Managing HR processes has become unthinkable without the right HR software. HR managers agree on this point. Especially for applicant management, many wish for a better solution. The problem is that choosing the right tool is complex. Applicant management systems are a dime a dozen. So how do you find the right solution?
Almost every single HR manager wants a suitable applicant management system
Today, no one doubts that the implementation of HR software solutions is indispensable for efficient HR work. According to the HR Software Report 2019, 97 percent of the HR professionals surveyed in the DACH region rate digitally supported HR work as “very important”. However, the current level of digitisation in HR lags behind expectations.
At the top of the wish list are tools for applicant management. Almost half of the HR managers (45 per cent) are looking for a high-performance software solution in this area. No wonder. Recruiting in particular is a burning issue and the hope is high that the recruiting process can be managed more efficiently and in a more structured way with an applicant management system.
The portfolio of services within the systems ranges from career homepages and job portals that can be linked to the company’s own website, to multiposting functions with which a job ad can be placed simultaneously on tens of job boards, to CV parsing for the automatic reading of CVs in PDF format. These are core functions that almost all systems now offer. The difference, however, lies in the details.
Applicant management system: How to separate the wheat from the chaff
It is now important to find the right system that will not let you down even in difficult recruiting situations. But if you start to explore the HR software market, you will quickly lose the overview. The range of functions is huge. Some providers differ only in nuances, others are worlds apart. What is the decisive unique selling point between a standard and a premium system? Quite simply: performance! Because above all, companies are looking for a way to fill vacancies with the right fit. The faster the better.
Many recruiters resort to a system of spreading job ads as widely as possible. That is right and important. But that alone is not the last word. What they overlook is that 86 per cent of talented people today no longer apply directly via job advertisements because the information they contain is not enough for them. Instead, they first research an employer on the web. To do this, they stop at the career homepage. Employer rating platforms also play a major role.
Career homepage: Please make sure it is mobile optimised
At this point, it already makes a decisive difference whether the career homepage, which can be connected to an applicant management system as an ad-on, is mobile-optimised, for example. This way, candidates can also find out about the values, goals and visions of a company via smartphone. Otherwise they will jump off. Furthermore, employer evaluations embedded in the career homepage prevent talents from leaving the portal too quickly. After all, they find everything they are interested in on the careers page. And of course the apply button. This makes the application process seamless.
But beware: only very few career homepages meet these quality criteria. Many are not mobile-optimised and often only superficially populated with information – and there is usually no trace of embedded employer evaluations. How are applicants supposed to get a comprehensive picture of whether they fit in with the company? The consequence is foreseeable: Many suitable talents pull the ripcord, while many apply who do not have the necessary cultural fit. This means that applicant management systems miss the point: after all, it’s about quality not quantity.
The whole Candidate Journey in view
Once the application has been received, the digital process support in recruiting should not be exhausted. The primary goal should be to offer an optimal candidate journey and to strengthen the satisfaction of the individual talent. Transparency and efficiency in the further application process are particularly important. Candidates do not want to wait weeks to receive feedback. They also want to be informed about the next step – just as they already know from other online areas. E-commerce, for example. But many recruiting departments don’t provide that either. And that has consequences: According to a softgarden study, 58 per cent of applicants have already drawn the line despite being interested in the job because everything took too long and the communication left something to be desired.
This makes it all the more important to have functions within an applicant management system that help recruiters avoid exactly that. For example, they help to quickly make a pre-selection and give quick feedback. For example: For each job advertisement, HR managers put together a recruiting team consisting of all decision-makers. The entire coordination process with the applicant takes place in the applicant management system and in a recruiting app. This facilitates joint decisions regardless of time and place.
Make quick decisions in the team
The recruiting team now compares applicant data in the system and uses the integrated interview scorecard to jointly evaluate each talent according to criteria that can be set individually for each job. No more lengthy meetings, no more time delays due to complex appointment processes. Once everyone has submitted their assessment, the system automatically creates a candidate ranking. At the top: The candidate who is the best fit. With the help of the appropriate applicant management system, recruiters now coordinate interview appointments and give regular status updates – comprehensible for all parties involved at any time and AGG-compliant.
Conclusion: When choosing an applicant management system, you should ask yourself one crucial question. Is it just about managing applicants or efficiently filling jobs with the right candidate?
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