There have been a few companies the last couple of years talking about programmatic advertising emerging into the recruitment space. RealMatch, AppCast, Recruitics, and a few other players all recognize that the job board has basically remained unchanged for over a decade now and that technology has to play a role in modernizing it. Rather than relying on job seekers to find a job posting, these companies are bringing the principles and strategies seen in the consumer market via programmatic advertising into the recruitment world.

Terry Baker, President of RealMatch, cites an AdAge study that suggests that 70% of advertisers agree that cost reduction is a top benefit of programmatic. Bring this into recruitment strategies across North American companies and you will find a much more intentional and effective approach for talent acquisition teams. Just think – instead of wasting time on numerous phone screeners, programmatic can filter bad applicants by targeting the job posting....Too many times, the weakness on teams is the notion that aspects of their work are un-measurable—or even unknowable. For example, could you answer these questions?

What is the talent source that delivers the best candidates to you? What is the cost associated with it? And what is the cost associated with talent sources that deliver underqualified or unqualified candidates?  

In this day and age, technology can be your friend and answer these questions. Even better than answering these questions, predictive analytics and programmatic recruiting can take that next step and prevent you from continuing to spend on a poor talent source.

Mr. Baker suggests, “Prediction is based on historical data, the more historical data we....” This is essentially the core concept behind consumer programmatic advertising. While big data may have been the buzzword five years ago, now that it has been implemented for a number of years, it is time to use the historical data provided from years and years of tracking the behavior of job seekers. In essence, to use a fishing metaphor, recruiters are no longer casting a wide net in empty waters but now know the sweet spot where all the fish gather. Imagine eating a freshly caught trout for dinner tonight!

Earlier this month, talent acquisition leaders gathered in Chicago for the second annual programmatic ad buying summit, sponsored by TAtech. While only limited to 150 participants, there were questions abound from those leaving the summit, such as how to execute new programmatic recruiting strategies across teams big and small, local and remote, and even ‘old school’ vs ‘new school.’

While recruiters have long been good at adapting to new technologies, one has to wonder if shifting to programmatic might be difficult, even though recruiters know it might be smarter. Even though you might get better applicants, part of the difficulty for some recruiters is actually limiting the number of sites where a job is posted. Instead of understanding how this actually hurts and not helps them, they may choose to be stubborn. If this is the case, that is fine – ultimately their competitors and colleagues will outshine them by using better tools to get better applicants.

Shameless plug here – join a webinar I am moderating on June 22nd on the issue of program.... It should be a real doozy!

About Me, Yoav B. Guttman:

I am fascinated with how technology in general and more specifically how it can help HR and recruiting get better, rather than stuck in old ways. I am currently working on getting a new sponge system in my office kitchen, as well as, figuring out how to save time and money in recruiting. My friends know that I was ‘born to perform’, so if we meet, be ready for a laugh and a story. Add me on LinkedIn here or follow me on Twitter.