Even though the word "blockchain" can make HR departments around the world feel mysterious and curious, there's no doubt that the technology has the potential to make a big difference in HR and beyond, especially when it comes to improving the recruitment process.
In 2009, Bitcoin, a digital currency that quickly became the most popular way to do digital banking around the world, was the first thing to use blockchain technology.
"Blockchain is a distributed and secure database," says Phil Aldridge, Peoplewave's chief technology officer. "It records and maintains every transaction that happens in the network, and each new transaction is added only after the network has confirmed it. This results in the creation of a "historical ledger" of authorized and trustworthy data."
Also, research from Priority Research shows that the blockchain IoT industry will grow to about $2 billion by the end of the decade. This will lead to a lot of new ways to use blockchain.
While blockchain looks to be a natural match for a wide number of industries, including banking, cybersecurity, and logistics, the technology's potential applicability in HR jobs should not be overlooked. Let's take a closer look at how blockchain and recruiting may form the ideal relationship as the sector enters the Web 3.0 era:
Combining blockchain and recruitment
Blockchain has the ability to establish a fruitful partnership with the world of recruiting because it functions as a public distributed digital ledger, or record of transactions, that can be designed to securely preserve a record of just about everything of value. Fundamentally, blockchain is the world's most secure record-keeping system.Also, blockchains can't be changed, which means that data stored on them can't be hacked, stolen, or changed.
When data such as an individual's job history, school record, or any other important information, for example, is securely saved on the blockchain, it might be a big step forward for the world of recruiting.
Importantly, research has shown that millennials often change jobs every 2.8 years. These "wrong" hires cost organizations an average of over $14,900, but blockchain-based recruiting may alleviate this burden by increasing transparency.
Blockchain may not only assist in verifying the finest applicants, but it can also remove issues such as misrepresentation. It may also be able to automate the onboarding process, saving firms both time and money.
Transparency in Candidate Selection
Let's look more closely at the issue of employer-employee openness. Blockchain enables all stakeholders to get safe access to verified documents, allowing applications to be seen in real time with consent-based verification of school levels, honors, and job histories.These verified credentials could be stored in the blockchain right away, or they could be shown by non-fungible tokens that are given to users when they finish a course or training.
The use of blockchains may record and preserve a broad variety of facts, including:
- Educational background
- Experience in the Workplace
- Background checks for criminals
- Licenses and certificates are required.
- Driver history
The process of granting recruiters the appropriate rights to examine a candidate's credentials may be completed in a matter of seconds, which helps to simplify the screening process while searching for fresh talent.
onboarding with minimal friction
Companies may use blockchain to automate their onboarding process. This may aid in the elimination of repetitive chores aimed at training new recruits in order to concentrate on other manual procedures.Businesses may save time while simultaneously ensuring the safety of their new hires thanks to blockchain apps. This automation, which is powered by artificial intelligence, can quickly run the necessary safety background checks and look into an employee's credentials to find out what skills they have and where they are lacking.
Following that, the AI may develop completely personalized VR training programs that update themselves automatically depending on each employee's success. When the AI decides that a skill has been learned, the application will add a new blockchain record to the employee's chain to let the HR department know about their progress.
Data Security
With the increased amount of sensitive data that recruiters must deal with, considerations such as GDPR compliance might become a recurrent problem. Blockchain, on the other hand, separates the risks of lost data and offers much better protection for data.
Personal data is vulnerable to hackers and data manipulation in today's recruiting procedures. Blockchain has the potential to improve data security by decentralizing data storage—breaking down all information and dispersing it across a large network of linked computers. Each computer will have a full duplicate of the data, making losing it very difficult.
Because blockchain technology is decentralized, the data it keeps is completely unchangeable because modifications must be confirmed throughout the whole network. Each legal transaction needs to be confirmed more than once, and the same is true for unauthorized data access.
Payroll Management in Depth
The development of remote work has created new issues in payroll management, but blockchain has the potential to transform this sector of HR and recruiting.Because blockchain is directly related to bitcoin, it may be a wonderful asset for quickly and efficiently compensating people who operate in various parts of the globe. Companies could even pay their employees with their own cryptocurrency, which could then be turned into local currency.
Furthermore, blockchain-based smart contracts have the ability to alter how employees are compensated for completing unique duties. Employees may have specific incentives put into a smart contract—whether they include achieving a particular amount of sales each month or acquiring new competencies—and after they've fulfilled their objectives, an immediate payout can be deposited into their account. This may aid in the creation of a really fulfilling employee experience.
Although we are still in the early stages of seeing blockchain fulfill its full potential, the potential use cases are evident to everybody. The automation and efficiency that blockchain may offer to recruiting must not be overlooked. Companies that adapt to technology the quickest are likely to lead the way in staff retention and data security.