Zinc, a British start-up recently launched its blockchain-based recruiting service after successful beta test runs. This new system is designed to reduce the time, cost and energy needed to find the right candidate for a position.

The Need

Recruiting candidates for a job is hardly an easy task and in some cases, can take up to 12 weeks. This is where Zinc’s new service comes in.

The Zinc system simplifies this process by storing the information of the candidates in a secure system and verifying their credentials and information. This way, the employer is able to access all the various candidates’ information from a single source rather than through multiple recordings.

They are also able to validate the employee’s information such as work history, education and so on.

According to Luke Shipley, Zinc’s CEO,

“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. Referencing used to be the gold standard for recruiters but due to significant inefficiencies in the process, it has rapidly fallen out of favor. We see significant opportunity to bring credibility and ease back to this important work proof by using new technologies to remove existing pain points and create a seamless and more effective hiring process.”

A Platform for Workers

The Zinc platform doesn’t only aid employers but workers as well. After the results of a survey were analyzed, it was found that 79 percent of workers feel that they would have more success in getting an interview for potential jobs if they are able to share their references earlier in the recruitment process.

With the Zinc platform, they are able to do just this by sharing their work history and credentials with potential employers off the bat.

According to Shipley,

“References hold immense value and should belong to the worker, but over the years, have often been collected and then held by recruiters and companies. Zinc is changing the ownership model for work data, allowing workers to own information that is collected during the hiring process and use it throughout their career. It’s our mission to empower workers to take back control and ownership of their work reputation and identity.”

Kieran Dodd of booking.com, a site that has tested the platform said,