Staffing companies and recruiting agencies aren’t exactly the same thing. In the majority of instances, they don’t work with the same type of candidates or the same type of employers. Sometimes, they don’t even deal with the same type of employment. For example, a staffing company could deal primarily with blue-collar temp work, with a recruiting agency might only deal with white-collar direct placements.
However, staffing companies and recruiting agencies do have one thing in common. They both focus on finding candidates to match job candidates with employers that are attempting to fill their open positions with qualified individuals.
And of course, this is where an applicant tracking system, or ATS, enters the picture.
That’s because staffing companies and recruiting agencies share something else in common: the desire to save time, effort, energy, and perhaps most importantly, money. Staffing companies want to streamline the recruiting and hiring process so that they can find the best candidates, get those candidates in front of their clients, and then place those candidates. And they want do all of that as quickly as humanly possible.
With the advent of technology and the continued evolution of the Internet, there is almost no end to the number of applicant tracking systems from which to choose. That means there should be no staffing company or recruiting agency working in the world today that does not use an ATS. Nobody should be using only filing cabinet full of hard copy resumes and a rolodex of phone numbers for making calls.
Reasons to Use the Top Staffing Agency Software
Instead, all staffing companies and recruiting agencies should be using top staffing software that best fits their needs and will help them maximize their productivity, and by extension, their profitability. Still not convinced? Below are some specific reasons why staffing companies should consider using an ATS:
#1—The process is paperless.
Let’s face it: stacks of paper can be a time-suck. Manual processes bog everything down, and in the employment marketplace, time is of the essence. As mentioned above, you want to get the right candidates in front of your clients as soon as humanly possible.
#2—There is a centralized hub of information.
This is a great way to guard against miscommunications or the duplication of tasks among members of the hiring team. With one ATS, a staffing company does not need multiple software applications to keep track of everything. In addition, everyone involved in the process will know what’s happening, with every few lags or delays, if any.
#3—It offers fewer chances for mistakes.
Whenever you have humans involved in a process, there is the risk of human error. Predictably, there is a greater risk in a system that is not automated. An applicant tracking system reduces this risk by automating the tasks involved with the recruiting and hiring process, thereby streamlining it for maximum results.
#4—It results in a better candidate experience (and better hiring).
Speaking of results . . . the bottom line for any staffing company or recruiting agency involves the caliber of the candidates who are being hired and/or placed. These days, the candidate experience is critical, especially in those industries where qualified candidates are in short supply. By improving communication and saving time, the right ATS also provides candidates with a better experience and brands the organization in a more positive light.
The Best Features of an ATS for Staffing Companies
So what are the best features of an ATS for staffing companies? Glad you asked! Below are four of those features, along with a description of each:
Feature #1—Resume Parsing
With this feature, an applicant tracking system pulls out important data points from the resume and build a record at the same time. This information includes (but is not limited to) contact information, work history, education, and certifications. The ATS should also provide automatic duplicate checking, automatic update options, and the ability to forward job resumes right from your email inbox (email parsing).
Feature #2—Seamless Searching
What good is the information in your database if you can’t find what you’re looking for quickly? No good, that’s what! The best ATS for staffing companies should offer keyword and radius searching, as well as a Boolean Builder that assists in building targeted keyword search strings.
Feature #3—Job Order Pipelines
With this ATS feature, staffing companies can see who is being considered for a particular position and where they stand in the process. Ideally, this feature mirrors the placement workflow of the staffing company or agency. In addition, the ATS should allow users to executive mass actions, including sending emails or building a call list.
Feature #4—Hotlists
Hotlists are important because they further help staffing companies to save time so they can focus on those tasks that lead to more placements and better hiring. With this ATS feature, users can create custom lists of records, once again to mirror their company’s business development workflow. In addition, users should be able to preview the list to review data and also to share information with other team members involved with the hiring process.
The best ATS for staffing companies also offer a free trial of its software, a demo, or both. (Believe it or not, there are some applicant tracking software packages that don’t offer a free trial and that require you to submit information before they’ll even disclose their pricing structure.)
The Big Biller applicant tracking system for staffing agencies offers both a free trial and a live demo. You can sign up for a FREE 15-day trial of the software by clicking HERE. Or you can sign up for a live demo of the Big Biller ATS recruitment system by clicking HERE.
