Many would argue that the hiring and on-boarding metrics of many organisations are still depressingly basic. And even then, not always successful.

The successful acquisition of an employee has so many operational moving parts that need to be perfected before their “candidate experience” can be considered. If for example interview arrangements go wrong, such risks overshadow the subtler, more pleasant aspects. If a candidate has not been properly briefed, they may go into an interview with the wrong impression of the role – something that can throw any interview into disarray.

Somehow, industry has never been great at getting the basics right, and most talent acquisition professionals and employers alike probably spend way too much time on such basics. Although it is important, one could argue that there are better ways to invest your energies.

Thankfully, it seems tech is coming to the rescue.

With A.I. software, intelligent chatbots and all sorts of automated help on the way, technology is starting to handle the hiring basics far better than any human could. This, in turn is freeing up significant time for talent professionals to focus on other priorities.

Customer experience, without a doubt, is a strategic priority for most businesses. Similarly, the priority on mastering the candidate experience remains priority for the talent professional.

Hiring companies have alarmingly narrow windows in which they can actively influence a candidate. If their email communication is functional, a candidate will gain little insight into who they really are. If the interview is mostly standard competency-based questions, a candidate will have little idea of what sort of personal qualities they are looking for. If the process of negotiation is about the money and package rather than finessing the fit, a candidate will feel like a commodity rather than a potential asset.

When the machines take the strain on all of these basics, a hiring company can actually spend time getting into a candidate’s head (and heart). Machines aren’t so good at the emotional stuff, but we sense that not every company will double down on the “experience” part of the interview process. Some will simply take the cost savings route and reduce the human interactions.

That is, until their competitors start to give their candidates a truly first-class experience.

Technology will not only enable companies to change. It will force them to change because cost of not changing is simply too high. When one company makes their recruitment process radically more “human”, the rest will have no choice but to follow.

Some people say that the talent industry is broken. If technology can help to handle the basics and if employers decide to focus on the candidate experience, recruitment could finally fulfill its magical promise of making career dreams come true.

If you are an employer reading this, you may need to consider two things:

Firstly, are you investing in technology to handle as much of the mundane stuff as possible? There is a trust exercise here, and it will take a while to get right, but if you don’t make a few mistakes, you will never optimise it.

Secondly, have a long and hard think about how you would like your candidates to feel across the whole interview experience – and then design it in such a way that your people have the ability to help them feel it.

A great candidate experience will only truly come when tech can take the strain.