Recruitment process automation begins with a step most projects skip, which is writing down the process as it currently runs rather than as it is supposed to. For a small desk that is usually a short list: an application arrives somewhere, someone reads it eventually, a shortlist is discussed, interviews are booked by email, a decision is made in a conversation, and an offer is sent. Written out, the automatable steps are obvious and so are the ones that are not. The arithmetic then tells you what the automatable ones are worth. On the worked example a desk spends 120 hours across six hires at $45 an hour and takes 31 days to hire, with 26 of those days passing before an offer exists. The steps carrying those days are receiving, sifting and scheduling, and all three are administration rather than judgement. The steps carrying the judgement, the shortlist conversation and the decision, are not automatable and should not be. This page sets out how to do the mapping, and what to measure afterwards so the project has an answer rather than an impression.
Write the process as it runs, not as designed
Include the parts that happen in someone's inbox and the parts that wait for a weekly meeting. Those are usually where the days are, and they never appear on a process diagram drawn from the policy. A useful test is to ask who touches an application in its first week and how long it sits between each pair of hands; the gaps are the process, and they are rarely written down anywhere.
Separate administration from judgement
Acknowledging, moving, booking and reminding are administration. Sifting on merit, deciding a shortlist and choosing between two candidates are judgement. Automate the first list and leave the second, which is also the safer position legally.
Measure before and after
Time to hire and cost per hire before, and again a quarter later. Without the before, the project's success is a matter of opinion and it will be assessed by whoever felt busiest. Two figures, taken twice, a quarter apart. It costs a few minutes each time and it is the difference between a project with a result and a project with a story.
Questions people ask about recruitment process automation
Where should automation stop?
At the point where a decision about a person is being made. Automating the administration around a human decision is a different thing from automating the decision, and the second carries fairness and legal considerations for your employment adviser.
Do I need a consultant for this?
For a small desk, no. The mapping is an hour with a pen, and the two figures that measure it are free sheets on this site.
What if the process is different for every role?
Map the commonest one. If senior hires genuinely run differently, map that separately, but most small desks find their processes are more alike than they expected.