UK: The recruitment industry is struggling to set adequate contingency plans for Brexit, a new study has foundHuman resource app, Canvas, has teamed up with Bitmoji’s owner, Snap, so recruiters and candidates can converse using the quirky cartoon-like characters.
The plan is part of Canvas founder and CEO Aman Brar’s strategy to shake up what he describes as ‘the outdated recruitment industry.’
“It’s an important step forward in transforming the way enterprise recruiters connect with candidates,” Brar told CNBC Make It.
“People are using avatars to communicate everywhere — at work, in life, and even in texts with coworkers and friends. Now, job seekers can expect to get personalized avatars from the next person interviewing them,” he said.
The platform launched last year and has so far seen success with its text-based service, which enables recruiters and candidates to discuss positions that are open via messenger apps, including emojis and GIFs.
A range of Fortune 500 companies and start-ups have been interested in the concept as they look for more effective ways to recruit talent. Health-care business Roche and online restaurant reservation company OpenTable were among the app’s early adopters. Today, it is used by hiring managers from Silicon Valley to the south of France.
Brar said the addition of Bitmoji will help add a more human element to those early-stage chats.
“Recruiters and candidates can now add a bit of personality to their Canvas conversations without disrupting current talent practices,” he said.
According to a recent study by business solutions provider LivePerson, 73 percent of 18 to 34-year-old Americans and Britons would ditch the phone function on their mobile for the texting app.
However, whether or not the digital characters, Bitmoji’s, will receive the thumbs up remains to be seen.
“I certainly can understand and appreciate the desire to humanize the text-message interview process, but I’m not convinced using Bitmoji avatars is the right solution,” said Amanda Augustine, a career advice expert at recruitment guidance site TopResume.
After speaking to a number of graduates she works with she said,
“The consensus was that the communication tool is better suited once a personal relationship has been established, and that if an employer used Bitmojis at the beginning of a ‘cold-text’ conversation, his or her professionalism — and the legitimacy of the job opportunity — would be called into question,” she said.
Fitting into company culture will of course need to be considered too, as well as how this will apply to recruiters.
“The way you interact with your candidates during the recruitment and selection process should be reflective of your company’s culture and communication style,” Augustine said.
“If your organisation is planning to use this more jovial, informal method of communication, make sure the current work environment values those things as well.”
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