Adopting a recruitment technology was considered as an “add-on” in the past decade. Organizations have escaped the need for change. But now, an online recruiting software is a “must-have” in every HR department across organizations! A company willing to adopt a new recruitment software must face the truth that,

a major part of the ROI is driven by how promptly their employees will adopt and embrace it.

It is a wise choice to automate recruitment, but investing in a new technology alone will not drive productivity. It is the happy stakeholders who use a well-implemented technology that in turn will drive enhanced productivity. An online recruiting software has undeniable benefits only when it is well-aligned with your organization’s needs. Therefore, while choosing a software, make sure that you introspect well with the some of the following questions?

• What mundane tasks are your recruiters doing that can be eliminated or automated?
• Which roles will end up using the recruiting software? Does the software limit the number of users, positions or workflows?
• What software applications need to be integrated with your recruiting software?
• Any external portal that you need to link with – job portals, vendor portal, social networks, Outlook?
• How scalable is the software and what are your growth plans?

Ensure that the recruiting software will work just the way you do!

An ideal software must work the way your business works or should be easily customized to do so. It must seamlessly support through the essential steps in the recruitment process:

• Map the processes that you have been using as per locations or positions
• Integrate readily with other back-end systems like ERP, Payroll, Assessment, HRMS and others
• Manage social media job postings in one go
• Maintain candidate records from any source be it email, SMS or career page
• Handle workflow and its administration, accurately and quickly, so that they can focus on the high value activity of recruiting

Likewise, the software must be continuously refined and updated for new technologies or deployment options like mobile devices and cloud services. Vendors will always delight you in showing the star features of their software. It is easy to be blinded by things their systems do, which are really cool. The question you should ask yourself is this: Does it help solve a current business problem we have? If it doesn’t, move on! When assessing a recruiting software, you must make a list of the problems you really want to solve with a new software, and priorities them. On the other hand, focus on problems that impact your recruiter’s performance. Do not end-up with a long list of nice-to-have features! Ask your team for their inputs and make sure they focus only the on the real issues.

How does the recruiting software perform?

Apart from the ease of use, there are other general aspects that you need to check with any software package you buy, such as its performance, the quality of the vendor’s support, and the options available as per your way of doing business. It is crucial to go in for a demo of the product, followed by a trial. It enables you to see how it performs before you actually invest in the software application. Bottom-line? In conclusion, a best practice recruiting software is a platform that automates repetitive and mundane tasks and streamlines business processes and communications. However, it will not and should not change the basic way your organization works. A well-chosen recruiting software will automate and integrate all the gaps or traps in your existing workflow. If leveraged right, it will soon become the “central nervous system” of your recruitment function.