April 14, 2022
When it comes to recruiting tech today, the options seem endless. New HR tech companies are popping up all the time. On the surface, hiring teams benefit by having a variety of platforms to choose from so they can find what works best for them. And companies have found value in investing in their tech stack; according to an Oracle survey, 78% of HR professionals agree that their tech stack improves HR productivity. 78% also agree that the tech stack improves the employee experience within their organization.
However, it’s not always clear where all these different softwares fit in the hiring funnel. Talent Tech Lab’s most recent Talent Acquisition Ecosystem report identifies 14 different areas of HR tech, from college recruiting platforms to market intelligence tools. That’s still a lot to break down! Below, we tackle the main areas of the recruiting tech stack and what types of tools fit into each category.
Sourcing is the first step in building candidate pipelines to fill open roles. This is where you will build awareness of your company and its open roles. It can also be one of the most time-consuming areas of the hiring funnel, with some recruiters spending over 13 hours a week sourcing candidates. Finding a tool to streamline the process and save recruiters time will let them focus more on candidate engagement and experience.
Recruiters can source for two types of candidates: active job seekers and passive candidates who are happy at their current job but could be persuaded to leave for the right opportunity.
For active job seekers, recruiters scan job boards and job board aggregators, career sites, staffing firms/agencies, and freelancer sites. For sourcing passive candidates recruiters look to social networks and referrals. Instead of going from job board to job board and site to site, sourcing tools save you time by surfacing the best candidates for you.
There are a few types of tools available for sourcing passive candidates:
Resume databases allow users to use boolean searches to select which qualifications they want a candidate to have before pulling profiles. However, with databases, the candidate pool is preset and aren’t always updated regularly. Because of this, you and your competitors will likely be reaching out to the same top talent.
Referral tools take the effort out of employee referrals by making it quick and easy for employees to refer their peers. They typically send reminders and incentives to employees and track referred candidates and rewards for the referrers.
Fetcher is unlike other sourcing platforms because it delivers batches of qualified candidates directly to recruiters’ inboxes. Our platform sources qualified candidates based on your criteria, and then our team of sourcing experts reviews and customizes for you so only top talent hits your inbox. However, Fetcher is much more than just a sourcing tool, and we’ll share more about that shortly…
Candidate management tools are among the most popular types of recruiting software used because they organize all potential new hires in one place and track where each candidate is in the recruitment process. Candidate management tools allow teams to stay in touch with candidates and build consideration.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are very common for managing the flow of candidates. In an ATS, TA teams can consolidate candidates’ information, track where a candidate was sourced from (LinkedIn, referral, etc.), and help employers stay compliant with EEOC policies. The best Applicant Tracking Systems will have:
Candidate Relationship Management software (CRM) helps recruiters nurture and manage candidates in order to fill positions faster. In many fields, CRM stands for Client Relationship Management. In recruiting, CRMs are Candidate Relationship Management tools, and they are used to organize candidates and all their relevant information in a searchable database. They can also send automated emails, and measure the success rates of various recruitment strategies. In many cases, CRMs will also have a scheduling tool so that you can seamlessly schedule interviews and calls with candidates.
In addition to automated sourcing, Fetcher also includes CRM features to help you increase engagement rates with sourced candidates. This includes the ability to send personalized outreach and nurture campaigns, from anyone in your company. With Fetcher, you can easily automate your email follow-up sequences to stay top-of-mind with candidates and engage them more quickly. Once a candidate is engaged, scheduling interviews is a breeze as you can sync your calendar and add a scheduling link directly into your email template.
ATS vs CRM
What’s the difference between an ATS and a CRM? Typically, an ATS stores and organizes candidate information so teams can understand which candidates are at various stages of the hiring process. CRMs are used to actively manage outreach to current candidates and to prospects who have yet to show interest in a role.
The functions of ATS and CRMs complement each other. By integrating an ATS with a CRM, a company can gain a full, up-to-date picture of where each individual candidate is in a pipeline and the overall health of their hiring funnels.
CRMs and ATS are often equipped with engagement features, and there are also other platforms that handle more specific communication channels. These include:
Recruiting text tools enable recruiters to send automated text messages to candidates. As with email, you can invite candidates to apply, create nurture campaigns, and pre-screen candidates.
Chatbots are becoming increasingly more popular in recruiting. When embedded into a career page, candidates can interact with chatbots directly to ask questions, guide them to applications, and more.
Tools to promote and market your employer brand help you build awareness and attract top talent on a larger-scale, less direct way. A candidate should be able to get a sense of your brand from your career landing page, job descriptions, and social media. Your employee branding should be incorporated across your tech stack, but there are also specific platforms just for employer branding, including employer review sites and recruitment marketing platforms. More specific tools can help you create better application forms, develop more inclusive job descriptions and create engaging video job ads.
There is a range of software tools that can help you with the interview process, from straightforward video interview platforms to AI tools that assist with pre-screening candidates.
With the rise of remote work, video interviews have become the norm. Conducted anywhere and anytime, video interviews are fast, cost effective, and customizable. You can conduct interviews live or pre-record questions for candidates. With the right video interview tool, recruiters can still connect with candidates remotely, without wasting time on “no show” interviews.
AI interview tools aim to screen and predict the best candidates for your open roles. The methods vary, but in general, these types of tools analyze a candidate’s various qualities from their personality traits to job specific skills. This technology is relatively new; be sure to evaluate a tool’s accuracy and reliability before making an investment.
With screening and assessments, recruiters learn more about candidates to qualify them further and move through the hiring process. These tools include background and reference check software, skills tests, and behavioral assessments. Assessments are an essential part of a candidate’s journey because they provide a glimpse of what’s expected of them if they do get a role. They’re also essential in saving recruiters time evaluating candidates, reducing bias in the hiring process, and reducing turnover rates.
The candidate market is more competitive than ever. Meaning, when you know you want to hire a candidate, you need to move fast. Offer letter automation software decreases time-to-hire and reduces errors made when offers are written manually. These tools will also help you track offers, include templates, and forms for signing. Many times your ATS or onboarding platform will already have these features.
In addition to an offer letter, always call a candidate to let them know you would be thrilled to have them onboard. Speed and accuracy won’t replace human enthusiasm when it comes to making an offer!
An effective onboarding process sets new hires up for success and makes them feel welcomed and supported. Onboarding software creates a seamless process for new hires and standardizes the process within your organization. These tools will manage new employee paperwork/documents, offer workflows & checklists for employees and HR teams. Some may also offer digital learning experiences like videos explaining how to use and access internal resources.
Data collection and analysis isn’t necessarily part of the hiring funnel, but keeping track of metrics at every stage of the process is essential to continue improving your recruitment process and the quality of your hires. Measuring and tracking these metrics manually is time consuming and distracts from more important responsibilities like engaging with candidates. Any tool you invest in should collect and organize data pertaining to platform performance.
For instance, Fetcher gives users insight into sourcing and outreach performance. HR leaders can see how well team members are engaging and nurturing candidates as well as who’s having the best results. The Fetcher dashboard also breaks down top-of-funnel metrics like open rates, reply rates, and interest rates so you know where to focus to improve conversion rates.
One crucial way to analyze your hiring process is to gathering candidate feedback. There are platforms specifically for recruiting that allow you to measure and gauge your candidate experience. Some of these also incorporate recruiter and/or hiring manager feedback. Popular surveying tools like SurveyMonkey and Typeform can be equally effective.
The recruiting tech stack is complicated and ever-changing. With so many options, deciding which tools are right for you may feel overwhelming. Some platforms focus on one very specific area of the funnel, others can do a lot of different things and touch many areas of the funnel - it’s just a matter of how well they do them. Even platforms that have the same general functionality, like sourcing, can vary drastically in terms of how they work. Some are more automation-based, while others are providing an easier interface for a manual process.
In next week’s post, we’ll go into more detail on which tech tools can solve common bottlenecks in the hiring process. In general, selecting tools that integrate with platforms you are already using and like will make your life easier. On the flip side, having data in too many platforms that don’t communicate with each other will lead to disorganization, more work, and ultimately a less effective recruiting tech stack.
As a recruiter, you know how to evaluate a candidate to make sure they’ll make a successful hire. Treat recruitment tools the same way by only investing in those that meet your requirements and will add value to your business.
Check out our other blog posts for more talent acquisition tips and insights into recruiting trends.
At Fetcher, our mission is to introduce companies to the people who will help them change the world. Our full-service, recruiting automation platform automates those repetitive, top-of-funnel tasks, so you can focus more on candidate engagement & team collaboration. Simplify Sourcing. Optimize Outreach. Hire Top Talent. Learn more at fetcher.ai.
Recruiting Strategies
