What Talent Acquisition Leaders Need to Know About Voice Recognition

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What Talent Acquisition Leaders Need to Know About Voice Recognition

February 6, 2018

“Alexa, find me a new job.” Sounds too easy, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not the future; voice recognition is in the now. One in six adults in the United States owns a voice-activated speaker, according to the Smart Audio Report. And there are no signs of the trend slowing. The adoption of smart speakers is outpacing smartphones, so you should be embracing this technology as part of your talent acquisition strategy.

Not sure how to incorporate voice technology into your recruitment processes? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Job Search Techniques

The simplest way to incorporate voice technology into your talent acquisition methods is to list your open requisitions on a job board that is already integrated with smart speakers. Glance through the applications that are available on Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomePod, and be sure your jobs are posted to the relevant platforms. Because voice-activated speakers are growing in popularity, apps are being added all the time. One of the apps available through Amazon’s Echo is a job search tool through CareerOneStop, which is sponsored by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Jobs that are posted to the online job board are accessible to users who ask: “Alexa, find me a job; search for ‘nurse’ in ‘Los Angeles,’” for example. Some apps even allow candidates to apply via voice if their information is already saved on the online platform.

Employer Branding

Think beyond increasing candidate volume and go the route of nurturing talent through branding efforts by building a voice app (what Amazon Echo calls a “skill”). This will put your company in front of passive candidates and bolster your brand as a market leader. Your voice app should provide valuable information to users and be something you want your brand to be known for. Additionally, it should be information that users want to ask for regularly – say, daily – to be reminded of your expertise. To encourage users to enable your app, advertise to current and potential customers, employees and candidates. An example of a brand doing this is Purina, a pet care company. It enables users to inquire about pet-related information, like, “Tell me about dogs that are hypoallergenic.” While it’s not directly appealing to potential job seekers, it positions Purina as a leading pet company and keeps it top-of-mind for passive candidates.

Targeted Ads Campaigns

While there is a lot of controversy about whether Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are listening to your smart device conversations, the consensus seems to be “no.” But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen in the future. Just as you can run targeted ad campaigns based on keyword searches and social media activity, purchasing advertisements based on voice may be on the horizon. What we do know, according to CNBC’s “Amazon has big plans for Alexa ads in 2018; it’s discussing options with P&G, Clorox and others,” is that paid search ads are likely for the top-selling smart speaker. This means if someone searches for “laundry detergent,” for example, companies can pay for higher placement to get in front of users. This is something to be mindful of if you’re running other targeted ad campaigns for your hard-to-fill jobs.

How voice technology and the uses of speech recognition will affect talent acquisition remains to be seen. But with adoption rates of smart speakers soaring, you should be ready to jump in and give this platform a try. You’ll surely catch the attention of tech-savvy, early adopters – and these candidates may just fit the bill as your next employee.

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