Earlier today, ICON Foundation announced that ICONLOOP and Saramin HR have signed a MoU to “build a blockchain-based HR recruitment ecosystem”. In this post, we’ll take a look at Saramin HR, and what this MoU could mean for future adoption of the ICON public blockchain.

What is Saramin HR?

Saramin HR is South Korea’s most popular job placement platform, similar to Indeed in the USA. It matches employees with employers, and is used by major companies like Samsung and Hyundai, as well as millions of jobseekers in South Korea. According to Saramin HR’s most recent financial report, the company generated 86,145,920,000 KRW (72,525,660 USD) in revenue in 2018.

Saramin HR's job placement portal.

Integrating Blockchain into HR

The use case for blockchain in the context of human resource activities like recruiting and hiring is very clear. Finding a job is all about showing relevant experience and credentials to potential employers. Taking personality traits and other distinguishing factors out of the equation, a candidate with higher grades and more experience is more likely to receive an offer, when compared to a more lackluster candidate. Thus, jobseekers are incentivized to oversell themselves to impress employers, and some candidates may even choose to falsify credentials if the risk-to-reward ratio makes sense.

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According to Credit Donkey, “46% of resumes include at least one discrepancy between the information provided by the applicant and what the employer turns up during a background check”, and “20% of job seekers aren’t completely honest when it comes to their education”. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why integrating blockchain into existing HR processes makes sense.

By utilizing ICONLOOP’s broof and MyID, Saramin HR can offer a service that ties credentials to identity in a trustless manner. For example, if a university issues a diploma with broof, and associates the broof certificate with a MyID identity, it takes away the need for employers to run a backgroud check to verify the authenticity of the diploma. With further adoption of broof, it can be used to prove a variety of other skills and experiences. Lastly, I should mention that universities issuing diplomas on broof isn’t some sort of pipe dream. Just a few days ago, POSTECH, one of South Korea’s top universities, issued 828 graduate diplomas on the ICON public blockchain with broof.

What’s Next?

Over the next 8-12 months, I expect to see more institutions issue all kinds of certificates on broof, which requires ICX for transaction fees. POSTECH, a world-renowned institution, has kickstarted a new trend, and trends do seem to catch on pretty quickly in South Korea. Saramin HR is the country’s leading platform for jobseekers. Combine that with the fact that there are clear advantages to using broof and MyID in a certificate issuance and verification platform, and you have a match made in heaven. In short, ICONLOOP’s broof and MyID will play a crucial role in South Korea’s HR sector in the near future.