Whether your organization is lean and mean or massive with a ton of resources at your disposal, there will always be a bit of a blind spot when it comes to recruiting—especially with emerging technologies. Organizations as a whole can be slow to pick up the tools that will help them maximize recruiting and hiring.

Part of this is simply human nature; we don’t want to embrace the unknown until we’re more sure of the benefits. But part of it is simply not knowing how to embrace change and ignoring it until we can’t ignore it any longer. Most organizations can benefit from understanding their blind spots when it comes to the newest tools and not being afraid to implement the tech that can help minimize those gaps.

Bingeing On Big Data

Applying data analytics to recruitment and hiring is not a new concept for most organizations. We live in a data-driven world, and most companies are finding ways to work that information (from customers, from employees, from third-party sources) into their everyday workflow. But for recruiting and retaining talent, it’s more about finding ways to take that data and turn it into meaningful, lasting results. Just saying you have a digital strategy isn’t enough. Where many organizations go wrong is relying on the fact of that digital data—but not using the potential of it.

You can have all the data in the world coming in, but if it’s just sitting on a server somewhere, what good is it doing for you? If you want to start managing your data more efficiently, artificial intelligence (AI) is the logical next step. By definition, AI takes what you have and sees what you might not be able to see—patterns, predictions, connections. The AI software can take your preferences and parameters to bring in information about advertising efficiency, candidate recruitment channels, and the candidates themselves. But it can also help you refine what you’re putting out there, and when—giving you more flexibility and visibility into your outreach.

Programmatic Recruitment Shows What You Might Otherwise Miss

Programmatic recruitment tools help solve one of the biggest blind spots of all: what kind of return are we getting on the resources we put out? In the past, posting job advertisements, using particular social media, etc., were an act of faith—you’d put the information out there and hope that it was translating into the applications and resumes you’d receive later.

Programmatic recruitment helps take the guesswork out of this process not only by streamlining the information (removing human touchpoints from the process), but also by providing real-time feedback on what’s working and what’s not. Being able to adjust on the fly makes you better able to use your resources efficiently and get better results before you go too far down a particular path.

Use Tech To Future-Proof Your Organization

Knowing what your blind spots are now is helpful, but it won’t necessarily help you from being in the same spot a year or two from now. You don’t have to see the future (unless you can see the future, in which case you should play the lotto and then retire to your private island), but if you embrace predictive analytics and tools, you’ll be in a better position to minimize those blindspots moving forward.

AI-enabled tech has the flexibility to not only analyze your organization’s past and present but also make a data-educated guess as to what will continue to happen. For example, predictive ROIs can help you start thinking now about what your advertising budget should be next year. Or a late-breaking trend toward candidates coming in from unusual sources can help you get on top of the best sites and recruiting platforms early.

It’s okay that you don’t know what you don’t know; none of us do. But if you’re bringing in the tools and the people who can help you make the most out of all of your resources (and not just the ones that already get your time and attention), you’re building a better pipeline as you go.