Recruitment Software - The importance of choosing the right tool and setting it up the right way!

Emmanuel Medvedowsky, Global Head of Talent – Galderma

As much as a large part of the recruitment process is now outsourced to Recruitment Software, it is critical to keep differentiating the added value provided by the different tools available on the marketand this especiallyat times of broader HR changes or transformation.

Too often do we see an army of external consultants recommending implementation of recruitment software and ready-made frameworks and processes that companies can plug and play to magically improve recruitment. While most software would have great features and can indeed play a big role in process improvement, every company’s set up is pretty much unique and it is of critical importance to prepare and implement in the right sequence.

First and foremost,a company should define what are the objectives it is trying to achieve with the change and implementation of a new software.

Objectives can be as simple as improving the candidate experience and building better company imagethrough effective leverage of Social Media; often it is about mastering or reducing cost through limiting external spend and recruiting better and faster; the access to solid data and the focus on automation is another thought after reason for considering Software upgrade; in many other cases this is part of a broader HR transformation and goes along with the implementation of an new HRIS.

Second the company needs to define what new processes will look like and what critical functionalities should a Software have to allow for new processes to be implemented efficiently. This is also when you need to differentiate between:

Stand along ATS (iCIMS, Lever, Greenhouse, Smartrecruiters…) that can bring flexibility and autonomy while working in parallel of a company HRISRecruitment CRM (Yello, Avature…) when Recruitment Marketing becomes key and companies want to focus on engaging and nurturing relationship with candidatesHCM for Human Capital Management (Workday, SAP Success Factor, Ceridian…) that offer complete HR solutions inclusive of an ATS and facilitates the integration of data and offer seamless processes

Based on this review then comes the time to assess and chose the Software that meets most of the criteria, for which the adaptability to the newly designed recruitment process is paramount (and not the other way around). That later step is often more complex than it sometimes look and will play an important role for the future success, the recruitment model (Internal, RPO or with reliance on external agencies), the level of global (multi-country) consistency a company, the need to adapt to local and/or function specific…are all key questions that the Software provider need to be able to cover in details and with tangible examples for the company to gain confidence that the fit is there.

"While most software would have great features and can indeed play a big role in process improvement, every company’s setup is pretty much unique, and it is of critical importance to prepare and implement in the right sequence"

Once chosen, it is important to involve the Talent Acquisition team in the design and testing phases of the implementation. Such approach will serve a double purpose: Review new or revised recruitment process and train the users on the best use of the Software to be up and running rapidly. The experience of a large company setting up processes with a team of expert without including enough future users was quite painful. Reviewing first months after implementation the numerous difficulties/inefficiencies that needed rework was a hard task for the Talent Acquisition team that not only needed to learn how to use the new Software but also to point out these issues. Recruiters will the greatest advocate of the new system in place and ensuring strong engagement from Day 1 is a key success factor.

Last element, probably valid for any Software implementation, is the need for a solid expertise in the technical support but also in the follow of all upgrades coming in constantly. While smaller or niche ones might have a more tailored made approach the major ones, such as Workday, require attention and regular connection to keep up to date with updates, progresses and new features.

The implementation of a new recruitment software, be it in a small capacity or as part of a large transformation project is never a small topic and should be approached thoughtfully, the impact of which usually remains for long on a company and its employees but also on the candidate experience and ultimately the company image and reputation.

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