In the "war for talents", companies need to be well equipped to recruit the right personnel. In this interview, Vanessa Hunkeler-Bolliger from Refline outlines a blueprint for an effective recruitment strategy and explains how an applicant management system can provide targeted operational support.
What must a recruitment strategy include today to be successful?
Vanessa Hunkeler: There is no single strategy. First, HR needs to clearly define the target group they are trying to reach and determine the best ways to do so. This includes having an appealing, mobile-optimized career page on the company website, choosing the right job boards for each posting, leveraging personal networks and talent pools, and making use of social media, employee referrals, or even active sourcing. HR professionals need to apply their creativity to find the ideal mix of suitable recruiting tools. Second, tracking and measuring the success of all activities is key. That way, HR can develop a long-term recruitment strategy.
"Digitalisation starts in the mind – not in the tool."
Which processes in the recruitment workflow can be automated?
I prefer to speak of simplification rather than automation. In order to focus more on strategic and advisory tasks, HR should first and foremost be meaningfully relieved of administrative duties: posting job ads across various channels, communicating directly with applicants through the tool, building a talent pool, and much more. All of this, centrally bundled in one tool without media disruptions, results in significant time savings for HR departments — with Refline, for example, administrative workload is reduced by around 70 percent.
Isn't there a risk with automation that certain candidates are excluded right away, even though they might be a good fit?
This risk is indeed still significant when it comes to automated matching and immediate rejection without any recruiter interaction. Whether a person fits into the team or the company culture is difficult to automate. In this case, the experience and sound judgment of HR professionals are far more relevant than any system. That’s why an applicant management system should support decision-making — not make the decision itself.
What should companies consider when recruiting on social media?
HR professionals need to work closely with marketing to define which channels make strategic sense for their presence. And once again: measure and refine. For example, business platforms are often used to approach large numbers of candidates indiscriminately. Such scattergun approaches are often ineffective. Instead, applicant platforms like the Swiss start-up Xeebo are well suited for direct candidate engagement.
Where are candidate data stored in a SaaS e-recruiting solution?
That’s a very important question — and a central concern for us as well. All applicant data is stored exclusively in Switzerland, specifically in a highly secure data center in Zurich. This ensures that we meet the highest standards in terms of data protection, security, and location transparency.
Why do companies still struggle with mobile application processes?
Perhaps it’s an overestimation of the effort involved. Perhaps it’s uncertainty about where to start. But in reality, it’s quite simple: we help our clients set up a seamless mobile application process with minimal effort. What we really need is more HR departments with a digital mindset — because candidates are actively demanding mobile application options!
Keyword Talent management
Intelligent talent management should “remember” a candidate when they become relevant for the company. What are the most important factors? Each company using Refline can define for itself which criteria are most relevant. These are often hard skills such as experience or education and training. Of course, a basic requirement is that the candidate fits the company. Qualified candidates can be flagged by recruiters within the tool and are automatically suggested again when a suitable position becomes available. From an efficiency standpoint, it makes little sense to reject 99 out of 100 candidates today, only to start from scratch with the next vacancy tomorrow.
Interviewer: Oliver Schneider, Netzwoche