iCIMS Hire Expectations™

I'm a firm believer that one-on-one, in-person communication is important, especially in a world where emails, instant messaging, Twitter, and Facebook dominate. I'm sure everyone has experienced an issue where their written words were construed to take on a tone that was never intended. While those issues are usually resolved by hashing things out with a conversation, taking the time to do that initially, could just as easily prevent the issue in the first place.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the Annual HRPA Conference and Tradeshow in Toronto. At the event, there were plenty of HR professionals talking about the latest trends, but there was one that stuck out. I had a discussion with a conference attendee, which centered on increasing interpersonal communication, and decreasing dependency on technology to boost success rates in candidate and employee management. As a representative of iCIMS, a SaaS provider, I was opposed, but the more I sat on the subject, the more I understood exactly what he was getting at - it's about striking the balance.

Candidates and employees alike need a gateway to information that will impact them - whether they need to understand what the process is for the performance review period or at what stage of the interview process they're at as a job candidate or hiring manager, people need access to information in a central location and need to know who they can call, for further explanation of certain topics.

Solely using technology to communicate can create gaps - it has to be used as a supplement to a conversation. On a supplemental level, technology can create a rounded process that not only supports the initial communications, but drives messages home with corporate branding and a defined organizational tone that can be referenced in the future. Not only does this improve communication, but it helps define an organizations' culture and values while simultaneously streamlining processes and procedures.

So, my question to HR Professionals is how have you utilized technology to support communication within your HR programs and how has it impacted your results?