Posts

Best Applicant Tracking System for Small Business

in /by

Not too long ago, the idea of a small business using an applicant tracking system (ATS) was unrealistic. Most solutions were geared to larger companies and were too expensive and complicated for smaller and medium-sized organizations. Thankfully, times have changed and you have options for finding the best applicant tracking system for small business.

Now, even very small employers are seeing advantages to using an ATS. At the same time, the list of providers offering this type of software has expanded dramatically. While there are a number of very good options from which to choose, there is arguably a larger number of “bare bones” offerings that may not help an organization as expected. To that end, below are some things to consider to make sure you can select the best recruiting software for your small business:

  • Will you want/need to push to external job boards — i.e. Monster, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, colleges, Department of Workforce Development, etc.?
  • Can the solution reinforce your web branding?
  • How user-friendly is the process for your applicants?
  • Is there flexibility to allow for both applications and/or resumes to be gathered from applicants?
  • Is there additional cost for multiple users in or out of HR (hiring managers, executives, etc.)?
  • Are there limits to the number of jobs that may be posted at a single time or how many applicants are allowed to be kept within the system?
  • Will the vendor help you get the ATS configured and ready for live use?
  • How is training done?
  • Is live support available when you have questions?
  • What is your budget for something like this?

Giving thought to some of these factors will help you better define your particular needs and more readily identify a short list of providers who can meet those needs.

To learn more about ExactHire applicant tracking system for small business, please visit our resources section or contact us.

SMB Pre-Employment Screening Guide Ebook

Image credit: The Office by John (contact)

Is Paperless Hiring More Efficient?

in /by

Would paperless human resource processes be more efficient for my small- to medium-sized organization? My cut and dry answer is yes. Since we are all grown-ups, however, we know that there are rarely instances when answers are cut and dry. So, let’s explore, briefly, why my answer is yes.

What do I do with all of these paper resumes?

Do you remember that seminar where the instructor says, “Try to make all of your paper ‘one-touch!’” Could you imagine a world where employment applications were one-touch? That’s a mind-boggling concept.

What do you do with hard copy applications these days? Let’s say you currently accept them electronically (perhaps via email) and/or in printed form (perhaps via mail/fax or at a job fair in person) and put them into a collection pile/email folder (touch #1). Then, you sort through the pile (touch #2) to see which ones you like the best. Oh darn! You’ve just knocked over your coffee; let’s hope this was an electronically submitted version. Then you walk the application stack over to the hiring manager for review if you are lucky enough to be in the same building (touch #3). I’m sure you can sense that this process is getting lengthy.

With an electronic application, there is no need for you to “do” anything with the applications until you’re ready to sort through the proverbial pile. If you want to forward an application to the hiring manager for review, then its three clicks of a button and the hiring manager can check out the application. I don’t know about you, but I can’t even make it to some of my co-workers offices that quickly. Plus, the process of sorting is a whole lot easier when using a web-based hiring software application that allows you to use automatic scoring and disqualification filters on application screening questions.

Paperless hiring helps you to be more productive with your time and de-clutters your office & email inbox.

I can’t read this application; do you know what it says?

I hear school systems are doing away with cursive writing. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it is all of the buzz with this new school year starting. But if focus is diverting from penmanship, then I have a feeling concerns with chicken scratch writing (per my question above) are only going to increase. If everyone completed his/her application or new hire paperwork online electronically, then you would not have to worry about the difference between an applicant’s handwritten number one or seven.

Paperless hiring software makes documents more legible.

We have compliance reporting deadlines coming up. Have you been keeping track of that spreadsheet?

No more need for manually documenting applicant information in spreadsheets! Because all of the information is captured automatically in a database, there is no need for anyone to manually enter information into an applicant flow log spreadsheet for affirmative action reporting, for example; nor, would there be a need for anyone to “catch up” the spreadsheet if it was not kept current.

Human resources software takes the tedious manual tasks out of the reporting process.

The two big efficiency questions are: will paperless hiring save me time and will paperless hiring move the process along more quickly. Yes, paperless hiring will make a compelling impact on both fronts.

To learn more about efficient software solutions for the hiring process, please contact ExactHire today.

Image credit: file cabinets by Jared and Corin (contact)

Help Wanted: Applicants Needed!

in /by

I did some window shopping recently and I saw many “help wanted” signs plastered front and center of doors, cash registers, in yards, etc.

Many signs said, “See Associate” or “Inquire at (insert phone number)”. If you are hiring, chances are your staff is already stretched thin. Is it in their best interest to be talking with potential new hires? Depending on your business, you may hire applicants on the spot in which case this blog may not provide much insight for you.

Take Out the Middle Step

I enjoy making processes efficient. Instead of asking for an applicant to “see associate” to get more details or “inquire at…”, tell the applicant exactly what the other person was going to tell them – “Apply online at our website under careers.” This helps your current employees to be free to do their job and respects the time of your applicant. If you have multiple locations, it would be valuable to create a standard help wanted sign for each of your locations. It can be simple:

HELP WANTED. TO APPLY VISIT CAREERS AT WWW.YOURCOMPANY.COM

This will help your locations to present a standardized company recruitment brand and also avoid the need to have signs similar to those below.
Now Hiring - Smiling
Creative Person

The Sign Did Not Work

Even with a sign directing applicants to apply on your website, there will inevitably be applicants that still inquire with your staff. Some may see this as an applicant that cannot follow direction. I see this as someone with drive, determination, and possibly higher on the scale for social and creative behavioral traits according to some employee assessments. Be prepared. The easiest thing you can do is create an extra set of business cards. Provide a link to your organization’s website or applicant tracking system (ATS) portal on these cards, along with any steps associated with finding your online employment application.

If you have space and resources, the next best thing is to set up a computer/kiosk on-site and allow applicants to apply right then and there. You would need to speak with your IT department about setting up the computer so that only the ATS and/or your organization’s website is accessible. This keeps applicants from lingering and surfing the internet while applying. If you utlilize the on-site apply option, you would want to make sure that the resume upload section of your application is not required or that it is set up as a two-step application. Two step application processes allow HR staff to invite specific applicants who meet minimum requirements to complete additional sections of an application further into the selection process.

While You Have the Applicant’s Attention

Now that the applicant is on your applicant tracking software portal, tell them about your organization. Job descriptions can tell a lot about the organization’s personality and culture. What do your job descriptions say about your organization? How about your application? Does it accurately portray the culture and brand? These two things should entice the type of applicant you are seeking to find. If your organization thinks of its employees as a giant team and expects the perfect applicant to be a team player, this should shine through on the job description and in the application.

Spend some time adding additional pages to your careers site – benefits, testimonials, pictures, etc. These pages tell stories of your organization and the type of people who are employed there. If an applicant is not interested in working within that type of environment, then he/she will likely not apply. Whereas if your ATS does not have additional informational pages, the applicant may make it past the phone interview only to show up and realize at the first face-to-face interview that your organization is not a good fit. The opposite could happen as easily, too.

Time is valuable – your time, your employees’ time, and your applicants’ time – utilize your applicant tracking system’s features and direct all applicant traffic to the careers portal.

Photo Credits:
1 – “Help wanted,” © 2006 Nonsequiturlass, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

2 – “Job requirement,” © 2010 Quinn Dombrowski, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

3 – “Creative Person,” © 2008 Wade M, used under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Make a Business Case for Paperless HR Software – How to Talk Your Boss’s Language

in /by

A challenge for many Human Resource professionals has always been getting a seat at the proverbial table. In other words, how can HR and the workforce, in general, be viewed less as an expense and more as an asset? After all, that’s what we all want, right?

Speak the Same Business Language

One of the primary reasons this remains a difficult task is because the language and analytics traditionally used by human resources professionals may not be as meaningful to others in leadership roles. For instance, while turnover percentage and time-to-fill are reliable indicators to many in the human resources arena, these HR metrics don’t necessarily translate well to CFOs, COOs, or presidents.

In many of my conversations with prospective clients, I hear this same scenario played out again and again. However lately, I’m seeing more frequent instances where changing how HR folks think to more closely align with other organizational leaders can turn this tide. Let’s take human capital, for instance. In particular, let’s focus on applicants and new hires, as that’s where our solutions work for most companies.

When adding applicant tracking software or employee onboarding software, many HR leaders focus primarily on justifying these web-based software applications by focusing on efficiencies gained and/or staff time saved. While these points certainly have merit, they also fall outside the common terminology of most finance and operations leaders. Because efficiency and staff time saved in HR are difficult to quantify and not directly attributable to the bottom line, these savings are usually discounted or dismissed entirely.

However, focusing on what direct impact those efficiencies can have on the revenue growth or profitability of the organization changes that conversation completely. Here’s what I mean – instead of focusing on time saved, work with metrics that are meaningful to your boss.

Metrics That Are Meaningful to the Bottom Line

Revenue per employee and profit per employee are very common ways to look at your workforce as an asset. Fewer employees with more revenue equals more profit — nothing too complicated about that. Thinking this way allows the human resources department to make a true business case for recruiting automation that will resonate with other leaders. Logically, here’s the case:

  • Automating job board postings and using social media recruiting tools drives more applicant traffic to the organization
  • Allowing applicants to apply online (vs. paper applications or emailed resumes) converts more applicant traffic to actual applications
  • Leveraging job screening questions allows the recruiting team to focus on the higher quality applicants more quickly — even with a potentially higher volume of applicants
  • Focusing more effort and spending more time with those quality applicants leads to hiring better people — this will be even more pronounced if you choose to utilize employee assessments to increase your potential for optimal job fit across your workforce
  • Good employees ramp up more quickly, stay longer and perform better than average employees
  • This drives more revenue, improves customer satisfaction, reduces operating costs, improves output, and the list of positive benefits goes on…

Now you’re making a business case for using solutions, instead of asking for something under the appearance that it will simply make life easier for you and your staff.

This may not happen overnight in your organization, but continuing to think more like your boss and communicating in his or her terms will improve your perceived value to the organization. Oh yeah…it will also help you get more of what you want and need for you and your team.

For help with making a business case for paperless HR software in your organization, please contact ExactHire.