The continued growth of the recruitment market in recent years has encouraged many software companies to develop technologies that will help recruiters optimise and transform the way they source talent and acquire new business (with all of them declaring they’ve found the holy grail!) But before you go all out and purchase that wonder software that claims to solve all your problems, ask yourself these questions:
“What are the most important features I need in my recruitment software?”
“Will this software improve my business?”
“Will my data be stored safely and how easy will it be for me to access it?”
“Is the software easy to use, customisable and built to match my needs?”
Contrary to their claims, not all recruitment software solutions actually make your process hassle free. On the other hand, there are plenty of platforms that can substantially improve your bottom line.
So, without further ado, let’s talk about what you really came here to read – WHAT ARE THE “MUST-HAVE” FEATURES TO LOOK FOR IN YOUR RECRUITMENT SOFTWARE SOLUTION?
1. APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM
A recruiter moaning about her ATS is now so common that water-cooler talk of the weather or weekend plans are almost a distant memory. That being said, any recruitment software worth its salt needs to have at its core a powerful, intuitive Applicant Tracking System. Now, there’s literally thousands available in the market, some of them have been around for years (and look like it!), and some are brand new. So how do you chose which one is the best for you?
Well, there are 3 sub-features that we think stand out above all – and should be firmly at the top of your list when making your decisions.
The first sub feature to look out for is CV Parsing. This tool automatically extracts information from candidate CVs and instantly creates candidate profiles, which saves countless hours you would usually spend manually entering candidate details to your database.
Now, what good is tracking software if it doesn’t actually track your communication across the different stages of the hiring process?
This takes us to the second sub feature to look for in your tracking software – Communication Timelines. This tool will automatically log every interaction made with individual candidates and offers the added ability to rate, add notes and attach multiple files.
The third and equally important sub feature you should actively seek in your ATS is Automated Notifications & Alerts. This customizable tool automatically emails candidates as they move through your recruitment process, which substantially reduces your workload, especially when dealing with multiple candidates for multiple vacancies – helping you save precious time and limiting your hassle!
2. JOB POSTING
Posting adverts to multiple job boards is a hassle, especially if you’ve got a large volume of active roles. Recruiters nowadays need to be much smarter with their time, and outsourcing this administrative posting task to your recruitment software should be a high priority.
When choosing your recruitment tool, make sure it enables Multi-Posting – you should be able to post your job vacancies across both premium and free job boards, your social media pages and your careers page.
Search for software that allows you to connect and integrate with your existing job board accounts. This allows you to use previously purchased job board credits and manage all of your job board accounts in one place without the hassle of filling out multiple job spec forms.
Further to the actual posting of your jobs, your recruitment software should handle all of the resulting candidate applications – ideally utilizing it’s CV-Parsing functionality.
We all know it’s a nightmare managing the hundreds of applications that flood your inbox every time you post to a job board. It’s a massive time drainer. Your recruitment software should take care of this for you, automatically adding the candidates into the role pipeline, ready for your assessment. Obviously it should also add their profiles in your database, helping you organically build your talent pool.
3. WEB-BASED REMOTE ACCESS
In the modern 100mph world we live in, one of the most important things you need in your recruitment software solution is Accessibility.
You should be able to access all of your data from your office, your home, or while you’re on the go. Whichever software you choose, put accessibility on your definite “must-have” feature list.
If you receive a new candidate application whilst you’re out and about you should be able to view all of their details, message them and schedule a call or meeting there and then. You should be able to message clients and update your pipeline at the touch of a button on any device from anywhere in the world.
FINAL THOUGHT: TEST THEM OUT!
Online recruitment software is a competitive space at the moment. And competition breeds excellence. Humans are creatures of habit so it’s often hard to change your current methods. But ask yourself this – Do you moan about your current process? Are you unnecessarily wasting time on administrative tasks?
There’s some truly brilliant tools out there that can help and lots of them offer free demos and trials of their software. So take a few hours out get some first hand experience of what else is on offer. In the long run it could be one of the best business decisions you make.
