This article is part of our Guest Post series.
Integrations in Recruitment Software
Human resources used to be the department of paper piles, especially when it came to recruitment projects. From reading resumes to evaluating interview notes to checking onboarding documents, recruiters were once used to being constantly surrounded by manual work. That has changed, though, and many of those tasks can now be completed by using recruitment software instead. Especially when you add integrations in recruitment software to connect with your other systems.
Software makes the recruitment process much easier and quicker to complete, but while there are many benefits to using software for hiring, it can also come with its own set of issues. Many recruiters use multiple systems, meaning they have to jump back and forth depending on the task they’re performing. It can also mean recruiters spend much more time inputting data into these systems to make sure all the information about a candidate is readily available. Logging into many different platforms could also cause some unnecessary headaches as recruiters will have to keep track of multiple usernames and passwords to make sure the systems stay secure.
These issues can actually slow down the recruitment process and make it harder for people to be hired. In fact, research performed by Reward Gateway shows HR professionals spend 366.6 hours a year manually checking, responding to, and updating many different software programs. Spending more than an hour a day on this is not ideal, especially since these issues can be solved through platform integrations.
The same report from Reward Gateway stated the main priority in 2019 for 89% of people working in the human resources industry is to integrate HR tools into the technology they are already using. With recruiters and HR professionals using about eight different systems each day, it’s no question why this is a concern for them. The integration will help them perform their duties more efficiently and eliminate some low-value tasks.
No Integration Could Cause You to Lose Great Candidates
Not having integration capabilities isn’t only pain for recruiters trying to complete day-to-day tasks, but it can also result in missing out on some awesome applicants. The quality of the candidates applying to open job positions is directly related to the success of your organization. The problem is there are other organizations vying for the skills your great candidates have and not having your recruitment software integrated could cause some applicants to go over to your competitors.
Here are some examples of how this may happen:
- Longer Hiring Process: While software usually speeds up the recruitment process, a lack of integration could actually cause it to be more cumbersome. Your recruiters could be spending more time performing tasks the integration would automatically complete, which means they’re spending more time on those low-value to-dos like data entry instead of evaluating candidates. If any of your competitors have already realized this and solved the problem, they’ll be able to hire someone who may have been a great fit in your company much quicker than your recruiters would have.
- Poor User Experience: For many recruitment software programs, it’s not just the recruiters who are users, the candidates are, too. If your recruiters use an applicant tracking software, video interviewing, automated referencing, or any of the other software designed for both recruiter and applicant use, having no integration between these systems could provide a negative experience for all users. While this would just be an inconvenience for the recruiter, a bad experience could result in a candidate deciding not to move forward with their application.
- Fewer Applications: If too many people applying to job positions are met with poor experiences or a long waiting period, the word is going to spread to other job seekers and candidates will become disengaged. If your company becomes known for these kinds of pitfalls, you’re going to have fewer people attracted to the available positions. Chances are the people who won’t apply as a result are also high-quality candidates, making your selection process for the best person even harder because there won’t be any stars in the group.
The Benefits of Integrated Recruitment Software
Making sure your recruitment software is strategically integrated with key partners doesn’t just prevent you from losing great candidates, it can also have some great benefits to your entire hiring process. Integration helps take your process to the next level, helping recruiters hire the best applicants as quickly as possible. Here are some quick points on what those benefits are:
- Improved Security: All recruiters who use HR technology have been thinking about data security in recent months, thanks to the introduction of the GDPR in the European Union. Having to manually update all your data in each of these systems means that if you need to delete any information, you have to go through each database, find the information, and delete it. Not only is this a lot of effort, but there’s a huge risk of forgetting to delete or update something, penalties of which could be massive for your organization. Using integrated software will help make sure every data update is delivered to every system you use, making it as secure as possible and easy to manage.
- Smarter Data Reporting and Analysis: Recruiters know the best way to make a good hire is to base their decision on the data collected from a structured interview methodology. The problem is that a non-integrated system means all this data is disconnected, making it harder to make a hiring decision based on all the evidence. If each system a recruiter uses shows one part of the picture, you’re never going to be able to see all the information in one location. By integrating the software, you’ll be able to read a full report which gathered information from each system you use in one interface, allowing you to be able to see the full picture and make the right choice.
- Higher Productivity Levels: The best way to boost productivity levels is to make sure there are no roadblocks in the day-to-day tasks your employees complete. It’s not unlikely one of those roadblocks could be the time it takes to complete repetitive, boring tasks such as data entry. Eliminating the need for recruiters to update each recruitment system they use manually will allow them to focus on high-value, meaningful tasks which will make sure their time is spent effectively. This also will help improve your hiring process, as recruiters will be able to focus on the candidates rather than low-value tasks.
- More Consistent Hiring: It’s not uncommon for there to be a wide range in the quality of new employees and how skillful they are at performing tasks, even if your organization has a structured recruitment process. Part of the reason why could be how they use the different recruitment software available to them. A non-integrated process means they could confuse the order of what to use for each step, accidentally skip some steps entirely, or not receive consistent information from each system. Integration helps keep the to-dos clear and in order, so your applicants will be evaluated the same way, no matter who is doing the recruiting.
How to Know When to Integrate
Many tools exist to help you integrate your recruitment technology together, and some of the systems you already use may have software in place to help start the integration process. But if you choose to or need to use an integration vendor, you need to make sure you choose the right one. Setting up the integration incorrectly could cause multiple issues which will waste time and money.
When speaking with vendors, the first thing you need to ask is what type of integration they offer: either public application programming interface (API) or file-based batch integration. While both will do the job, the process of doing so is different for each and one might not be the best option for your recruiters.
A file-based batch integration allows for information to be collected in a file in one system then sent to another. The second system will import that information, updating the necessary data. It’s a fine, simple process, perfect for organizations who don’t need to update data often. But for recruiters who are presumably updating applicant information daily, it’s probably not the best option. If vendor in question offers it, public API integration is the easiest option for recruitment software.
API integration features mapping capabilities, making it easier for multiple systems to integrate with each other. It allows for real-time data updates and is perfect for companies who need changes to be made immediately. Recruiters juggling multiple deadlines and many hiring projects, it’s ideal for any data changes to be made in their recruitment software immediately so they can move on to the next step without missing any essential information. Ideally, the vendor you choose for the integration of your recruitment software will be API, as file-based could lead to some inefficiencies.
The next thing you need to ask about is security. No matter where your data is, resting in one system or moving to another, you need to make sure it is as secure as possible. There’s a lot of sensitive information candidates provide recruiters with, which if hacked could put the candidates at risk. The more systems you need to integrate together, the higher the risk of information not being secure at one of those stages is.
Encryption is the best way to make sure the data being shared stays safe. Making sure the content of the data is encrypted will help make sure no one who shouldn’t read the file has access to it, helping make it more secure. When talking about security with the integration vendors, make sure they go in detail about securing your all your information to make sure none gets stolen or lost.
Remember to Do Your Research Before Integrating
This may seem obvious, but if you’ve decided you need to integrate the recruitment software your team uses, it’s important not to rush into it and to do your research. Talk to your HR and IT teams to make sure everyone knows what is required for integration to help, rather than harm, the recruitment process. Also make sure to read reviews about the vendors you’re speaking with as the current clients are the best way to determine if this company can help you.
Author Profile:
Tamara Gravelle is a Senior Content Writer and Competitive Research Analyst at VidCruiter. She specializes in writing about video interviewing software, HR technology, and the greater human resources industry. She tweets at @VidCruiter
Magento Development Company – Nevina Infotech is one of the leading Magento development company in India, USA, Canada, provide Magento web development, customization, maintenance services.
Resolute offers several options for IT Recruiting in Winnipeg as well as Software Development and Integration. We have 65 seasoned professionals with expertise ranging across the spectrum of IT services.
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