HR Departments with Recruiting Automation Find Top-Notch Candidates Fast

Changing expectations in the general workforce is making it more difficult for small businesses to find and retain top talent. From the moment your job opening is posted, candidates are forming an opinion of what you have to offer. If they find you are lacking, they move on. As a result, you have to put your best foot forward when it comes to your recruitment process. This calls for HR department workflow systems that streamline your candidate tracking, nurturing and onboarding process to make strong first impressions. Recruiting automation is the key to finding top-notch candidates fast.

Efficient Applicant Screening

It all begins with a clear understanding of what your ideal candidate looks like. This calls for data-driven recruitment that allows you to create a candidate profile that makes the screening process easier. Whether you base your search on technical skills, certifications, personality characteristics or a combination of requirements, having a list of criteria to scan against resumes and the skills you deem critical for the position make it easier to narrow down your candidates. With HR task automation you can instantly get a picture of each candidate’s skill set to help you separate the wheat from the chaff.

Follow Through with Applicant Tracking

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) allow you to keep organized when you receive an onslaught of applicants. While most of the applicants won’t meet your criteria, you still need to keep track of the candidates you wish to consider. It is very easy to lose track of candidates using a manual system. HR workflow automation ensures the proper responses are sent to those you wish to pass over, while those you wish to take to the next step of the hiring process are informed without delay.

Implement Candidate Nurturing

It can be difficult to get the message across you are interested in a candidate when you don’t have time to remain responsive. From the moment you decide someone is an ideal candidate, you want to begin building a trusting relationship. This requires careful planning with effective communication, so candidates know where they stand throughout the hiring process. This includes:

• Improved HR responsiveness to show your interest
• An explanation of the next steps i.e. testing, quick interview, HR screening, etc.
• Interview set up
• Quick follow up after your interview
• Providing an answer or communicating with the candidate based on the dates discussed at the interview

Candidate nurturing tools take time, something many small businesses don’t have. Using candidate relationship management (CRM) systems automates the process so candidates are never left hanging. It follows a logical series of automated emails to ensure the candidate knows they are still in the running for the position. 

Dead air sends the wrong message which means top-notch candidates will simply move on. Reminders about interviews, information on how to reach you, or even providing more information about your company, can all keep candidates engaged until an offer is made.

Automated Interview Scheduling

Also known as self-scheduling, automated interview scheduling has become an HR norm for big-budget recruiters. It simplifies the process with interactive platforms that either offer available slots with a check box or allow candidates to enter their own ideal interview times. This reduces discussions back and forth to save time. It also allows you to make it easier for the candidate, so they don’t get frustrated with your hiring process.

Maintain a Candidate File

Just because you didn’t hire an exceptional candidate for the job, doesn’t mean they might not be well-suited to other openings that might come up. If you really clicked with someone or were impressed with their skill set but it just wasn’t the right fit for the current position, a digital document management system makes it easy to save their resume in a searchable database. Much like you have a database for your staff, a candidate database provides an easily accessible assortment of promising resumes to help shorten the recruitment process. 

Before you even post a job, you can search your database for candidates who have already shown an interest in your company. This can be an invaluable resource you continue to build. As candidates turn down opportunities, you can remove them from your database to keep it up to date. Automation makes your database searchable, for easy access and often includes ranking technology based on search criteria. Applicant files are stored and routed so you can find candidates faster.

Employee File Management

Never underestimate the power of hiring in-house. Hiring from within is one of the best ways to improve employee retention. Digital document management provides a single location to store employee files providing digital document access to resumes, work history, career paths and current roles within the company. 

You quickly perform an in-house search for suitable candidates within your business. Although many small businesses prefer not to do this because they feel it’s like poaching from their own departments, this provides a career path for employees who deserve to be rewarded for their performance. You have someone with experience in your business and also have them available to assist with training their replacement. It is often a win-win situation.

Automated Onboarding

Although onboarding is the final step in the hiring process, you might be surprised how many job offers fall apart at this stage. This is the time when you really need to shine and demonstrate your commitment to professionalism with HR process automation. When you use policies and procedure automation you can easily share them with new hires to make onboarding easier. You can also support compliance through easy-to-use human capital management software. 

In hand with your electronic files, employee onboarding automation allows you to set up steps that must be followed so nothing is missed. This includes self-directed online training, collecting information such as SINs, HR payroll automation and even allowing employees to select their benefits if applicable.

As you can see recruiting automation will reduce manual tasks and provide a helpful tool to find the candidates you need as quickly as possible. Empower your HR department to find top talent fast by eliminating time-consuming tasks with recruiting automation. Contact us for a free consultation with our industry experts today.