This week in the Holistic Recruiter Club #008

TA Tool Prison, Referral and productivity tips and whats coming soon.

Aug 30, 2024

It’s the end of summer and kids are back at school next week!

For all of you who read this and those that are new, thank you! I write this because I believe we need to raise the bar within talent acquisition and I’m trying to do my bit.

As summer is out and I’m starting to get in the rhythm of writing these I will try a new format so please any feedback is welcomed!

This week was very nice I got to speak to Helene Lucien and we spoke all about the product and how to build an MVE not an MVP I love how she has a great way of seeing the bigger picture and can effortlessly drill down into to best next steps!

I also had the chance to speak with Katrina Collier on the day of her book launch but the life was a failure, some say it was the best conversation ever had on Linkedin Live, ever, but it wasn’t recorded so you will have to take our word for it! I was very happy as I got to talk about “Tool Prison”!

I was lucky to meet Doctolibs Director of TA Noemie Sichel-Dulong looking after a team of 70 we were meant to speak for 30 mins but that easily ate into an hour. I mean a big TA team, multi-country, really a rare data-driven TA business unit. It was an absolute pleasure. And watch this space as she will be joining us on Two Tired Dads Talk Talent (TTDTTT) and tech in the next few weeks.

In two weeks I will start the podcast and TTDTTT will be back! I cannot wait to start this again!

Tool Prison and what is it?

Yesterday I spoke to Katrina Collier about this, on Thursday. I mean it stopped before anyone could hear so I thought I’d take the opportunity to write about it here!

To help me get across what I mean by “tool prison” I will tell a short story and it’s a true one.

An entire company’s hiring process is changed overnight, not because the existing process was broken, but because a new tool forced them to.

A few years ago was consulting for a French tech startup that was thriving in its space I mean doing well, but then one day, someone in HR decided to switch the ATS. This crazy thing is that this decision wasn’t driven by a need to improve the hiring processes but was rather based on the idea that this new tool could supposedly do everything better. (well done ATS salesperson)

However, what happened next was far from what we expected. Suddenly, all the stuff the team were doing, processes, ways of working etc had to be reworked to fit the limitations of this new ATS. My mind still boggles at this. Instead of the tool serving the team’s needs, we found ourselves bending over backwards to try and help the team fit into its rigid structure.

For example, how data was being accessed through this new system became a true nightmare. I mean if dealing with TA data isn't hard enough, the ATS was so complex that only those with a degree in data analytics could make any sense of it. Ok, I exaggerate but you get the point. The TA team, who were experts in people and talent, not data, found themselves lost and frustrated. And it wasn’t just the TA team that was affected. The hiring managers were struggling to get to grips with the new system ( poor onboarding) so candidates were left with a less-than-optimal experience.

This experience taught me a really valuable lesson!!!

"You can only operate as well as the system you are in will allow you”

Quote unquote me John Hazelton haha

If the system you’re working within doesn’t support the way you need to work, it becomes more of a prison than a tool. It limits your effectiveness and can harm the very processes it’s meant to improve. It was frustrating for everyone involved, TA felt powerless, hiring managers were annoyed by delays, and candidates were left feeling like just another number in a broken system. It made us all realise that the tools we choose have a huge impact on not just the efficiency of our processes, but also the overall experience of everyone involved.

In the end, the lesson was that technology should enhance our ability to work effectively, not dictate how we work. Tools are there to serve people, it should not be the other way around. And when we forget that, we end up trapped in a ‘tools prison’ a place where the tools we use hinder rather than help us.

So when you are selecting tools please ensure you are taking into consideration many things! Ensure all stakeholders are consulted, including Candidates Hiring Managers, HR, TA. Does it allow you to continue your process, does it integrate the list goes on. I’m working on research I will share in the next few weeks to help this!

This week’s top tip

A few weeks ago I shared this on TikTok - how can you get more referrals when speaking to candidates? Remember working smart is the best way! So how do you do it? Watch and listen to this super easy technique…

Tools and Productivity

This week I wanted to share another really simple tip.

Have you ever found yourself with a ridiculous amount of tabs open on Chrome? Look a bit like this?

Here is a super simple way to fix that to make it more manageable (i mean ideally you shouldn’t as it will slow your computer )but if you can’t help yourself this is for you

First, right click on a tab to create a group and click

Now add a name of that group ( you can also save a group to use in the future)

Now you can drag the relevant tabs into that group before repeating the process for all the groups you want.

In the end, you will go from a mess to nice and organised as you can see below!

I hope that helps….

Until next time…

I hope you like the new format please like and share if you get any value and get in touch if you have any feedback! We have a few tickets left for the event in Paris on the 19th of September at Back Markets offices.