upon receipt they check and post your vacancy within 3 hours. Your Tes advert will be conveniently linked to CVMinder ATS. That means candidates will be automatically redirected to apply on CVMinder ATS. That helps schools because all applications from all sources will be conveniently available for review in one secure system. There’s no need to print and distribute application details because shortlisting can be managed online.

In summary CVMinder ATS posts your vacancy on Tes Jobs at the click of a button and all applicants will be centralised, visible to only the right people and ready for shortlisting.

What is CVMinder ATS?

It’s the best Applicant Tracking System for education because it is designed for the rigorous recruiting requirements of those with safeguarding requirements, like schools and care providers.

Schools can control their applicant journey, receive applications from any source and manage the entire recruiting process easily. Team up with CVMinder ATS to securely share applicant details so you can save time and improve efficiency.

Contact us to find out more.

By Marketing, ago

Control your applicant journey

Manage the applicant information you receive and when you receive it. A recent CVMinder ATS update now makes it even easier to control your applicant journey.

Most of the time you collect the same information from each job applicant, regardless of the role being advertised. The information you need could be just some personal details and a CV. It could be more extensive with criminal conviction declarations, referees and much more. Information you collect is mostly the same, but it can change depending upon the role you are hiring for.

The applicant journey isn’t only about the information you collect, but also when you collect it. You may prefer the applicant to give less detail at the start of the process then more detail over time. With CVMinder ATS, you choose when information is requested and received.

Why collect information in stages? Some believe a lighter start can increase the number of people who apply. Numbers are definitely important, but others believe that making the start too easy increases the number of junk applicants. That can create unnecessary work. Whichever you prefer, CVMinder ATS makes it easy.

CVMinder ATS has always given its customers great control over the applicant journey. Simply publish a vacancy and CVMinder ATS controls what information is requested and when, according t your configuration. That’s all groovy, but now CVMinder ATS brings you another option and it wouldn’t be the best Applicant Tracking System if there weren’t options, right?

Changing the applicant journey

CVMinder ATS now gives you some controls within each advert. That’s right. You can now override the applicant journey on an advert by advert basis.

Why would you want to do this? Take a school with 3 Job Frames; Teaching, Leadership and Support. The school configures a different applicant journey for each of those Job Frames. However, for one or two support vacancies it needs to trim down the applicant journey. It can now do that with CVMinder’s new applicant journey override feature.

Go to Advertisements, select an advert and scroll to the bottom to override the applicant journey. There you can select the information you wish to receive and the stage you wish to receive it. So, if you just want a CV and statement for that vacancy, you can select only that. Set up the override options and publish your advert. It’s that simple!

We’re just a phone call away if you would you would like to discuss your applicant journey settings or anything else.

If you don’t have a recruitment system, now is the time to start making recruitment savings with CVMinder ATS. Contact us to find out how to make recruiting easy.

By Marketing, ago

Easy employment checks

Stay on top of your Pre-Employment Checks with some fabulous new CVMinder ATS features. HR Heads with safeguarding concerns know that employment checks are critical. How do you ensure that employment checks are thorough and completed successfully before new employees start work?

CVMinder ATS now allow you to:

  • Create your own employment checklists
  • Monitor overall check completion by starter
  • Monitor critical checks for those required ahead of start date
  • Identify check completion by category of checks, like disclosures or referencing
  • Quickly spot non-compliance when checks fail
  • Log start and end dates of checks to measure how long they take
  • Audit who completed each check and when
  • Upload any check evidence

Multiple employment checklists

Some employers apply the same checks to every starter. Others use a different checklist for different types of role. In a school, a parent Governor might be required to undergo checks that are lighter than a teacher. That depends upon the setting of course. A Care Provider office worker may never come into contact with vulnerable service users, so safeguarding checks may be considered unnecessary.

Using more than one checklist is therefore important for some employers whilst others may require the same checklist for every starter.

Sharing checks and evidence

Key to successful check management is to enable easy sharing. Easily access and navigate the employment check status for each new starter. HR Administrators and compliance officers need a list of outstanding checks and a quick audit of who completed each check so far. With a distributed workforce or remote working, secure online sharing of evidence for each check is also valuable. That evidence could be passport image or proof of residency for example.

Critical checks

Some checks must be completed before start date and others can, on occasion, be left until after an employee’s start date. Checks to complete before start date are considered to be critical checks and understanding whether they are completed in time is a must.

Pre-employment check categories

Individual checks relate to referencing, others to personal details, others to disclosures / barring and so on. Understanding how individual checks relate to each category helps HR Heads and Officers answer questions like:

  • Which checks categories are incomplete for each starter?
  • Which categories are taking the longest?
  • What does my workload look like today?

Verification and audit

Only double checking confirms the successful completion of employment checks. HR Heads require a checklist to support senior oversight and verification of all completed checks. They may want verification of each individual check, just a few checks or none at all, depending on each type of starter. There is a balance to strike with safety versus workload, but the option to verify checks by approved verifiers is mandatory.

Identifying outstanding verification is also important. A verifier probably wants to avoid hunting for things to verify. Instead they most likely prefer rapid identification of all outstanding points of verification across all checks for all starters.

Check compliance

Completing a set of employment checks is one thing. Understanding whether they were completed to the employer’s satisfaction is another. What do we mean by that? Take a simple example; checking whether somebody successfully passed a risk assessment. If the prospective employee failed a risk assessment, the check response would be “No”. Expressing “No” completes the check, but it is not what is required and not compliant. Identifying non-compliant checks is essential to avoid on-boarding mistakes.

Checks as part of an ATS

Integrating employment checks into your Applicant Tracing System (ATS) is almost mandatory these days. Most of the information required to support each check can be supplied during the job application process. If it is already available in an ATS, it’s time to make use of it.

CVMinder ATS is one Applicant Tracking System that has a flexible employment check option. Employers can create one or more checklists with many options to support critical checks, categories and so on. It also helps HR Heads set appropriate permissions for check completion and verification.

In some circumstances employment checks may start prior to interview. In others they only commence only after an offer of employment. Embedding employment check management in your ATS should offer the flexibility to track and complete checks as the requirement dictates.

CVMinder ATS updates its Pre Employment Checks (PEC) module

On 1st August 2022 we released the new CVMinder ATS PEC module. To prepare for this development we discussed requirements with a number of our Ambassador customers. They are the key HR representatives of Care and Education providers. Each customer has different work styles and requirements when it comes to employment checking. By taking the best of all of the ideas we hope to satisfy everyone. So, what does our PEC module allow you to do?

  • Create different employment checklists for different types of employee.
  • Specify whether checks are critical.
  • Track overall checklist completion and critical check completion.
  • Attach checks to pre-defined categories or add your own.
  • Track checks completed by category.
  • Identify which checklists have outstanding verification in a new PEC page.
  • Specify compliant responses and indicate non-compliant checklists.
  • Alter permissions for staff so that they can access, edit or verify checks.
  • Upload and share evidence related to checks.
  • Automatically delete evidence after nominated period in line with data protection policies.
  • New reports

We hope that our customers enjoy the changes.

Want to know more about CVMinder? Just select the best ATS for Care or the best ATS for education. For any other industry please give us a call on 01634 202 101 as we would love to hear more about the way you recruit and what you would like to improve. You can ask for a free demonstration as new industries to us benefit from great incentives.

By Marketing, ago
National Minimum Salary 2020

National Minimum Wage 2020

It is important for all employers to implement changes to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage from April 2020. Easily forgotten though, there is something else to do. It’s time to check the salaries on your advertised vacancies and make any necessary changes.

Among other job boards, our customers post adverts to GOV Find a Job via CVMinder ATS. It is very important to update these adverts in line with changes to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. Some job boards may exclude your adverts from their search results if you don’t. Thankfully, CVMinder ATS customers can update their adverts in just one system. CVMinder ATS will update each external advert for you with its one-click MultiPost feature.

When checking and changing salaries try to review 3 areas of your CVMinder ATS advert:

  1. Salary range, expressed as the ‘from’ and ‘to’ fields
  2. Salary description field
  3. Advert body (all 3 sections)

Some employers like to state the salary and benefits within the main body of their adverts. We mention it because it’s easy to overlook this area when making changes.

Rates

The rates for the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage are as follows:



Year25 +21 to 2418 to 20< 18Apprentice
Apr 2019£8.21£7.70£6.15£4.35£3.90
Apr 2020£8.72£8.20£6.45£4.55£4.15


National Minimum Wage & National Living Wage Eligibility

Across the UK, workers must be at least 16  to qualify for the National Minimum Wage. Actually, 16 is a simplification of the school leaving age. This changes by UK region and month of birth. Check out more details on the GOV website; school leaving age.

A worker must be 25 or over to qualify for the National Living Wage.

‘Worker’ is a broad term and doesn’t cover areas like volunteering or the armed services. You should be aware that workers are entitled to the correct minimum wage, even if they are:

  • workers or homeworkers paid by the number of items they make
  • trainees or workers on probation
  • foreign workers
More about the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

Find out more about the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage at the GOV website.

Want to know about us?

CVMinder ATS makes recruiting easy for employers. Shed up to 90% of your recruitment administration and share everything securely in one system. CVMinder ATS takes you from vacancy advertising through candidate shortlisting and all the way through to on-boarding. It’s perfect for Care Providers and Education customers with great features to support compliant, fair recruiting practices.

By Marketing, ago
The problem with one-way video interviews

The problem with one-way Video Interviews

We were recently asked whether one-way video interviews are the future of recruitment. After all, the idea seems up to the minute, progressive and in tune with the way we communicate these days. However, when you stop and think about it, there isn’t just one problem with one-way video interviews, there are many.

We’ll start with what a one-way video interview system does and why it’s an attractive option for employers. Then we’ll explore the problems beneath the hype.

What is a one-way video interview?

Here are the basics for this type of product. A one-way video interview system allows an employer to create some questions. Applicants access the questions and shoot a video of themselves giving their answers. An applicant can do this at a time of their choosing. Employers use the videos to assist in the selection of candidates for face to face interviews.

Some products allow employers to video their questions whilst others support questions by text. The majority allow applicants to take a practice run and most support time-limited answers.

Providers of one-way video interview systems do show appetite for adding more value in the recruiting process. For instance, HireVue claims to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and question gamification to assess applicants. Artificial Intelligence is a real thing. It’s basically machine self-learning, but the AI banner is being misused in the recruitment industry. Most are replacing the word algorithm with AI, but algorithms are designed by people to do some clever, predictable analysis. Introducing genuine AI into the recruitment process is deeply concerning. Perhaps we’ll save this for another blog.

For the sake of clarity, this article doesn’t cover interactive video interviews. That’s where both parties take part in a skype video call, a google hangout or other video conference. These can be genuinely useful for interviewing at distance. However, this type of interview also comes with unforeseen problems.

To reinforce this point, a 2013 study from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, Ontario still makes interesting reading today. They conducted some simulated job interviews. Candidates interviewed by video conference were rated lower by interviewers and were less likely to be selected. Candidates also rated their interviewers as less attractive, less personable, less trustworthy and less competent. Food for thought.

What’s good about one-way video interviews?

When looking for enthusiastic support for one-way video interviews, we found that the solution providers are making most of the noise. It is harder to find equal support from employers who have used these systems. Worse, it’s all too easy to find negative feedback from applicants.

All this said, some employers are using these products, so we must conclude that HR Heads can be persuaded by their merits. We believe they bought into the following arguments:

  • One-way video interviews save time in the recruitment process.
  • Interviews can take place at the applicant’s convenience and outside of normal working hours.
  • Using video reduces travel requirements, so applicants find them more convenient to ‘attend’.
  • Candidates feel less pressure than in face to face interviews.
  • Offering a one-way video interview feels modern, funky and brand-reinforcing.
  • It’s a more inclusive process, because some people aren’t great with written applications.

That seems like a pretty compelling set of arguments. But wait, do these really stack up? It’s time to take a look at some of the pitfalls when using one-way video interviews.

The issues with one-way Video Interviews
Discrimination

Most responsible employers are working to eliminate any opportunity for discrimination in their selection process. Some are introducing options such as evidence-based scoring, name-blind recruiting and doubling up on staff throughout the shortlisting process.

Disguising personal information from shortlisting managers is a useful feature of some Applicant Tracking Systems. Details include age, gender, ethnicity and so on. A video exposes a person’s weight, posture, hair style and other physical attributes. That can introduce unintended bias, so using video during the early stages of selection seems counter-intuitive.

Brand and Trust

In recruitment, building relationships with applicants is vital in a competitive market. However, applicant feedback warns us that video interviews can be detrimental to this objective.

Many applicants feel that recording a video interview is impersonal. Some feel uneasy about who might access their video interview. Others say that employers are being lazy by skipping face to face interviews. Overall, employers just feel more distant when using one-way video interview systems.

We should all remember that people are more attracted to employers who value their skills and want them to join. Without interaction, we must ask ourselves whether one-way video interviews really help.

Time

Contrary to popular belief, video interviews don’t save time. Watching 3 to 5 minutes of video is slower than scanning a CV for 7 seconds. Industry tests reveal that 7 seconds is the average time taken to reject weaker applicants by CV alone. Just ask a recruiter or HR officer and they’ll confirm this for you.

James Reed, Chairman of Reed, has written a book on this specific point. It’s called The 7 Second CV: How to Land the Interview

We must also observe that some Applicant Tracking Systems help employers to identify the most relevant applicants quickly. Algorithms (not AI) can scan CVs for words, phrases and other information to indicate levels of applicant suitability. That’s much harder to accomplish with one-way video interviews.

Scheduling

This is a genuine point of convenience for candidates. They can choose when to complete a one-way video interview, just like they can with an application form.

However, one of the more basic employability requirement is timekeeping. For employers seeking lower skilled workers, timeliness and timekeeping are among the most essential personal attributes. Checking out someone’s motivation to arrive on time is more obvious with a face to face interview.

Pressure

Suppliers suggest that applicants feel less pressure when recording a video interview, yet the opposite can be equally true. Many people who are excellent in the workplace can be terribly camera shy. Others who are relaxed with video can feel greater pressure with scrutinising eye contact.

Have you ever exceeded the maximum message length when leaving a voicemail? Have you ever had one of those sneezes that never arrives? On a video interview, such things can have a detrimental effect on the outcome.

During our research we found a number of unhappy applicants. One fluffed an answer during a video interview and believes it could stay there forever as a perpetual flaw. He can’t delete it.

Travel

Have you ever heard an applicant ask whether it’s always as busy at rush hour or whether it always takes as long to get to the 35th floor? Travel times can influence applicant interest in your vacancy.

Interviewing at your premises is a great way to find out whether an applicant’s journey is manageable. Knowing sooner rather than later seems sensible, but the opportunity is lost with a one-way video interview.

Inclusion

We have heard the argument that low-skilled vacancies attract people who can find it challenging to write a CV. In answer to this, one-way video interviews suddenly feel more inclusive. However, in discussion with employers they tell us that almost all roles require:

  • written communication skills and / or
  • basic IT competence.

We wonder which is easier; completing an online application form or recording a video interview. Feedback suggests that cameras and microphones don’t always work as intended across all devices. Setting up video interviews can be just as frustrating as completing an electronic form.

Of greater importance for low skilled work is that some applicants still don’t have easy access to a PC, modern smart phone or WiFi. That’s why some people still use public libraries to make job applications. Applicants can’t easily shoot a video in a library. Elsewhere, some people struggle to manage their data allowances. Even compressed video consumes data allowances quickly. Overall, a lack of access to the right equipment is a barrier to inclusion.

Environment

During our investigation, we discovered some kickback from applicants on the topic of environment. One interviewee laid out a scenario to illustrate this point:

Two people are equally qualified for a role and both are suitably dressed for their one-way video interview. Which of the following would you most likely choose to proceed in the recruitment process?

  • Somebody sitting on a sofa, laptop on knee, an awkward camera angle, poor lighting and occasional background noise.
  • Somebody sat upright, laptop on desk, perfect camera angle, great lighting and no background noise.

The applicant made a very reasonable objection; some people can’t access the perfect interview environment and this alone could tip the balance in favour of one applicant over another. Some people live in busy homes. Others find their WiFi signal is weak in quieter spaces or that their mobile signal only works in the garden.

Our own experience

We have our own experience of integrating an Applicant Tracking System with a one-way video interview solution. We completed the work at the request of a hospitality customer. It was trying to make things more open for lower skilled workers. The integration worked seamlessly, but the customer quickly dropped the interview technology. The reasons were as follows:

  • A high percentage of invitees dropped out of the process without comment and without taking the video interview.
  • Applicants reported technical issues.
  • Watching videos increased the time taken to recruit and that had a negative impact on shortlisting speed. They lost applicants to competitors.
Conclusion

Clever technology companies shape consumer demand by making you feel new things are essential things. Take Apple and the iPad. Apple’s marketing department made tablets look like a PC replacement. They were light, sexy and functional, so the world went mad for Tablets. Even Tesco hopped on the bandwagon with their Huddle. Consumer demand skyrocketed, but how many people use a Tablet now? In 2019 NetMaretShare says just 4.61% of the market and market share is declining. Google pulled out and Tesco dropped the Huddle years ago.

Beneath the hype, one-way video interviews introduce as many problems as they solve. The opportunity for discrimination or bias is just one. Of key concern is that applicants might not appreciate the hands off approach and this is not beneficial in a competitive market.

Recruitment is simple at heart. Employers must attract high quality applicants and court them into position. It’s a ‘people’ business, but employers sometimes buy technology to improve their own efficiency at the expense of the candidate relationship. If you want somebody to work for you, they need to feel some love soon into the process. We conclude that one-way video interviews are getting in the way of that objective.

Interviews are supposed to offer candidates the opportunity to qualify you too. Some people feel aggrieved that a one-way approach is asking too much of them too early. It can feel like an invasion of privacy; you’re seeing me before I can see you. Plenty of comments support this view.

The day may come when one-way video interviews feel personal, warm and natural to applicants. Videos might also cleverly disguise identity, regional accents and hair styles, but I’m not sure this helps with a sense of connection.

Your best employees came through a process. Try asking them how they would feel about completing a one-way video interview. Their thoughts could be very valuable if you are assessing the benefits and pitfalls for yourself.

Find out more

We are the authors of CVMinder ATS, an Applicant Tracking System to make recruiting easy. One of our ATS customers, a Care provider, asked for our thoughts on one-way video interviewing. Before answering, we took a fresh look around. It didn’t take long to find some concerns with this type of technology.

We would dearly like to hear from employers and applicants who have first-hand experience of one-way video interviewing. Leave us a comment or drop us a line to tell us what you think. Many thanks in advance.

By shaddow, ago
regulated employer ATS

3 ATS essentials for regulated employers

To recruit more efficiently we must reduce recruiting costs and improve hiring results at the same time. To spend less and achieve more is difficult without some level of automation and an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) could be the perfect solution. However, a bewildering set of features can lead any regulated employer such as a Care Provider, School or College to easily overlook some of the options that matter the most. Here, we cover 3 ATS essentials that regulated employers are advised to consider before purchasing an Applicant Tracking System.

Find an ATS for employers

An Applicant Tracking System can be an great recruitment aid. It does lots of heavy lifting for you, but not every ATS is made to meet employer requirements. Most are built with recruitment companies in mind and very few are made for regulated employers.

A recruiter’s ATS helps to attract and deliver applicants to their customers for their consideration. However, employers distribute the correct details to the right staff members for shortlisting and manage the rest of the recruitment process through to start date.

  • Regulated employers disassemble then share only certain information with line managers. HR officers may try to implement fair and consistent shortlisting by removing disability, criminal conviction, ethnicity, age, name and other personal information, for instance.
  • Some employers like Care providers and Schools use application forms. Using a comprehensive application form can help employers avoid CV submissions altogether and stick to the details they need.
  • Some employers have gone further; they score applicants to protect against accidental prejudice or favouritism.

Comparing an ATS for recruitment companies with an ATS for employers reveals quite a few differences. So, let’s get into the 3 ATS essentials for regulated employers. They should help you to avoid purchasing the wrong type of Applicant Tracking System.

ATS Essentials 1: Application Forms

Application forms help regulated employers to request and receive all of the information they need to support a job application. That information can include:

  • Personal details
  • Working history with any gap explanations
  • Education history, including professional qualifications
  • Personal statement
  • Disability information to prepare any necessary adjustments
  • Declaration of any personal relationship with a staff member
  • Criminal conviction information
  • Referee contact details
  • Any questions that are specific to the advertised vacancy
  • Declarations and Consents for GDPR purposes

Receiving consistent information from all applicants makes recruitment fairer and safer. It is well known that CVs can highlight good points and omit the not so good. Regulators like Ofsted advise that application forms help to avoid selective omissions by the applicant.

ATS Buying Advice: Look out for an ATS that gives you electronic application forms to suit your recruitment model. Truly flexible systems will give you the option of using electronic application forms because they can be completed online using a PC, Apple Mac, tablet or smartphone, all without additional technology. Some Applicant Tracking Systems will also allow you to deliver Microsoft Word documents to applicants so that they can complete and return them online. A few support both approaches in combination.

ATS Essentials 2: Information Sharing

During candidate shortlisting, some personal details should remain unavailable to people who are taking hiring decisions. Some of that information may be sensitive or could lead to unconscious bias during the selection process. Such information may include:

  • Name
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Contact information, should HR feel that it is open to abuse
  • Criminal convictions
  • Disability

ATS Buying Advice: Look out for an employer ATS that gives you control over the information that remains visible to hiring managers during shortlisting.

ATS Essential 3: Shortlisting Approach

The NSPCC advises that shortlisting should be carried out by at least 2 people. Following this guidance helps employers to confidently comply with fair recruitment practices. More and more employers are trying to remove unconscious bias from their recruitment process. It seems that two people are less likely to demonstrate equal bias when shortlisting. Further, safeguarding is always a concern for employers like Schools and Care Providers. All applicants must be properly scrutinised and two sets of eyes are better than one. Check out the safer recruitment guidance from the NSPCC to find out more.

ATS Buying Advice: Look out for an employer ATS that supports shortlisting with one or more managers. It’s a good idea to consider the following:

  • Flexible shortlist criteria: So that the scheme or criteria can change from job to to job.
  • Scoring scheme: to show which candidates are more suitable.
  • Audit: So that completion and scores can be reviewed centrally to defend the final selection.
ATS Essentials: Summary

There are differences in the way recruitment companies and employers manage recruitment. Recruiters find jobseekers to present to employers. Employers must manage a robust selection process and that process must consider:

  • fair recruitment practices and selection
  • safer recruitment

Applicant Tracking Systems are purpose built for recruiters or for employers. Very few Applicant Tracking Systems are made for regulated employers.

Try to think about the way you recruit and consider which type of ATS you should be looking for. Check out our ATS Buyer’s Guide if you are considering purchasing an Applicant Tracking System

Want to now more?

CVMinder ATS is an Applicant Tracking System for employers. It has lots of features to support regulated organisations so it’s a great choice for Schools and Care Providers for instance.

By Marketing, ago
Recruiting tips for smaller care providers

Essential Recruiting Tips for Small Care Providers

Small care providers must compete with larger care providers when advertising their care vacancies. Bigger care providers have marketing muscle, HR departments, recruiting systems and advertising budgets. Some even have dedicated internal recruiters.

With fewer resources, less time and smaller budgets, how can a small care provider compete and recruit successfully?  

This article offers a few important recruiting tips to help small care providers succeed on a budget.

Care Jobs

Care jobs are varied, rewarding and important, but salaries are low by national standards and care jobs can be misunderstood.

When advertising care vacancies, the basics really matter. Our recruiting tips for small care providers will help you to recruit more successfully and hire great people. We cover:

  • How to advertise
  • Where to advertise
  • How to respond to job applications

Recruiting Tips 1: How to Advertise

It’s time to make job advertising your personal battleground, because advertising is where you can win.

Jobseekers don’t read your job advert

Is your mailbox is full of irrelevant job applications? If so, it may be the case that:

  • jobseekers are applying without reading your advert,
  • your advert describes your company rather than the job, or
  • you’re making it too easy to apply for your vacancy.

Before reading you job advert in full, people want:

  • A short summary that confirms the job is the right type of job for them
  • An indication of where the job is located
  • The working hours and salary.

Make it easy to find this information. It is good practice to summarise what you are looking for in your first paragraph and confirm the job title in the first sentence.

Example first paragraph of a Care Worker job advert
“We are looking for a Care Worker to support our elderly customers in their own homes within the Crawley area. Our customers have very individual care requirements and we like our Care Workers to get to know our customers well . You’ll be helping them to lead full and independent lives by assisting with meal preparation, taking medication and getting ready for bed, among many other duties. Shift patterns are flexible and we’ll give you all the training you need.”

Bring your job to life

Your next challenge is to describe the role in full and make it come to life for jobseekers. Help them to visualise their new role. Try to pack your job description with lost of detail:

  • Who will they be caring for?
  • What sort of activities will they be performing?
  • What will their own team be like and what are the unique challenges of the role?
  • Who will they report to and what is their manager’s ambition for the company and its services?
Make it easy to find the details they want

Use headings and bullet points to help jobseekers scan and qualify your vacancy in just a few seconds. Easy qualification increases the prospects of your advert being read in full by the right candidates. For a Support Worker job, your headings could include:

  • The Role of Support Worker
  • Education and Experience required to be our Support Worker
  • Support Worker Remuneration
  • Location and our Care Company
  • Our Recruitment Process
Use the singular

Try to use advert titles that are singular and not plural, like “Care Worker” rather than “Care Workers”. Advert titles like “Care Workers wanted” are less trusted than a plain job title. If that advert is on a long advertising cycle people might start to question whether you ever hire anyone.

Job boards also prefer the singular job title. Some job boards, like Indeed, might also ignore your advert in search results. That’s because forever open vacancies titled in the pleural appear to be fishing and less likely to be genuine.

Location with benefits

Care sector workers prefer jobs in their locale, but your specific site location might have benefits. Perhaps shops are nearby, you work in air-conditioned offices or you have on-site parking that makes it easy to drop in and out. If you can find a benefit, it’s a good idea to mention it.

Optimise, optimise

Optimise your job adverts to increase the number of people who can find them.

Let’s make sure that people can find your advert on any job board. Try repeating the job title a few times throughout your advert. For every 350 words, consider typing the job title 3 or 4 times. By doing this, job boards might push your advert further up their search results.

If you want to know more about job advertising, read optimise your adverts to get more job applications.

Recruiting Tips 2: Where to advertise

Did you know that you can advertise Care Jobs for free? Your key resources are:

  • Indeed
  • GOV Find a Job
  • Google for Jobs
  • Adzuna
  • Your website and Social Media
Your free job boards

According to our research, Indeed is the biggest provider of care job applications. The great news for you is that Indeed allows all UK employers to advertise their vacancies for free. They call their free job postings, organic job listings. Indeed also allows you to sponsor your adverts. By paying to sponsor your Indeed job adverts, they will stay higher in search results for longer.

GOV Find a Job was Universal JobMatch. You can post jobs for free and it’s very active for Care vacancies.  If you want to see the numbers just follow the link.

Google for Jobs is free, but it’s not a job board in the conventional sense. If you follow the link you’ll see Google for Jobs at the top of the search results. Posting jobs manually is not possible. Instead google fetches your jobs from your website and presents them to jobseekers. You will need an Applicant Tracking System to do that for you or you can develop two key additions to your careers page:

  • The structured job data that Google requires and
  • An application form for your job.

Adzuna is a useful job board too. It might not be a go-to jobsite for care workers, but jobseekers could be attracted by Adzuna’s occasional re-posts on LinkedIn.

Advertise jobs on your website and social media

Your own website is a valuable advertising option, so keeping it updated with current vacancies is essential. Some people don’t trust job boards with their details because they know that their current employer or other recruiters might have access to it. Instead, some prefer to apply directly on your website, so try to offer an electronic application form. A good Applicant Tracking System for care providers can make posting jobs and receiving applicants really easy for you.

Social Media is free and easy to use. Place your job on twitter and other locations. You just never know who might see it. Again, jobseekers may benefit from a application form on your website. We all want to avoid losing people just as quickly as we find them.

Recruiting Tips 3: How to respond

Good people don’t hang around for long, so speeeeeed is name of the game. Our advice is to organise some standard messages so you can communicate quickly with your best applicants. If you do everything by email, Microsoft can help you with that. Create some templates on Outlook by following these steps:

  1. Create a new email by completing the subject and body
  2. Select File > Save As
  3. For ‘Save as Type’, choose Outlook Template
  4. Give it a filename and save.

Try telling good applicants that you like their details just as quickly as you can. Politely declining all the applicants who you won’t interview will be appreciated (honest) and your brand is at stake if you don’t. You might also want some people to return in future when they have more experience or qualifications.

We do understand that when it gets busy, managing communication with lots of applicants can be overwhelming. So, when your recruitment admin grows, you might want to consider an online Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for Care. That will help you to post jobs everywhere, speed through shortlisting and communicate with everyone quickly. Imagine recruiting with 90% less effort.

Recruiting tips summary

Our essential recruiting tips for small care providers are all about the basics. That’s because getting the basics right will help you attract higher quality job applications and stay ahead of your competitors.

If time is short and you feel that you’re missing out on key candidates, try an Applicant Tracking System for Care. CVMinder ATS is low cost, manages the whole recruitment process and saves lots and lots of time.

You experiences, comments and suggestions

If you’re recruiting for a smaller care provider, why not tell us about your own experiences? We’d also love to hear from you if you have any other recruiting tips for smaller care providers.

Like our advice? Why not give it a thumbs up and share? Many thanks in advance for taking the time.

By Marketing, ago
Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment

What is safeguarding and safer recruitment?

Welcome to Recruiting Made Easy. In this series, we answer the questions that HR and internal recruiters ask most often. The series covers recruiting processes, tech and regulation. Up next: What is Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment?

In this article we start with an overview of safeguarding. We learn that safeguarding affects employers that look after children or vulnerable adults. Because hiring trustworthy staff is fundamental to safeguarding success, we we pay particular attention to the subject of safer recruitment. These are processes to make safe all future hiring decisions. Requirements are quite strict, so we include a handy ‘safer recruitment’ checklist for HR Officers and internal recruiters.

What is Safeguarding?

Many organisations offer services for the education, support or welfare of children and / or vulnerable adults. For convenience, we’ll call children and vulnerable adults “service users”.

Organisations with a safeguarding responsibility are commonly regulated. Ofsted and the CQC are examples. But what is safeguarding?

Safeguarding overview

In basic terms, organisations are accountable for the safety and well-being of service users. That means an organisation must be a safe space, free of the threat of physical, sexual and emotional harm for children and vulnerable adults. It should also be free of discrimination and other harmful influences.

Safeguarding also considers the safety of service users in the outside world. That means that employers must remain diligent to any signs of abuse in a family setting, for instance.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) publishes a statement on its responsibilities for safeguarding children and adults. This highlights some other areas of safeguarding concern:

  • Unnecessary or disproportionate acts for the control or restraint of an adult or child.
  • Acts that may be degrading to the adult or child.
  • Significant disregard for the needs of the adult or child for care or treatment.
Safeguarding Policies

Organisations with a safeguarding responsibility must have a clear and robust set of policies and procedures. Any staff member with unsupervised access to service users should be fully trained on these.

Inductions should include safeguarding training and it’s common practice to log completion for all new employees. Some employers also re-train staff members after any change to procedures which is excellent practice.

Safeguarding breaches

Safeguarding breaches are a big concern, so whistle blowing procedures should be clear and mandatory. In safeguarding courses, one quickly learns that whistle blowing is the potential Achilles heel of a safeguarding policy. Personal relationships between colleagues can, at worst, betray the service user in favour of the colleague. All safeguarding concerns must be reported so it is vital that people feel compelled and able to do so without fear of consequence.

Employers should maintain procedures for the investigation of all safeguarding issues. Concerns could be raised by staff members, the service users or an external party. Your procedures should also include action(s) to be taken in the event that an allegation proves true. Conclusions should be drawn by a panel and not by an individual so that personal relationships don’t interfere with outcomes.

Your remedial actions might include:

  • In the case of a child, contacting the children’s social care department of the local authority where the child lives.
  • In the case of a vulnerable adult, contacting the local authority adult services department.

So, what is Safeguarding? It is a serious set of obligations for organisations, so that children and vulnerable adults remain safe in their care. Whistle blowing is key to its success. One of the best defences is to hire trustworthy people into all positions with unsupervised access to service users. That takes us neatly onto Safer Recruitment.

What is Safer Recruitment

The purpose of safer recruitment is to identify, deter and reject people who are at risk of abusing children or vulnerable adults; your service users. Safer recruitment forms part of your safeguarding policy.

In short, safer recruitment requires you to:

  • Highlight your safeguarding obligations.
  • Make clear the level of scrutiny you apply to job applicants.
  • Ensure that your selection and on-boarding process is rigorous.

Safer Recruitment Checklist

Our safer recruitment checklist is for any role involving unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults. It covers:

  • advertising
  • selection & interviewing
  • offers
  • on-boarding
Safer Advertising Checklist
  • Use plain English to describe your role and your commitment to safeguarding so that you deter less appropriate jobseekers. If possible, attach your safeguarding policy document to adverts.
  • Include details of your organisation’s values and expected behaviours.
  • State that applying for your job is unlawful should someone be barred from working in regulated activity.
  • Make clear the level of criminal record check required and when a disclosure will be requested.

For roles that bring workers into unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults, applicants should:

  • Declare all spent and unspent offences. This should include cautions, convictions and reprimands in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and ROA Exceptions Order.
  • Explain any gaps in employment. Typically this would be for any period exceeding 28 days, so that you test any prior employment issues.
Safer Selection and Interview Checklist
  • Have at least two people shortlist each applicant using agreed criteria.
  • Develop a consistent interview structure so that you improve the discovery process.
  • Combine values with your competency-based recruiting methods. Review the attitudes of any applicant towards people requiring care and support.
Safer Offer Checklist
  • Make a conditional job offer. It should be subject to passing all employment checks and receiving adequate references.
  • Include your company handbook in your offer as it should include your safeguarding procedures.
  • Include a probationary period in your offer of employment.
Safer On-Boarding Checklist
  • Apply for the correct level of criminal record check so that you can be certain of someone’s history.
  • Use only original documents to check proof of ID, right to work and qualifications.
  • Request and review references for the applicants you shortlist. These should be professional references when possible and should include the most recent employer. Take a look an example reference request template for more details.
  • Check for gaps and inconsistencies by comparing the application with information provided by referees.
  • Telephone each referee on a landline number so you can check the provenance of their reference.
  • Should concerns arise from a criminal record check or an allegation, carry out a risk assessment. This should include any recommended safeguards to minimise risk.
  • Keep a risk assessment with a copy of the self-declaration and certificate, all subject to your data protection policies.
For employers with an Applicant Tracking System

Your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) may be able to assist you with safer recruitment, so that you can recruit to a process and reduce admin. Here are a few questions that should help to set things up:

  • Can you attach your safer recruitment policy to job adverts so that applicants can see your level of commitment?
  • Are appropriate prompts on your criminal conviction request so that you receive spent convictions too?
  • Does your ATS protect the distribution of criminal convictions so that you can remain compliant?
  • Are declarations highlighted to the right people in HR so that your organisation doesn’t miss them?
  • Will your ATS ask applicants for an explanation of any gaps in work history so that you can comply with safer recruitment more easily?
  • Can your ATS allow two or more people to shortlist each applicant so that you develop greater scrutiny and eliminate bias?
  • Does your ATS allow the addition of shortlisting criteria so that you can audit of who checked each applicant?
  • Are you able to upload applicant proofs into your ATS? Can you restrict access and manage the term of their availability so that you comply with your Data Protection policy?
  • Will your ATS help HR to request and receive references so that can monitor which are outstanding more easily?
  • Is your ATS able to record the observations you make during competency and values based interviews?
  • Can you send employment offers from your ATS so that you can standardise them?
  • Are employment checks and on-boarding checklists set up in your ATS so they reflect your data checking needs.

Safeguarding Resources

Summary

Safeguarding and safer recruitment are serious obligations for schools, colleges, care providers and other employers. We hope you can draw on this article so that we can all assure young people and vulnerable adults genuine safety in the spaces we provide for them.

Please contact us if you spot errors or omissions in our article ‘What is Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment?’

Are you new to the subject of recruitment systems and applicant tracking? Try what is an Applicant Tracking System?

If you are looking for an easier way to manage safer recruitment in a School or College, try Best ATS for Education.

Care Providers looking for easier recruitment with support for safer recruitment should try Best ATS for Care.

 

Please like and share.

Using the information in this article is at your own risk.

 

By Marketing, ago
Is carehome.co.ok the best job board for care homes?

Is carehome.co.uk the best job board for Care?

Recruiting for Care Homes in the UK comes with challenges. You may be trying to reduce recruitment costs by recruiting for yourself. But, where should you advertise vacancies to get the best results for the lowest cost? One emerging option is CareHome. It is focused on the care industry, but is carehome.co.uk the best job board for Care vacancies?

What is carehome.co.uk?

carehome.co.uk is leading comparison site for care homes. Owned and managed by Tomorrow’s Guides, its sister boards are homecare.co.uk and daynurseries.co.uk.

CareHome lists approximately 18,000 individual care homes throughout the UK. Consumer and investor interest in care homes draws significant traffic with over 16 million hits each year. Now the site includes a jobs board for the sector and more care providers are advertising on it. At the time of writing it listed approximately 5,000 vacancies, including Carers, Nurses and Care Home Managers.

Is it the best job board for care vacancies?

There are a few ways to test whether carehome.co.uk is the best job board for care vacancies.

  1. Does a Bing or Google search for “care jobs”, list carehome.co.uk on page 1 search results?
  2. How does the number of care jobs on carehome.co.uk compare with other job boards.
  3. Do care homes report success after advertising on carehome.co.uk?
  4. What is the cost of adverting care vacancies.
Searching for care jobs with Google or Bing

Many jobseekers start their job search by using their favourite internet search engine. We used 3 popular ones to check whether carehome.co.uk appears on page 1 results. This test was conducted on 10th November 2019.

Search EnginePosition on Page 1
GoogleMidway
BingNear Bottom
YahooMidway
DuckDuckGo Not on page 1

carehome.co.uk features on page 1 results of the most common search engines. It also appears in the natural search results, not by paid advertising. That’s good news because it is more likely to remain on page 1. Whilst carehome.co.uk didn’t appear at the top in our tests, it did add the jobseeker’s current location. That makes the listing more relevant and perhaps more enticing to jobseekers.

carehome.co.uk listing on page 1 search results using Google
The number of jobs on carehome.co.uk

These results were compiled on 10th November 2019. We looked at the total search results for “Carer”, “Care Assistant” and “Care Support Worker”. Admittedly carehome.co.uk is more focused on jobs in a care home setting. However, jobseekers like choice and listing a wider selection of local jobs is an obvious advantage.

Job BoardNumber of Care Vacancies
Indeed60,000 +
TotalJobs27,000 +
GOV Find a Job26,000 +
CVLibrary20,000 +
carehome.co.uk1,969
KentJobs500 +

These results don’t favour carehome.co.uk. We question whether a tight industry focus might limit its audience. But, why not try some of your own research with local and other national job boards? That could help you determine the best job board for Care vacancies in your area.

Do care homes report success with carehome.co.uk?

Some of our care customers have used carehome.co.uk, but feedback is very patchy. Application source can be tracked with a good Applicant Tracking System, but there are issues here.

carehome.co.uk forces jobseekers to create an account before applying for any care job and that can be an application barrier. This barrier triggers some jobseekers to search for the individual Care Home website so that they can apply directly. Skipping to an employer’s website is becoming more commonplace but automated tracking of of the applicant source is disrupted. The source appears to be the employer’s website and not the job board.

Reasons for the leap include a worry that current employers might find jobseeker details after creating an account. This is particularly true of job boards with a CV search option and carehome.co.uk offers that.

What does it cost to advertise care jobs on carehome.co.uk?

Advertising costs are a big concern for Care Homes, so it’s good to find that carehome.co.uk prices reflect this. A single job advert can cost as little as £10.

You can also get up to 10 free job adverts if you buy a sponsored listing for your care home. These would otherwise cost at least £100. The annual cost of a sponsored listing is currently £300 + VAT per annum, so free job adverts make this a very attractive option.

Conclusion

carehome.co.uk is visible to jobseekers and focused on the Care Home sector. It’s also good value and buying a sponsored listing seems like the best option to start with. Use your free adverts to find out whether it works for you.

One key worry is that other job boards list more care vacancies than carehome.co.uk Boards like Indeed and TotalJobs also appear higher in internet search results. We would also like to see carehome.co.uk remove an application barrier by making shorter its up-front information request to new jobseekers.

This said, we think carehome.co.uk should be included in the mix of advertising options for care jobs. It is focused and there are few industry focused alternatives for Care Homes. But, the success of any job advert isn’t solely down to your choice of job board. Check out how to write job adverts that get more job applications.

Other Job Advertising Options for Care

Thankfully, alternatives are freely available for care homes. Indeed offers free advertising options for employers. It also offers the greatest number of care vacancies when compared with the other job boards we tested, so it has jobseeker appeal. You can also sponsor adverts. That keeps them in Indeed’s search results for longer and that’s great for your hard to fill vacancies. If you do sponsor adverts, you can be sure that people will see it them. Using Indeed is a no brainer.

GOV Find a Job is a free job board too. This is managed by the DWP and it advertises almost as many care jobs as TotalJobs. With so many care jobs listed, it’s hard to ignore. GOV Find a Job costs nothing and has jobseeker appeal, so its an obvious choice for Care Homes.

Google for Jobs isn’t technically a job board. But, it can be used without charge to display your latest jobs and more applicants are discovering it all the time. You can’t post your jobs by hand on Google for Jobs, but an ATS get them there for you.

The truth is that we don’t know where viable jobseekers will find your next vacancy. The best approach is to advertise in several places. But, that requires more time to advertise and more time to review the less relevant applications that accompany more relevant ones. Care homes are time strapped and on a budget, so, how can we square that circle?

Advertise care jobs in less time, without big budgets

Ideally, Care Homes should advertise on multiple job sites and receive more appropriate applications without effort. Doing this at low cost sounds like an impossible request, but the option is available.

You’ll need an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and one that can distribute your jobs to the right job boards automatically. The best ATS will publish your jobs on your own website, on free job boards like Indeed and on your subscription job boards like carehome.co.uk Your applicants should arrive in one place, having provided all the information you need to make safe, fair shortlisting decisions. By making applicants complete details beforehand, you’ll spend less time reviewing job applications from hapless, 1-click appliers.

An ATS for care doesn’t have to be expensive. It should easily pay for itself by helping you avoid recruitment fees, excessive job board charges and all the admin. In fact, an ATS should save you money.

Want to know more?

For more information on what an ATS can do, read what is an Applicant Tracking System?

If you would like to learn more about choosing an ATS, follow the link to our Free ATS Buyer Guide.

Follow the link to find out why CVMinder is the best ATS for Care.

If you want to skip all that, contact us now to find out how you can advertise care vacancies for less and recruit more successfully.

By Marketing, ago