TALiNT Partners MD Alex Evans talked to TargetRecruit Sales Director Neil Curry about how the optimisation of tech and data is enabling the transformation of recruitment in Ireland for more profitable growth – at home and abroad.
On the 26th of September, TALiNT Partners hosted a Growth Lunch & Learn at the always impressive Westbury Hotel in Dublin with 50 leaders from Ireland’s best Staffing and Talent Solutions firms. Supported by leading industry provider TargetRecruit, the event highlighted the culture of collaboration that is helping to transform Irish recruitment.
Keynote speaker Frank Farrelly, CEO of Sigmar Recruitment and former ERF President, set the scene by saying that recruiters should focus on their niche specialism and the industry should aspire toward shared exclusivity rather than competing for business that might be unprofitable to win.
Exclusivity relies on the confidence in capability to win the right business and the vision to recommend another agency rather than disappoint a client, he said, adding that data was vital in determining the ability to deliver and partners were key to maximising tech to ensure profitability.
A panel on the topic of how AI & Automation is transforming recruitment explored this latter point in more depth, with insights on how to optimise tech from Róisín McNamara, Founder of HERO Recruitment; Brian O’Reilly, IT & Transformation Director at Manpower Ireland; Declan Slattery, Head of TALiNT Partners Global Advisory Board; and Neil Curry, Sales Director, UK & EMEA at TargetRecruit.
“Our branded-portals, onboarding packages and timesheet use is being used more and recruiters are looking to AI reduce manual intervention for auto-matching hundreds and thousands of candidates – making screening, checks and onboarding quicker and cheaper,” said TargetRecruit’s Neil Curry. “You can set up chat GPT on WhatsApp to screen US candidates whilst your UK team sleep.”
AI can only be effective with the right data strategy to support it.
With so much speculation about the impact of AI on recruitment, Manpower’s Brian O’Reilly said that AI can only be effective with the right data strategy to support it, while TALiNT Partners’ Declan Slattery added that employers are looking for better use of labour analytics, or talent intelligence, to provide context for decisions about strategic workforce planning or train & deploy solutions.
HERO’s Róisín McNamara reminded recruiters not to underestimate the power of automation and the tools you already have. “We’re sequencing ads, managing payroll & contracts and enabling candidates to book their own interviews through our ATS,” she said, adding that you need to create a culture around data to ensure quality in and out.
“Automation workflows rely on a well-maintained database and quality data,” added TargetRecruit’s Neil Curry, who explained how one of its biggest global clients is hiring 100% of its frontline staff with automated messaging.
Asked how TargetRecruit is helping recruiters to make the most of their tech stack, Neil explained that the earlier clients think about compatibility and integration, the more likely they are to be able to optimise solutions.
As recruiters in Ireland, and around the world, become more reliant on tech, it’s creating new risks that need to be managed – for themselves and their clients
For smaller recruiters looking to compete more effectively with larger firms, at home and abroad, Neil said marketplace solutions help you to punch above your weight. “TargetRecruit is built on Salesforce, which you’re able to leverage for larger scale sourcing solutions,” he explained, adding that recruiters are better able to optimise it if they have an internal champion to explore their tech and deploy the right solution.
As recruiters in Ireland, and around the world, become more reliant on tech, it’s creating new risks that need to be managed – for themselves and their clients.
“As recruiters take on more temp and contract work to meet growing demand for contingent solutions, they need to manage new risks – especially in overseas markets like DACH and their equivalent of IR35 – so partners are important to help de-risk,” Neil observed, adding that a comprehensive level of security and legislation compliance comes with the Salesforce platform.
Finding the right partner who can offer a wider range of support is a crucial part of any growth strategy for recruiters, whether you’re looking to grow into new territories, offer new services or simply to improve effectiveness and profitability as a recognised specialist.
