Can LinkedIn or Indeed Replace Recruitment Agencies and Headhunters?

When it comes to recruitment, a lot has changed in recent years. Digital platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed have become the go-to’s for hiring, but can they replace recruitment agencies and headhunters? In this article, we’ll be unpacking the answers to this so that your business follows the best practices. 

Using Digital Platforms for Recruitment

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform. The ‘jobs’ section makes applications easy for both recruiters and candidates to find relevant matches. Indeed is one of the largest websites that share jobs, operating in a number of countries around the world. These are essentially the digital classifieds section for job ads.  

What these platforms and sites offer is reach. One of the most obvious advantages is that you can do deep dive’s on the likes of LinkedIn, scoping out a public CV and getting insight into skills and recommendations. It also puts you in touch with candidates and in many cases, comes with a number of useful tools as well.

The tools that help the recruiter include insights into how a job ad is performing and candidate specifics, as well as filters that can help you narrow down your search and find the top matches. So, with all of this at play, recruitment can be an easier task to carry out. 

It begs the question, do you really need a recruitment agency and headhunter?

Recruitment Agencies and Headhunters

Agencies have talent pools and work on finding you the creme de la creme of candidates for the role. Since there are digital tools that do this for businesses, one might consider taking on the task in-house. However, the kind of technology that these platforms provide is still at a basic level. While it may work for you, and if you have the capacity to complete this in-house, then by all means go for it. However, agencies have valuable networks and oftentimes, advanced technology that can improve the process even more. 

Headhunters will always be there and be relevant. In fact, the sharing of professional careers online and these digital systems have made it easier for them to find and poach people. 

It essentially comes down to the needs and capabilities of your business. You can find success in working with an agency, a headhunter, or doing it all internally. The key is to build relations with all who show interest in your business, and building up your brand as an employer in the industry. 

When we look at things from this perspective, the question changes. It becomes:

Can Digital Platforms Replace Recruiters?

Technology has undeniably changed the way businesses acquire talent. Whether they’re at the point of using full-on customer relationship management (CRM) systems or not, there are ways that technology has become part of the recruitment process in some way, shape or form. This ranges from video interviews to automating administrative tasks. 

Can digital platforms replace recruiters? No. Recruitment is all about people and it certainly needs that. But, they can form a formidable force together. Think about it - you can automate processes and rely on tech to filter the best candidates, but when it comes to interviews, a bot won’t do. 

The element of the ‘people’ in human resources cannot be underestimated. It fills in the gap that technology cannot fill, namely: relationship-building. When you’re recruiting, you need to build a network of connections that can benefit your business beyond the new hire that you’re ultimately after. This offers you maximum long term rewards for your efforts. Technology can certainly help with the process, by sending out automated and personalized emails that let the candidates know about updates on their applications. 

Another part of relationship-building that cannot be replaced by digital platforms is that of empathy and reading between the lines. While algorithms result in unbiased results, there are factors that cannot be easily assessed with checklists and codes. We’re talking about things like soft skills and the ability to assess someone’s character. That still requires a human touch. 

Another question is, can technology be trusted on its own? We think not. There is always the possibility of a glitch that can wreak havoc on the recruitment process. Therefore whatever the process, having a set of eyes on the process and testing out the tech is of the utmost importance. 

Closing Thoughts

The ideal is a combination of the two: digital means used by recruiters for recruitment. Digital systems and platforms cannot replace agencies, headhunters and HR personnel, but together they can transform the recruitment process. The needs of your business will ultimately decide whether conducting recruitment in-house or opting for the services of a recruiter is best for your business.

Chat with us at Nexa about your recruitment needs. We can help you to automate processes and find digital systems that’ll improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment in your business.