Messaging apps like WeChat, WhatsApp, Kik and Facebook’s
Messenger may soon eclipse social media communication. Recruiters have keyed in
on the technology and are beginning to use it to find and retain talent.

Photo Source: latime.com

“Chat-based messaging is still in its infancy,”
said Ryan Healy, founder and president of Arlington, Va.-based enterprise
chat-software company Brazen, speaking to attendees at the Human Resource
Executive HR Technology Conference and Exposition Oct. 5. But already, the
number of people using the apps is huge.

“There are 2.5 billion people using messaging
apps,” he said; by 2018, that number is estimated to rise to 3.6 billion
people. Some say it may soon surpass social media usage. By comparison, in
2016, 2.6 billion people had a social media profile, according to Statista, an
online statistics portal.

According to the latest findings from the Pew Research
Center, “36 percent of smartphone owners report using these communication
tools. Young adults are particularly enchanted by these kinds of apps, with 49
percent of owners ages 18 to 29 using them.”

Chat-based messaging apps allow people to text each other as
they would on mobile phones, whether they are on a phone, desktop or tablet.
All that’s required is Internet access.

And in a world where Millennials and Generation Z think it’s
rude to call someone without texting first, Healy said, chat-based messaging
has “transformed how we do business.”

Eileen Raymond, executive director of experienced hire
recruiting at Chicago-based KPMG, told attendees that recruiters have seen
success using chat-based messaging for recruitment and engagement.

Here’s how:

Over a two-year period, KPMG hosted 12 chat-based events
using Brazen’s web-based, mobile-optimized instant chat messaging platform
during which it encouraged candidates—both internal and external—to engage with
its staff about careers.

“Through those 12 events, we hired more than 70
people,” Raymond said. A total of 2,700 people participated. Of the 70
hired, she said, “91 percent of the candidates were diverse; 75 percent
were female; 65 percent had two to seven years’ worth of experience; and 35
percent had eight or more years’ worth of experience.

"It costs less than $800 for those 70 hires,” she
said, and that “doesn’t include the 20 people we transferred internally as
part of an internal campaign.” She added that the cost for recruitment
would have been more.

She added that KPMG did “quite a bit of marketing”
to specific target groups (advisory, tax, technology and audit professionals)
before the event. “We let them know they could participate on their lunch
breaks.” They spoke to leaders, employees and hiring managers, too.

“For me as a recruiting director that needed to execute
[hiring], it was quite easy,” she added.

Candidates use the platform just as they would a personal
chat-based service, and recruiters can swipe left or right to see more of a
candidate’s profile—such as his or her resume or LinkedIn page, Healy said.

He added that recruiters need to think like marketers when
trying to find talent. In marketing, it’s all about a “call to
action,” where viewers are asked to do something, like buy a product or
share information.

“Top talent responds three times better if you offer
them access to people in your organization. Interaction is the best call to
action. It makes sense because I want to know what’s really going to happen
after I start working at your organization,” he said.

Article source: http://bit.ly/2dPNzUY

Key Takeaways:

1.  Chat based messaging apps are becoming the new
tools used for recruiters and job seekers.

2.  People have used instant messaging for social
media and communication purposes but recently new app ideas have come into play
that allow for a business line of communication to open as well.

3.  Businesses have introduced these apps into their
everyday processes and have seen a large amount of success.

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