The future of staffing: Where the cloud comes into play

As we look into the future of the staffing and recruiting industry, it’s important to identify some trends that will likely take hold. As is the case with many other industries, recruiting will likely be – and already is being – revolutionized by the cloud.

In this field, we’re already seeing it affect staffing software solutions being used by recruitment agencies, and the advantages of cloud software solutions are becoming clearer and clearer by the day. Most importantly, cloud-hosted recruiting and staffing software can increase the efficiency of front and back office operations, which ultimately leads to greater productivity and a more streamlined recruitment process.

Staffing Industry Analysts recently explored the topic of the future of recruiting, and noted that the idea of the “cloud” is one that will take on an even greater meaning.

“Work will expand from “supply chain” to “human cloud” models,” offered Staffing Industry Analysts President Barry Asin. “The human cloud includes online staffing as well as crowdsourcing where a large task is broken down into several smaller micro tasks that are farmed out to online workers.”

In October, ERE Media’s Matthew Jeffery wrote that the cloud is changing your recruiting process in general. Jeffery offered the example of staffing agencies potentially receiving job applications and weighing a plethora of data based on the individual’s cloud footprint. This data would include the basics like skill sets and experience, but also delve deeper and possibly even explore things like behavioral patterns and the strength of a candidate’s social media networks.

With companies’ budgets stretched and hiring strategies becoming more critical every year, Jeffery’s suggestion may ultimately stick. As cloud technology continues to improve, staffing companies will have access to greater amounts of data in a more streamlined fashion.