In the modern age, the hiring process is constantly changing. It’s not as simple as placing job listings in the hopes of finding interested candidates. Hiring managers must keep their recruitment process up-to-date. There are multiple recruitment tools available to help with the hiring process.
Finding qualified candidates is not simply writing appropriate job descriptions and waiting for an appropriate response. Human resources professionals now have metrics and hiring tools at their disposal that help them weed through the potential candidates to find the perfect one to match the job description. Once, recruitment tools were a secret held only by the largest head-hunting firms. Now, hiring managers and employers everywhere can use recruiting solutions to streamline their hiring process.
There are basically three portions to the recruitment and hiring process. You must first source the talent pool. Then you must select among the appropriate job seekers and match the candidate to the relevant job openings. Finally, recruitment is no good without retention.
Luckily, there are different types of recruitment tools for each portion of the process. We’ve compiled some of the best recruiting tools for each part of the hiring process. First, let’s clarify what we mean when we say recruitment tools.
What are recruitment tools?
A recruitment tool is a software that helps make the hiring process more manageable. Recruitment software allows hiring managers and other HR professionals to advertise jobs more easily and fill vacancies. Recruitment tools aren’t just beneficial for a hiring manager. They are useful for the job seeker as well.
The tools help streamline the application process by allowing human resources personnel to interact with the best candidates. Recruitment tools help HR managers save time by automating the hiring process.
Recruitment tools perform several functions, including:
- Compiling applications
- Applicant tracking
- Managing job postings
- Communicating with potential candidates
- Facilitating the onboarding process
- Managing recruitment statistics
Benefits of Recruitment Tools
When hiring new employees, you want to choose candidates with the required job skills that fit into the company culture. Appropriate talent acquisition can be difficult at best. There are several ways that hiring tools can help with the talent acquisition process.
Save Time
Using recruiting software reduces the time that is spent on menial administrative tasks. Recruitment tools can help your human resources department screen candidates. Data entry tasks will also be reduced with the use of recruitment tools.
Attract Qualified Talent
Applicant tracking systems connect your human resources professionals with more candidates answering your job ads. User-friendly software can improve candidate experience, thereby attracting more candidates to your job postings.
Secure Applicant Data
When managing candidates, you will also be managing their personal data. It’s imperative that you keep that data secure. Recruitment tools allow you to back that personal information up to the Cloud.
Types of Recruitment Tools
Multiple kinds of recruitment tools are available to help you through both the recruitment process and the hiring process. Smart recruiters use recruitment tools to help with each step of the recruitment and hiring process. Here are some of the tools available to your HR department for candidate management.
Job Aggregators
Think job boards or other places to advertise jobs. A job board helps your hiring manager find new hires based on the job descriptions posted by your company.
Testing and Assessment Tools
These recruitment tools use skills testing and skills assessments for candidate assessment during the hiring process. Testing and assessment tools can assess various attributes. Personality, behavioral traits, job aptitudes and other skills can be automatically assessed with the right recruiting software.
AI and Automation
These recruitment tools automate the hiring process. Automation and AI tools can screen candidates, run virtual chats and analyze data, among other functions.
Applicant Tracking Systems
Applicant tracking software is an automated recruitment tool that provides database assistance for those responsible for the talent acquisition process. An applicant tracking system is used to categorize recruits based on job descriptions. It’s an HR software that matches your applicants to multiple job descriptions to categorize your candidates.
Recruitment Candidate Relationship Management (CRM)
Manage the recruitment process while building relationships with your potential candidates. The idea behind these recruitment tools is to treat candidates like they’re customers. This recruiting software allows HR departments to manage the entire hiring process, from sourcing to onboarding.
Video Interviewing Tools
These tools take various factors into account while allowing video interviewing. The interview process is streamlined by the software’s ability to gauge facial features and tone of voice, among other things.
What recruitment tools should you use?
Use AI Tools
Artificial Intelligence tools identify the candidates that fit your current employee profiles. Recruiters don’t need to personally review every application. The downside is that AI tools may only return applicants that match your current employee demographics.
Make Use of Social Media
Social media encompasses several platforms, and each one has its benefits in finding the right people to complete the application process. Some jobs are better filled through LinkedIn, while others can be filled through Facebook. Master Boolean search techniques to help weed passive candidates from those that have skills matching your job descriptions.
Rethink Your Job Descriptions
Sometimes the first exposure potential candidates have to your employer’s brand is through your job descriptions on the job boards. There are tools to help you improve job descriptions by optimizing the language not only to make the descriptions stronger and more effective, but also to remove gendered language that could be deemed offensive.
Use Employee Referrals
If you don’t already, you should create a bonus or reward program for employee referrals. Your employees are the best recruitment tool you have in your arsenal. They can give potential candidates the scoop on how it is to work for the company. Typically, bonus or rewards programs are less expensive than recruitment marketing or employee recruitment software costs.
Implement Candidate Assessment Tools
Sometimes applicants look amazing on paper, but in person, they can’t do the job appropriately. Assessment tools can help you separate the good candidates from the ones that will just waste your time and theirs with an interview. This kind of recruitment tool helps you identify those potential employees who will fit with your company culture.
Use an Applicant Tracking System
The right applicant tracking system will help you determine if you need to keep the application process open or if you have enough applicants to close the job posting. Recruiting software like an applicant tracking system provides data to evaluate your hiring process from start to finish.
Candidate Relationship Management Tools
These tools help you separate nurtured candidates from those who are passive candidates. Establishing communications with potential candidates can help you to create a pool of the best talent for future job offerings.
Recruitment Tools for Sourcing
Perhaps the most popular recruitment tool is job boards. Job boards like Indeed help connect you with potential applicants. They match your job ad with the best talent for the job. Some of them offer remote hiring capabilities as well.
Another tool for sourcing is social media. Posting your job description on your social accounts can prove to be a surprising recruitment tool. Using your online presence on social media is a virtually free tool for recruiting the best talent.
Consider using forums for recruitment. One of the vital aspects of forums is that they are formed around a particular niche. There are even forums that cater specifically to the job seeker.
Recruitment Tools for Selection
From video interviewing to appropriate assessment, recruitment software helps with the selection process to appropriately fill your job openings. Pairing your job ads with the best talent takes more than a well-written resume. Use your recruiting tech stack to your advantage by creating challenges for your potential employees to meet.
You can use your recruitment tools to test your candidate’s project management or performance management. The data-driven feedback of the recruitment software can help you with your talent management.
Don’t forget the onboarding software portion of your recruitment software. Onboarding tools help you to set expectations for your potential employees as well as provide orientation opportunities.
Recruitment Tools for Retention
Talent management is an essential component in retaining the employees your find using your recruitment tools. Retention tools can incorporate bonuses or rewards along with benefits administration tools. Look for an innovative tool to help keep performance management fun.
Utilizing enterprise software to assist employees with job performance expectations can help your company with the overall retention of those employees. Happy, productive employees are more likely to remain with your company.
Making Recruitment Tools Work for You
Your recruitment process and hiring process can be streamlined with the use of the appropriate recruitment tools. From sourcing to retention, there is a recruitment tool that works in virtually any part of the process. Locate, select and hire the qualified candidates to match your job postings. Hiring managers can find the perfect recruitment tool to minimize their efforts while maximizing their hiring potential.
There are hundreds of HR technology providers and solutions to sift through, and Higginbotham can help simplify the selection process. Contact us today to learn more.
