Whilst Bitcoin has taken the spotlight when it comes to the application of blockchain technology, we are starting to see a surge of innovation as its potential impact on businesses becomes increasingly understood. Blockchain technology is now being tapped into by many businesses and governments around the world. One such industry with huge potential is recruitment.
Having worked in recruitment for nearly a decade, I saw increasing frustration and a steadily decreasing lack of trust in the processes involved to collect references. Outdated processes meant that references could easily be abused and misused. Over eight years, the number of references collected by recruiters decreased by a staggering two thirds.
References used to be the gold standard of an employee’s skills and experience, yet according to a survey by CareerBuilder, 75 per cent of hiring managers have caught a lie in a resume. Instead, employers and recruiters make judgments based on workers’ CVs and ‘personal branding’ pages like LinkedIn. In my opinion that’s a poor basis on which to make such an important decision, and unfair on a swathe of skilled employees who escape the recruiter’s net.
Whilst the traditional approach to background checking can be expensive, repetitive and inaccurate, there is no better way to measure a candidate’s potential than through verified references. As a ledger of the continuously growing list of records shared by every device in a network, blockchain is considered a secure and reliable way of storing data and a perfect way to ensure verified worker qualifications.
With trust, credibility and reliability of references spiralling downwards, I saw an opportunity for the application of blockchain technology to revolutionise referencing by removing many of the inefficiencies associated with hiring.
Blockchain-based recruitment
A first of its kind, Zinc’s automated referencing, feedback and assessment tool allows recruiters to collect screening information with a single click. Recruiters have access to this information on day one of the hiring journey, before interviewing begins. A technical role in the UK takes on average 12 weeks to fill, by eliminating the need to repeat certain tasks such as psychometric tests, references and team fit analysis, Zinc accelerates and simplifies the process.
With an estimated 2 million technology roles available at any time, and an increasing shift towards the gig economy, there is a dire need to speed things up. Zinc ‘open sources’ the interview process by collating and securely storing a candidate’s full work history, aptitude and attitude, inclusive of softer checks such as psychometric tests.
Empowering workers is at the core of our work, and for the first time, workers in the technology sector will have absolute ownership and control of their work reputation and identity, and how they choose to share that information. Using their validated digital work passport, workers can be matched more accurately based on their complete profile, before an interview has even taken place.
Anecdotally, we hear that a typical worker in the technology sector receives upwards of 50 unwanted approaches weekly through popular recruitment platforms. There is also frustration around the repetition of tests and assessments. A Zinc survey found that 79 per cent of respondents believed they would secure more interviews if references were shared earlier in the recruitment process. It’s our mission to empower workers to take back control and ownership of their work reputation and identity.
The future of blockchain in HR
Blockchain-verified credentials open up possibilities for a whole new level of automation and trust in the hiring process. In the next few years, I believe that individuals will have a host of information stored on a blockchain, inclusive of academic certificates and work history. It will be within their control to choose who this information is shared with.
In time, digital and verified records will become the norm in every industry. It’s an infrastructure that makes complete sense and addresses one of the ongoing issues on the internet as it is today, identity verification. There is a huge opportunity to ‘make better’ what is already in existence today, using technology that is ready and available. We’re working with candidates, recruiters and employers to put trust back where it belongs – right at the heart of the hiring process.
Luke is the co-founder of Zinc. Zinc, built on blockchain technology, creates a completely transparent and authenticated identity and work reputation system. Through it's referencing and feedback tools, it open sources interviewing and eliminates many of the inefficiencies associated with hiring.
Luke has a background in talent acquisition and software development. An entrepreneur that’s grown 3 startups & featured on Dragons Den. Luke is now a Tech writer for Startup-grind. He runs London based groups; "Applying blockchain outside of finance" - educating on all things on Ethereum and "Node Workshops", the largest non-profit Javascript group in the UK.