Investing in new recruitment software can be a daunting undertaking. There’s a lot at stake: time, energy and (of course) money. One of the most common fears in taking the leap to a new system is that it will lead to a decrease in ROI compared to the status quo. But fear of a new investment shouldn’t hold anyone back from pushing their business forward! With the right people, processes, and technology, investing in new recruitment software doesn’t have to mean a loss. In fact, when implemented properly, it can often lead to significant gains.
Determine the goals
The first steps of investing in new recruitment technology are assessing the organization’s pain points and building a clear business case with its needs in mind. This information helps outline the purpose of the new technology and sets the company on a path for growth. The new investment should support the following three key objectives:
Increased velocity
New technology should improve the efficiency of the recruitment experience. Whether an open position is for a senior manager or for an entry-level recent graduate, candidates expect the hiring process to be fast (usually wanting it to be finished in about half the time it actually takes!). To build efficiency, an organization must start by being realistic about how many employees it brings on board each year and how long it takes to fill open roles—information that can enable the company to understand its challenges and identify which tools will help resolve them. (For instance, an effective career site combined with employee onboarding and talent assessment technology can move candidates through the recruitment process later in the talent journey and cut the time it takes to hire.)
Reductions in spending
Hiring costs have reached significant heights: by some accounts “the total cost to hire a new employee can be three to four times the position's salary.”1 The job market has changed dramatically in recent years, and talent acquisition teams are feeling even more pressure as leaders are asking hiring managers to source and engage talent with smaller budgets and leaner teams. But how can organizations reduce spending without damaging the quality of applications or the experience candidates have with their brands?
Whether it’s advertising costs or job board spending, companies should assess their overall recruitment budgets and how new recruitment software could help them cut costs. For instance, marketing automation tools can help build in-demand pipelines for future openings by nurturing the candidates already in an organization’s database, thus reducing advertising costs.
Improving quality of hire
With 92 percent of C-level participants in one recent survey indicating “that their organization won’t be able to meet goals without the right talent,” hiring quality talent is, arguably, the most important factor in growing a business and meeting organizational objectives.2 To attract candidates with the skills needed to support the business, companies must assess the experience candidates have with their brand. Slow career sites and laborious onboarding processes aren’t going to cut it in this digital era, and it’s important to look across the talent journey and find out where in the job search and hiring process candidates are dropping off. A talent suite can include products that help keep candidates involved and invested in the process. For instance, chatbots can help engage candidates early in their candidate journey and enable candidates and organizations to communicate anytime, anywhere—thus streamlining the process for everyone involved.
New recruitment software helps everyone
To truly understand ROI, organizations need to know the benefits that new recruitment software brings not just to the hiring team but to the entire organization. Business leaders in all departments favor technology that increases productivity and reduces costs. But it’s important to identify what each team really cares about and how this software will aid them in achieving their goals.
IT teams, for example, seek technology that offers secure, agile, and compliant platforms. Cloud-based recruitment software appeals to them for its ability to streamline processes and increase efficiency (and saves money) by reducing the need for other applications and requiring fewer on-site staff to maintain the infrastructure.
As the teams responsible for protecting the company’s vital assets, finance departments are also attracted to the cost-saving aspects of recruitment software, which can consolidate costly existing technologies. Even taking into account the total cost of ownership, integration, data migration, and staff training, companies can see improved ROI, thanks to this software’s ability to facilitate more efficient recruitment practices.
The right technology can move a business forward
The hard truth is that organizations simply cannot afford not to invest in new recruitment software. AI and automation tools are increasing in popularity, and new advanced technologies are emerging every day. Companies that delay making investments in this area will miss out on the key benefits of this new technology: improved quality of hire, accelerated hiring processes, and reduced costs.
1 Katie Navarra. 2022. “The Real Costs of Recruitment.” SHRM website, April 11, www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/the-real-costs-of-recruitment.aspx.
2 iCIMS Insights. 2022. “2022 Workforce Report.” iCIMS website, www.icims.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2022-Workforce-Report_FINAL.pdf.
