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The current global labour market, coupled with the impact of the pandemic and Brexit has made it increasingly challenging for recruitment teams to find the right candidates to fill open vacancies and close skill gaps.
What’s more, in data from the Office for National Statistics, the estimated number of vacancies in the UK from July to September 2021 was at its highest level since records began. With industries including transport and storage, accommodation and food service, and manufacturing reporting vast surges in the number of open positions, labour shortages are now being deeply felt across entire sectors.
Modern HR software can enable recruitment professionals to simplify their processes and save a significant amount of time and money when sourcing new recruits.
In this article, you’ll find just some of the reasons why your recruitment process needs HR software.
Reduce time to hire
Research by Glassdoor has found that the average time to hire in the UK is around 27.9 days. Regardless of the role you’re hiring for, the time it takes to source, interview and select candidates is critical. A lengthy recruitment process not only increases the overall cost of your hiring, but it could also cause you to lose top candidates who may become disinterested if your process is drawn out.
From the moment a requisition is raised through to a job offer being accepted, HR software can streamline and speed up the entire experience for both your recruitment team and the candidate in question.
Requisition approval is automated, candidates can be automatically ranked and screened, while a comprehensive database of candidates allows you to search for suitable applicants actively.
What’s more, software can remove most of the tedious tasks associated with recruiting, such as filling out paperwork and forms. Recruitment software can speed up the entire process and reduce the time taken to complete these repetitive tasks for each candidate.
Enable simpler cost management
HR software provides a clear insight into all costs associated with recruitment in your business. It provides an easy way to compile all the costs of your talent acquisition and makes it easy to report on the cost of each candidate.
Using HR software can also help to better plan your recruitment strategies and forecast headcount requirements for the future. Attrition reports and trends in headcount can be used to effectively plan ahead and ensure you have the right people, with the right skills in your business.
Armed with this knowledge, it makes it easier for HR professionals and their counterparts in finance to identify and make cost savings.
While costs such as advertising, agency fees and expenses are relatively simple to identify and reduce, hidden costs such as postage, photocopying and other HR resources are also minimised as HR software will enable you to send important letters and documents to candidates via email which can be signed electronically, too.
Minimise employee churn
Candidates today are used to technology that simplifies many processes and they have come to expect the same when they’re looking for a job. As recruitment becomes more mobile and social, businesses should endeavour to streamline and improve interactions with potential hires where possible – especially in this newly found candidate’s market.
With HR software, recruitment processes become simpler and more informative for both you and your candidates. After all, the first encounter with your business lays the foundation for an employee’s loyalty. Ensuring that your recruitment process delivers a positive experience from the get-go will help to build trust, passion and ultimately, reduce churn.
HR software can also help you to you effectively analyse and reduce the employee churn in your business. Using this data to understand any trends or patterns in your leavers can help to identify the reasons why they are leaving and begin to make changes to reduce attrition in the future.
With the cost of a failed hire at mid-management level estimated to be over £132,000 (Recruitment and Employment Confederation), reducing employee churn can be a significant cost-saver.
