Since the data revolution, the idea of revamping your HR department to hit the organization next level has gained momentum—but the reaction is varied: some people think it’s the key to the future, others would rather take a pass.

Taking your HR department to the next level for the benefit of your entire org sure sounds like a no-brainer, but when it comes to a complete strategic overhaul, there are some pretty big hurdles you’ll have to clear.

One of the key barriers to HR transformation is the ol’ time/cost agenda—any interruption of ‘business as normal’ can have a negative impact on productivity, even if it’s worth it in the long run.

So, what’s the answer?

Simply concentrate on transforming the one area of your business that will have the biggest impact: talent recruitment.

In this ultimate guide to kicking off your HR transformation, we’ll help you transform how your hiring team ticks, and impact real change in a changing world.

What is HR transformation?

HR transformation is all about taking your HR department from purely functional to a strategic powerhouse that drives performance and growth across the company.

If you’re doing it right, ‘HR transformation’ will not be a euphemism for automating manual worfklows. Real HR transformation means re-evaluating and updating your entire people ops infrastructure with a single-minded focus toward innovation.

There’s a lot of noise around the best approach to use but whatever path you choose, it will always involve a mountain of strategic time and effort to implement real change—which is why focusing on just one high-impact process is the way to go.

And, as mentioned, there’s no better place to start than your recruitment and hiring process. Here’s how.

Step #1: Focus on strategy over function

Forget the details—it’s time to focus on the bigger picture.

Over time, people tend to get attached to specific tools and workflows and forget why these procedures exist in the first place. But if you can understand where each process impacts the rest of your business, you can figure out the value (or not) of your systems, and establish an objective baseline for change. Remember, it’s about the bigger picture, not the individual pieces of the puzzle.

Here’s how to get started on your HR transformation strategy:

Look outside your business: No one hires in a vacuum. External factors like world events, disruptive markets and the skills gap can have a huge impact on your hiring process. Include a section in your strategy that shows how you’ll keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the world outside, and how that will impact the way you position your business in a changing talent market.‍
Find your biggest impact areas: Real HR transformation is about up-levelling your business by emboldening the HR department. Think about your biz as a whole and how hiring affects different areas—then focus on where it has the biggest impact. You can calculate the cost of a bad hire in each department across the company, or at ways to outperform your competition for high demand positions.‍
Get goal oriented: Write a list of hiring goals that match up with your overall business aims. With only a quarter of executives saying their companies are excellent at aligning employee goals with corporate processes, there’s definite room for improvement with this one. Now is a great time to think about actionable ways to improve your company’s diversity stats.‍
Identify your hiring bottle necks: Once your goals are in place, now you can step up and take a hard look at what you’re doing right or wrong. For example, if you want to hire more diverse candidates but none are applying, you probably need to review your recruitment marketing and sourcing strategy to find out what you’re missing.

Need more help taking care of that “pipeline problem”? Check out The Complete Business (and Human) Case [+ Examples] and get a handle on it today.

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Step #2: Strike a balance between people, process and tech

People, process and tech are the three pillars of any great hiring process.

When you get just one element wrong, the rest suffers—but when you get it right, it’s magic. ✨

Let’s break this down:

People: Your hiring team drives the process. They literally put the human in HR and are often the first contact new candidates will have with your company. In other words, these folks are your hiring VIPs. ‍
Process: How you approach your hiring, from recruitment marketing, to candidate sourcing to onboarding, affects your employer brand, the candidate experience and the overall team success. So, why not build your culture into your process?‍
Technology: The tools you use are everything. The right applicant tracking system can save time and money, boost your candidate experience and help build your employer brand.

To get the balance between these three pillars right from day one, you need to figure out how each one affects your business.

Ask yourself these questions, be honest in your answers and think about how your answers affect your current systems:

How can we get the best, most productive team in place?
What kind of person/people do we need to lead an effective hiring team?
Does my strategy reflect the ultimate hiring process?
Are we doing everything we can to create a standout experience for our applicants and candidates?
Which tools do we currently use?
Should we invest in a smart ATS? (Spoiler alert: yes, you should. Here’s why).

Step #3: Create a hiring roadmap

Your hiring roadmap is a one-way system to success that shows how to implement your strategy, who’s going to be involved and what resources you need to make this work.

Think of hiring transformation as a building project—if the strategy’s the blueprint, the three magic pillars of ‘people, process and tech’ are the materials, and the hiring roadmap represents the step-by-step, hammer-to-nail instructions to actually get this done. 💪🏼

Put your project management hat on and plan a timeline of what needs to happen when—and before you know it you’ll be on your way to a more streamlined business.

Not sure where to start? Check out our simplified guide to a hiring process that brings you quality employees every time.

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Step #4: Streamline communication channels

Congratulations! You’re well on your way to building a truly transformative recruitment process.

But there’s one more key ingredient you won’t want to skip: swoon-worthy communications.

The way you introduce your new process to the rest of the team matters. In fact, organizations with effective communication strategies are 3.5X more likely to outperform the competition.

Check out these top tips to get your internal comms up to scratch:

Invest in tech: Since COVID-19 hit, water-cooler breaks are a distant memory. These days, more people are working from home than ever before, so getting your remote comms tech stack in order should be top of the agenda. Think: a smart ATS that lets you engage and involve your teams for the ultimate hiring team collaboration. ‍
Start the conversation: Learn what employees and candidates really think by asking them for feedback. If you’re already a Breezy user, you can use questionnaires to connect with candidates at the click of a button.‍
Listen and act: Once you’ve heard what your fellow team members and candidates have to say, listen carefully and then act. There’s nothing more empowering for employees than to have their voices heard.

Need templates? Check out our Resources Section for an HR template for every occasion.

Step #5: Integrate human-first technology

Technology can change the way you work—but if your teams are juggling multiple tools, you’ll always lag behind the competition.

The answer is to find a one-tool-fits-all technology, and then integrate dedicated systems for extra tech-power.

Less tools = less wasted time.

Yesha Sharma, People and Performance Advisor at Crimson Education, spoke to us about how integrating your systems can redefine what hiring looks like.

“Having the flexibility of different systems that pick up different responsibilities in the way we want is powerful stuff. Taking it further and having seamless and easy to set up integrations makes implementation and adoption a breeze,” she said.

Yesha and Crimson Education use an HRIS tool for overall HR functions, and then integrate a smart ATS for superpower hiring.

“Before we discovered the HRIS ATS integration, we were on the hunt for something to answer our questions: How do we streamline this process down? How do we put it in the hands of our leaders to take charge of? And how can we get the system to do the work for us?... [Now we have] world-class experts in each area and the systems come together”
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Yesah Sharma, People and Performance Advisor

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Hiring transformation = working smarter, not harder

A quality hiring process can make a huge impact on your business.

By working smarter (not harder), you can improve company communications, streamline systems and boost company culture, without overhauling your entire business.

If a streamlined hiring process can leave you with a stronger business and more time to focus on growth—what are you waiting for?

Are you ready?

Ready to transform your hiring process?

Join the thousands of companies already hiring with Breezy HR.

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