ATS and CRM: Powering the Candidate Experience
The success of any organization is closely tied to the quality of its employees — but attracting top talent is far from easy. Employers today must differentiate themselves in the job market by building a great brand that reflects your company culture, providing candidates with a personalized experience that keeps them interested throughout the recruitment process, and leveraging technology that helps your team achieve your hiring goals. While your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is designed as a workflow and compliance tool for managing applicants, a Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) tool helps you engage candidates before and after the application process begins by providing you with the tools to engage and nurture talent at scale. But with so many HR technologies to choose from, how can you ensure you're choosing the right fit? In this post, we'll explore the differences between an ATS and CRM, and share a checklist to help you determine the right CRM for your needs! An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a type of recruiting software that is intended to be a “system of record” in the recruitment and hiring process. An ATS is designed for recruitment tracking purposes, enabling the recruiters and hiring managers to handle applicant-related tasks such as posting job openings to multiple job boards and storing applicant data. Today’s ATSs serve as the information center for other recruiting tools, such as recruitment marketing platforms, job distribution tools, background checks, onboarding, and talent experience platforms. Having an ATS is also a common compliance requirement— making it easier to adhere to multiple layers of hiring laws while simultaneously protecting your company against possible litigation as your workforce grows. While an ATS can save recruiters time by automating the resume review process, it does have its limitations. From a candidate's perspective, ATSs are often cumbersome and there’s no way to tell if their resume has been reviewed by a human being. This creates a poor candidate experience that may disengage top talent and entice them to accept a job offer somewhere else. Meanwhile, recruiters and hiring managers are losing extremely qualified candidates in the database if the applicant doesn’t use specific keywords. They’re also missing out on crucial opportunities to improve the candidate experience with quick communications. Not to mention, candidate pipelining is difficult — there’s no simple way to discover and engage with candidates who have already shown an interest in the company or application to a position. While the ATS is an important tool for HR, here’s how adding a CRM can help supercharge its functionality — and more. A Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) tool is recruiting software that serves as a “system of engagement”. It’s designed to simplify sourcing and improve productivity, while maximizing and streamlining communication between recruiters and candidates — helping TA teams build, engage, and track talent pipelines for their organization. It starts from a candidate's first contact with your company and continues through the entirety of their recruitment process, but also continues with passive candidates who are not actively looking for employment but may be open to opportunities to join your company in the future. Regardless of whether it’s a relationship with a potential hire or a passive candidate, the CRM enables recruiters to stay in touch and share information about new job openings and upcoming events. A CRM is made up of several capabilities that create a well-rounded and personalized experience for your recruiter. Here are some examples of what a CRM can do: CRM software powered by AI helps HR professionals engage and track candidates at various steps in the hiring process — from before an application is submitted to after the interview process is over, giving organizations the opportunity to reach out to all qualified candidates when new positions open. But what should an organization consider before purchasing a CRM? When selecting the right provider, the HR tech solution you choose must meet your business requirements and be agile enough to grow alongside your company to adapt to your evolving needs. You also have to consider the vendor-client relationship to ensure it’s a good fit. After all, you’ll be working closely with the vendor team throughout configuration, implementation, and beyond! Step 1: Conduct a thorough needs assessment Before you begin your HR tech search, you need to be clear about how the entire organization will reap the benefits of a new software solution. When you’re in the discovery process, don’t avoid the tough questions. Step 2: Determine must-have product capabilities What specific features and functionality should your CRM have? By understanding what your team needs, you can choose the right platform to support them so they can reach their goals. Look for solutions that: Campaign capabilities Candidate rediscovery capabilities Additional capabilities Step 3: Integrations It’s crucial that your CRM integrates with existing software, such as social media, job boards, testing platforms, and more. By synchronizing data, recruiters and candidates benefit from a more seamless experience. Step 4: Get to know the CRM vendor By asking questions about the vendor’s onboarding process, training capabilities, customer support, and other supplemental programs, you can gather a better understanding of what to expect after you’ve successfully integrated the chosen software into your processes. Step 5: Innovation HR tech should be continuously evolving. By assessing if the vendor prioritizes innovation, you can determine if you’re purchasing software that will grow with you — or software that serves a “one-and-done solution” that suits your needs now, but will need to be re-evaluated in the future. Step 6: Security and performance When you’re handling sensitive candidate information, you need to be sure that it’s secure, and that your company remains compliant with local data protection laws. Step 7: Evaluating the right solution The best way to determine what your vendor-client relationship might look like is by reaching out to existing and previous clients. By reaching out to an organization that’s already been through the implementation process, you can ask specific questions that will help you set appropriate expectations. Step 8: Assemble a cross-functional team Once you get buy-in from key stakeholders, it’s time to mobilize a dedicated team. Determine who needs to get involved to assist with integration — speak with HR, IT, and HRIS employees and leaders to support you. Reach out to the selected vendor and inquire about a point of contact that can provide guidance while your team goes through this transition. Establish and communicate realistic expectations for your team and create a plan for employee training. Resource: How to Deploy Intelligent HR Tech With Confidence Establish and implement a plan for system maintenance. Once the CRM is live, assign internal ambassadors or champions to make sure everyone’s maximizing the tool — track usage rates, issues, and tickets to determine which teams need additional support. Don’t forget to measure your progress and results, and be prepared to report your results to key stakeholders. Finding the right HR technology solution is like finding the right candidate — it takes time, effort, and vision. With more than 98% of Fortune 500 companies currently using an ATS to support recruiting, its true potential becomes apparent when you use it together with a CRM to discover, engage, and convert talent. What's even more powerful? A comprehensive talent experience platform that seamlessly integrates a company’s career site, CRM, ATS, and more in one platform. Ready to find your next hire? Learn how Phenom’s Talent CRM can help your company reach its hiring goals — request a demo today! Related Posts:
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Step 9: Maintenance Plan
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