Recruitment Software

What is recruitment software?

It’s a software tool designed to save recruiters time and money by automating the recruitment process and enforcing all required checks and compliance. It’s used equally by ‘recruitment & staffing’ companies as well as by HR professionals in organisations choosing to execute recruitment in-house.

Request-to-recruit

The request-to-recruit (aka ‘requisition’) module allows managers to submit their requests online, or on-the-go from their phone. These processes are fully-customised to suit the workflow requirements of an organisation. Automated notifications inform executives and managers when their approval is required - giving them the option to approve/deny the request in a timely manner.

Sourcing candidates

From a single platform, HR professionals can create their job listing and post it to multiple free/paid job boards. Within a single click, the user can make live edits to the job ad, meaning the software automatically updates the ad on every job-board. This function enables recruiters to broaden their search with less input.

Segmented candidate database

A key function of recruitment software is the ability to segment candidates into different talent pools by tagging candidates with skills and other criteria. Candidate segmentation relieves the time and stress of HR professionals by allowing them to appropriately organise applicants, and quickly retrieve appropriate applicants.

Screening candidates

Users can sort through hundreds of applications based on customised, role-specific criteria. There are no limitations to the questions you create, for example you may ask: what is your key strength in marketing? A) Lead gen B) Content creation …etc. Therefore, empowering the user to screen candidates based on answers they believe are best matched to the ideal candidate.

Pre-employment checks / Compliance

Recruitment software provides native pre-employment checks, ie; reference checks, police checks, and psychometric talent assessments. Pre-employment checks are conducted from one platform and screen applications to spotlight the best-suited candidates. This eliminates time misspent switching to a variety of applications and websites, and stores all the information collected to the candidate profile!

Automating processes

You can customise your automations… whether it be scheduling an email informing the candidate of their successful/unsuccessful application, or auto-triggered notifications that inform recruiters when a new candidate has applied! Automations ensure there are no bottlenecks and keep stakeholders on the same page.

Cost-saving

Adopting recruitment software enhances efficiencies, compliance, and collaboration. The share-capabilities allow users to share candidates with one another for discussion, ultimately leading to a refined candidate selection faster. Not to mention a greater chance of making the right hiring decision.

Automations ensure efficiencies are optimised as they are custom-built, scheduled, and auto-triggered. With the assistance of automations, the time-to-hire is reduced, ensuring a higher ROI.

2021 trends in recruitment software industry

Online video interviews as the ultimate candidate screening tool

The physically-distanced world we live in has fast-tracked the inevitable shift toward virtual recruitment over traditional hiring methods.

In 2021, employers are seeking recruitment software that supports pre-recorded video interviews, to provide efficiencies such as:

• Decreasing the manpower and subsequent labour costs of completing live interviews
• Saving time in the screening process
• Facilitating objective comparisons between candidates
• Fostering a positive candidate experience
• Viewing the video interview alongside resume and application, to develop a better understanding of the candidate’s personality, key soft skills, emotional intelligence and ability to communicate.

AI based psychometric talent assessments

An AI capability that is gaining traction among HR professionals is psychometric talent assessments through video interviews.

Psychometric talent assessments are a pre-employment assessment that utilises psychology, behavioural science, and technology to extract deeper candidate insights from video interviews. The technology supports employers when hiring for a cultural fit rather than just technical abilities. This approach to recruitment will continue in 2021, as according to Forbes, 89% of hiring fails are attributed to a poor cultural fit.

Software with native compliance capabilities

Employers must meet numerous legal obligations, laws, and regulations. In 2021, employers are looking for recruitment software that can cover all bases, including the implementation of compliance measures.

Modern recruitment software assists employers with compliance through:

The talent assessment report outlines the candidate's:

• Conducting pre-employment checks natively within the platform
• Sending automations that prompt users to complete a compliance measure before progressing a candidate.

These capabilities ensure compliance measures and pre-employment checks are completed. No employee can slip through the cracks!

Key areas of compliance that employers look to manage with recruitment software include:

• Police Checks - Modern recruitment software has integrations that provide employers with an ACIC certified report in a matter of hours, eliminating bottlenecks in the process.
• Reference Checks - With modern recruitment software, users are triggered when it is time to conduct a reference check. With the click of a button, an auto-filled reference template is sent to the nominated referee. Employers are instantly notified when the reference is completed.

Mobile friendly recruitment

In 2021, everyone is staring at their iPhones 24/7! It’s no surprise that full mobile optimisation is considered a necessity for HR professionals. Candidates want the option to complete each phase of the recruitment process from the comfort of their smartphones. Mobile-friendly processes should include:

• Viewing a company’s careers site or job boards
• Applying for a job (answering screening questions, submitting resumes and cover letters)
• Pre-recording video interviews

The need for mobile-friendly recruitment is not limited to candidates. Enterprise-grade recruitment software has developed apps to allow employers to view applications, schedule interviews, communicate with stakeholders, and shortlist candidates, all from their mobile device.

Benefits of using a recruiting software

Source better quality candidates

Screening functions allow recruiters to fine-tune their candidate selection. Through searching keywords, introducing screening questions, and posting on relevant job boards, the software can more effectively filter a large candidate pool down to high-quality candidates.

Eliminates time spent on tedious tasks

Utilising automation removes human error, time delays, and bias - therefore reducing labour costs. There is a large opportunity to automate repetitive mundane tasks with new technologies. The human information processing capability can become rapidly overloaded by processing candidate information. This is where automation comes in, providing timesaving and cognitive benefits.

Broadens reach

The traditional method of posting job boards required professionals to manually open each job board website and input the needed information. A recruitment software requires you to input the information only once then select the job boards to be posted on. Additionally, any edits you want to make to the job ad can be done immediately on one platform, and automatically edits the ad on every job board! This automation saves time and broadens reach to source better quality candidates.

Improves efficiency

By standardising day to day HR workflows with automations, the HR team can work more efficiently and effectively. This empowers them to focus on other tasks & complete a larger variety of tasks within a shorter time frame.

Improves communication between stakeholders

Communication between all stakeholders is conducted online, which is the most efficient channel as they have unlimited accessibility. Also, all communication is indefinitely retrievable. Through clear communication with the candidate and stakeholders, the HR team is able to better understand their overall objectives.

Keeps professionals accountable

Every action conducted on recruitment software is visible to all users with the appropriate authority. This ensures complete transparency and holds professionals accountable for their decisions and actions, and ensures the company standards are upheld.

Reduces costs / Increases ROI

Talent pool

You may come across quality candidates with excellent skills, but you don't have any current vacancies to suit their expertise. Talent pools (aka talent communities) allow you to save top-quality candidates in your software by tagging them and quickly retrieve their profile when necessary. Therefore, you don't have to lose the candidate because you can't make them an offer right away, and you don't need to continuously advertise to source candidates- it’s like talent on tap!

Video interviews

Live interviews are time-consuming - You have to review a candidate’s application, phone screen them, schedule a time to meet, have an interview, and finally analyse the interview. Video interviews allow candidates to record answers to screening questions during their application, and the recruiter can then analyse the video in their own time. This allows recruiters to prioritise their time toward higher-quality candidates, and to select their ideal candidate more efficiently!

The above points are simply in-depth examples of increased ROI, the truth is recruitment software reduces costs in every aspect as time-to-hire is heavily reduced and the functions of data storage are effective not only in the recruitment process but for the full life-cycle of an employee.

Improves candidate experiences

Automatic email/ text message notifications keep candidates informed of their application progress. When candidates are well informed they are able to prepare for each phase and manage their expectations accordingly. Therefore, by improving efficiencies you provide high quality, and consistent candidate experiences, and candidates will perceive your company and tech-savvy and modern. Also, applying for a position is effortless as candidates have the option to apply on their phone and don't have to create an account/log into a platform to check their progress.

Different types of recruitment software

To understand the different types of recruitment software, we first need to know who the consumers of this product are, and the history of how it all started...

Market Overview: The consumer landscape can be broken up into two key market segments. The first market segment is the recruitment & staffing companies. The second segment consists of organisations that wish to execute the recruitment function in-house.

Brief History: It all started when ‘recruitment and staffing’ companies (aka agencies) needed a CRM system to manage their clients, the various vacancies those clients have, and the candidates they’re processing against those vacancies.

More and more organisations are introducing recruitment functions in-house, in order to become more cost-efficient.This could be attributed to HR professionals shifting between working in recruitment/staffing ‘agencies’, and in corporate HR departments. These HR professionals bring with them winning tactics and tools used by agencies, and recruitment software is no exception.

Let’s break down the different types of recruitment software.

Recruitment System

This was one of the earliest names coined for a recruiting database software - this software enabled recruiters to view a layout of applications and candidates across job vacancies.

Recruitment Software & Recruiting Software

The term software began to gain popularity across all industries, and the recruitment industry was no exception.

Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

ATS is one of the original names given to a simple database software that manages candidates, and applications. The functionalities of an ATS slowly progressed with advancements around job portals, communication templates, and various other features.

CRM for Recruitment & Staffing Companies

In this type of recruiting software, the key functionalities focus on managing the recruiter’s responsibilities, clients and their contacts, the opportunity pipeline, the shortlisted applicants, and communication between recruiters and candidates.

RMS (Recruitment Management System)

This is a synonym for the term above (CRM for Recruitment & Staffing Companies). The two can be used interchangeably.

Install-based vs. Cloud-based

Install-based: The first generation of recruitment software ran on databases like MS Access and was written in programming languages such as Pascal, C, and C++. Soon after, corporate HR departments adopted the install-based system. Thus leading to the development of complex systems- typically running on mainframes and other hardware/OS such as IBM systems and database software like Oracle and IBM’s DB2.

Cloud-based:As the cloud-based architecture emerged and became a viable deployment option for B2B applications, both new and existing vendors started to rollout recruiting software solutions running on Oracle, MS SQLServer, and other database systems and written in languages like C++ and Java.

Old Fashion - client-server / private cloud

This requires companies to install their own server and manage and maintain the hardware and software required for the solution. STAY AWAY FROM IT!

It Looks like SaaS - but it's not

This is where the vendor makes it sound like it's a SaaS offering, but it's not. Whilst it’s hosted in the cloud and works from a browser, these platforms require the installation of a brand new database to implement the solution. This makes it very expensive, takes too long to implement and updates are rolled out far and between.

Cloud, True SaaS & Modern

With this software, you just pay your monthly subscription fees and leave everything up to the vendor. Sometimes these vendors are not 100% SaaS and/or they don't adhere to a TCO… they may require extra payment for support and training.

Recruitment Only

Some recruitment software assists companies in only managing their recruitment process. For instance, they help manage applications, candidates, shortlisting, setting up interviews and conclude the hiring process.

Requisition, Recruitment & Onboarding

This is the software category that MyRecruitment+ has pioneered. By listening to the needs of our clients we carved this category into an invaluable tool for HR professionals. It encompasses the entire journey, including request-to-hire, recruitment, onboarding, and payroll/ HRMS integration.

How to select the best recruitment software for your company

These are the absolute must-have functional & non-functional requirements for HR when choosing which system best suits their organisation:

Non-Functional Requirements

• Genuine SaaS
• Enterprise-grade
• Customisable
• Mobile-first approach
• Data hosting location and data privacy
• System Security and Security Standards Certifications - ISO27001
• Pro-Integration vendor with rich API(s)
• IOS & Android app for some HR & manager functionalities
• Instant free-plan account for testing without pressure from sales
• Free setup - no barrier to entry
• Free ongoing email & phone support
• Free ongoing training
• Modern self-service capability with train the trainer rollout model

Functional Requirements

• Request-to-recruit approval workflow
• Job multi-posting to job-boards & social sites
• Mobile-first public career site
• Internal job-board within intranet for internal hiring
• Branded ad design
• Customisable
• Automations in all recruitment stages
• Branded communication templates - email & SMS
• Pre-recorded video interviews
• Compliance: capabilities for strong and customised compliance
• Automated & intelligent reference check process
• Psychometric talent assessment
• Talent communities management
• Fast and intelligent candidate search
• Ability to create a segmented candidate database
• Digital & paperless onboarding module
• Integration with payroll system