How Staffing Software Can Be A Recruiter’s Best Friend

It is no surprise that the world is evolving rapidly. The Internet is now the main hub for information, communication, and connection. Social media is not only used for connecting with friends and family any more. It is has now become one of the main sources for recruiters to find, connect, and network with potential candidates and clients.

Staffing software developers are following these trends as well, taking note of where recruiters from staffing and recruiting companies are spending the majority of their time to find that perfect potential candidate. As social media has expanded its reach to multiple audiences, staffing software is integrating with social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, to help recruiters streamline their hiring strategy.

According to this infographic found at mashable.com, approximately 80% of U.S. companies, including Staffing and Recruiting firms, used LinkedIn for recruiting last year, and 60% use Facebook for sourcing. Turns out, a large majority of candidates are on Facebook. Unlike LinkedIn, Facebook was not designed originally for business networking. Crucial candidate information is more difficult to find, sending recruiters on a scavenger hunt to find the pieces. Staffing Software companies are aware of this, researching and implementing methods to track and source candidate information effectively. All of this effort will simplify the process for recruiters in staffing and recruiting firms.

Since the New Year, many industry leaders have been making predictions of what trends will be hot in recruiting industry. One reoccurring prediction that is noted is ‘just-in-time sourcing and recruiting’. Sourcing has undergone many different changes in 2011, and 2012 will be no different. Sourcing has already moved from searching stagnant databases to using ever-changing social media, and this trend will continue to grow. Recruiters can now participate in and look for potential candidates in many different online forums and communities, rather than being limited to their privately-operated databases.  As staffing software becomes more integrated with social media, recruiters will able to search, source, and find candidates to fill the open positions swiftly versus traditional manual search techniques.  Implementing methods such as crowdsourcing, mobile technologies, and social media will add a new spin on the traditional recruitment process, streamlining it to be completed in days. 

Job boards are now becoming social. Due to the increase in the amount of user engagement in social media networks, job boards are now integrating social tools along with their original boards. Staffing software that automatically publishes job posts on multiple platforms eliminates a lot of manual labor from the recruiting process. Ultra-Staff integrates popular online career boards and social media websites right from the system itself. This allows for the recruiter to start working filling the position right away, eliminating the transition time from the job being posted to filled immensely.

Additionally, staffing software offers real time job posting directly from the software to the careers site, providing a more efficient, seamless transition from one channel to the next. Staffing firms can now develop a job ad post, and with a simple click of a button, automatically post it onto their company’s website. This is time efficient, less costly, and very effective.

Some staffing software solutions provide a “resume retrieval” option. This method automatically selects the necessary information needed from a candidate’s resume and populating the applicant’s file where necessary directly into the database. This cuts the amount of manual labor time as well, and eliminates any room for human error. This simplifies the recruiting process into a shorter, streamlined manner, making it easier to get more candidates into the database.

Being present on job boards, social media sites, and retaining a strong company careers page contributes to your company’s brand awareness in consumers and prospects. You want your company to be the first company to come to a candidate’s (or potential client’s) mind. By increasing your visibility and accessibility across multiple platforms (both job boards and social media sites), prospects and potential candidates are more likely to turn to your company for placement services.

The world is clearly changing, and it is up to companies to stay up to date or be left behind. The Internet is changing everyday processes, informal daily interaction to finding a job, into a more effective, efficient method. Having your staffing software solution fully integrated with social media and job boards will not only be beneficial, but it will place your staffing company in a better position to expand into untapped markets that would have never been reached through manual search and source strategies.

What experiences have you had with social recruiting? Are there any specific strategies and/or tools that are working well for your company? Leave a comment and share your story.

Megan Curth is the Marketing Coordinator  of Automated Business Designs, Inc., software developer of Ultra-Staff staffing software for the staffing and direct hire industry.  Ultra-Staff is a staffing software business solution with components for front office, back office and the web.  Megan’s email address is megan.curth@abd.net or for more information on Ultra-Staff go to www.abd.net