By Pancy Maina
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 12 – Recruitment is not an easy feat for employers as it requires time and a keen eye. Over time, however, there has been an increase in the tactics and techniques being used in the recruitment process, to manage time investment and to make work easier for the recruitment managers.
For recruitment managers, the biggest challenge has been acquiring the right candidates for the roles they advertise for and they understand the cost of making the wrong hires to organizations. The other challenge would be having to individually sort through pools of CVS as a hiring manager which is time-consuming and draining.
However, technology has come about with great solutions that will see hiring managers solve a big chunk of their recruitment issues while they shift focus to other business operations. With unemployment being at 7 per cent in Kenya, government institutions and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been trying to curb unemployment by creating new opportunities and attracting different talent, especially in the tech space.
SMEs and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbones of most economies globally and they account for one-fifth of the global banking revenue, additionally, Micro and small businesses account for more than 70 per cent of all businesses and more than 50 percent of all jobs globally according to a McKinsey study.
Statistics also show that SMEs and MSMEs contribute more than half of global GDP in high-income countries, while they create the most formal opportunities in emerging markets, accounting for roughly seven out of every 10 jobs.
These businesses are greatly known to be robust and fast-paced as they work in a competitive environment against corporate giants in various industries. They embrace technology and digital solutions to fast-track processes and increase revenue.
A solution to simpler recruitment
Technology has gained ground in the country and even when it comes to hiring talent, these SMEs want to incorporate solutions that are tech-based. At the BrighterMonday portal, the employer database is approaching the 40,000 mark and the largest chunk of employers are in the SME and MSME space, as they seek to get talent in the race for job creation.
We offer solutions that make the recruiter’s work simpler, more efficient, and faster. With our Application tracking system(ATS), BrighterMonday has given these organizations the ease of accessing over 2.8 million profiles, enabling them to filter according to their needs, with a rich portfolio of solutions ranging from the Basic listing which is pocket friendly and easy to use.
We additionally have the Best Match solution that Highlights ‘relevant candidates’ and has an embedded Skills Assessment, that is faster and makes an accurate decision when shortlisting.
BrighterMonday also offers employers the Standard Solution that picks the top 10 candidates ranked & delivered to the recruiter, while the brand does the targeted promotion of roles to our network. These digital recruitment solutions make hiring easier by helping recruiters avoid the manual sorting of applications.
The solutions are all offered on the platform for an employer to get on board and get trained on how to operate and navigate the system in order to get their best match. Even though these services have a cost implication attached to them, the process is simplified as in most cases the system filters through candidates.
What is the future of digital recruitment in Kenya and Africa?
The world is progressing toward the digital/Technological space. We are seeing various corporations such as banks and Telcos embracing technology to shorten their processes.
Technology is still winning as this is how most people are upskilling and reskilling to stay ahead of the game in order to be at par with technology and that is why we are seeing a rise in more people incorporating gig work. As they are in this space, they become attractive to recruiters who want candidates with more than just one skill.
Additionally, there is a budding growth of startups with very unique models aimed at reaching the most underserved customer, meaning that there will always be a need for these solutions. Startups and SMEs are always creating employment opportunities as well to be able to undertake activities on these fronts.
The International Labour Organisation(ILO) states that job growth not only comes from existing companies but also from newly-created firms, especially those that grow very fast in the first years of activity.
These start-ups amount to a relatively small share of all companies, but it is estimated that they account for quite a large share of the total job creation. Job creation will always be there as long as SMEs are springing up, the future is definitely promising for digital recruitment, I would say watch this space!
The writer is the Campaign Manager at BrighterMonday Kenya
