Anyone that works in business is aware of the unspoken layer of recruiting that is pervasive in every organization. Either recruiters are actively trying to place someone at an organization, or they’re actively trying to poach someone from a competitor. But recruiters seem to be a consistent participant in the hiring process for most companies.
But were you also aware that one of the biggest issues facing recruiters isn’t the sourcing of candidates, but rather their big headaches come from vetting and qualifying candidates for positions.
One big requirement for most companies is that their candidates provided by recruiters are able to check all of the requirements for the position and that their credentials are legitimate. Which can cause recruiters to have to become forensic detectives in ensuring that work history and education backgrounds are legitimate. Or, what usually is the case, they just take the resume at face value and place their stamp of approval on the candidate and move on. Which is not ideal.
This fast tracking of critical steps has led to many pie-in-the-face moments from companies who later discovered that their executives didn’t graduate with the degrees they claimed, or in some cases never graduated college at all. But when something is on your resume for a few decades and everyone else just assumes it’s correct, it’s easy to see how these situations can occur.
So, aside from quicky background checks or calls into college administration offices, what can HR and the recruiting industry do to streamline this process and avoid embarrassing situations in the future?
Blockchain Tech To The Rescue
You have probably heard about blockchain technology in the past few years. Its most famous use case comes in the form of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but it’s also a technology that can do almost anything and makes systems infinitely more secure and efficient than our current platforms. It does this through smart contracts and distributed ledgers that make the system quick and almost unhackable.
And since you can store almost anything on the blockchain, one company is using it to fix the recruiting industry by ensuring that any information an employer or recruiter would need to know is available quickly and has been vetted by the proper sources. This group is called EchoLink and they’re looking to take on industry veterans like LinkedIn and Hoovers.
“It’s all but impossible to check the credentials of every user in a traditional web based application.” says Steve Chen, the Founder of EchoLink. “It is well understood that educational background and work history found on online sites are not verified. Most recruiters and employers spend time and resources on additional background checking processes.”
And Steve and his group think that the blockchain can change all of this by vetting work histories and school records on EchoLink and providing recruiters and HR professionals a real snapshot and background on their candidates with just a few clicks.
And while this may seem like a niche industry to target with the blockchain, the flexibility of the tech allows it to be customized for pretty much any use case you can think of. So why not go after a niche industry that is in desperate need of disruption?
EchoLink is launching their platform (which is already functional and in beta testing) with their TGE, or token generation event, later this month. And you can find out more information regarding that here.