3 Ways Wearable Devices Will Impact HR and Recruiting

Wearable devices are taking the world by storm. I caught the craze over the summer and purchased a pair of Google Glass for the team. We have probably utilized the device for no more than 40 hours total. It is not that it is not cool, its just not meaningful at the moment. And people give you that weird dumbfounded look when you have the on in public.

We acquired a pair of Glass to gauge of how wearables will impact HR. Since we provide companies with recruitment software (shameless plug: check out gatherDocs our amazing recruitment platform!), we are investigating what the future might look like. Here are my 3 quick thoughts on what wearables could be used for!

1. Wearable Glasses will be utilized to record and assess in-person interviews. Once someone passes their interview through HireVue or TakeTheInterview, an in-person interview will be established with a recruiter or hiring manager. By equipping themselves with a device, such as Google Glass, the interviewer could record and gauge the applicants responses to questions. All types of data can be measured and stored for current and future purposes. Simple reactions to certain questions could alert the recruiter to whether this person is a good fit for the position or not.

2. Wearable watches or beacon enabled phones could allow for accurate time tracking of employees. Are they where they are supposed to be? Can an employer cut down on fraud my having a second time clock gauge? I think so.

3. Wristband or Bracelets, think FitBit, could monitor the health of employees while working at strenuous jobs. Imagine a HR manager monitoring 200 carpenters at a worksite. If the heart rate of one of the employees is dangerously high, why not send them a buzz to take it easy? Might cut down on a potential heart attack and worker’s compensation.

Once again, these are just a few thoughts and ideas that I have.

- Alex

Comment by Keith D. Halperin on January 9, 2014 at 3:15pm: Very interesting, Alex. Will employees/candidates be allowed to monitor their employers/interviewers, or do you think it will be one way?

Cheers,

Keith

Comment by Alex King on January 9, 2014 at 3:23pm: Hello Keith, I think that it will be mostly one way. I think that we are entering an age of where everything is monitored and tracked. The ones doing the tracking are usually the ones who have the authority to do so.

Outside of wearable tech, candidates will have the ability to gain more company insights from their potential employer. You are seeing it with glassdoor and Bright.

Best - Alex

Comment by Tim Spagnola on January 9, 2014 at 6:05pm: Nice post Alex. My organization is a healthcare organization, but heavy adopters of technology and data (9 years now paperless w/. same EMR as an example). Our IT department actually has a VP of Technology and Innovation to give you an idea. We also got Glass early and have been using it in all kinds of interesting ways. Still figuring out what role it will play in the delivery of healthcare to our patients, but using it in a number of other ways. The next step for us will be to see how we can introduce to the rest of our HR department and incorporate w/. my teams recruiting activity. I hope to be able to share our success and struggles in coming weeks.

I appreciate you sharing the post w/. RBC.

Comment by Alex King on January 9, 2014 at 6:35pm: Hello Tim, please do. That sounds exciting. Have you been able to work directly with Google's development team? I know that they have been relatively aggressive with trying to push for new applications. Healthcare is definitely a major use case for them.

I am excited to here your outcomes.

Best - Alex

Comment by Tim Spagnola on January 10, 2014 at 10:00am: Alex - I myself have not be involved with discussions, but your spot on with Healthcare. There are so many areas where Glass can/will come into play. I'm assuming the idea exchange is going back and forth with our IT team and Google. Will keep you posted.

Comment by Keith D. Halperin on January 10, 2014 at 1:29pm: Thanks, Alex. I'm afraid you're right. I don't know abouti Brght, but *Glassdoor can't be relied on as a neutral unbiased source of information (they give the employer the final word in discussions). We really need more things which let us shine the light both ways. and let us watch the watchers.

-kh

*I used to think it was and highly praised them, but that was my error, not their's...