On the trail of applicants
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Along with other things, the internet revolution was supposed to transform the recruitment sector overnight but serious professionals soon learned that the whole process would be one of evolution, rather than the predicted 'big bang'.
The market needed time to adapt, rationalise and bring candidates on board, while recruiters needed to learn how the web would work in the real world and add value to the hiring process.
Companies also needed time to learn from initial mistakes and allow the public to become more comfortable with the internet as a business tool and new way of finding work.
This learning curve has also been seen in almost every other sector from retail to travel, but the new speed, acceptability and accessibility of broadband is now heralding the real revolution.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) have been around for a long time but are now coming into their own because the corporates' desire to exploit the internet and jobseekers' willingness to use the web have reached an equilibrium.
Essentially, ATS is an electronic tool that lets recruiters track the progress of candidates from the very first point of contact until the end of the recruitment process, while at the same time gathering a plethora of useful data.
However, the latest products go far beyond simply tracking and can provide employers with a holistic system that attracts, recruits and manages staff from the 'cradle to grave' of their working lives.
Tried and tested
A look towards the United States may give us a clearer idea of what's on the horizon for the UK market, where even the term ATS has been superseded by a host of other monikers including Hiring Management Technology, Talent Acquisition System and Talent Technology Solution.
Frank Candio, a technology consultant at Jeitosa Group International based in New Jersey, says that technology is helping recruiters become far more efficient in targeting the right candidates.
"ATS is the very beginning of the talent management process. The most interesting market for this technology is the recruitment space, and it's also the place where the internet has had the biggest impact," he says.
During the 1990s the US market experienced an explosion of companies providing ATS-type solutions but the market quickly became saturated and only the best vendors survived.
However, as candidates became more comfortable with online applications and the internet became more accepted as an essential business tool, providers started developing more holistic software.
"The internet is uniquely aligned to the use of ATS. It lets recruiters post information to the largest audience possible and then mine a wealth of relevant information.
"The ability to match the right candidate to the right job is a science and the new technology lets recruiters do this far better. Recruitment can be a hugely burdensome administrative process and automation removes the need to deal with it. It also provides the highest amount of exposure for vacancies,"" he explains.
The use of ATS is now about creating the most effective two-way system of receiving and distributing information and the US has seen some real innovation in the way employers and candidates communicate.
Going global
This is increasingly important in a world where global employers want to recruit across borders and attract eligible candidates from right across the world.
Chris Phillips, a director at technology firm Taleo, says the concept started more than a decade ago but the recent growth of online recruitment and corporate websites have been a breeding ground for ATS.
"We're really at the third generation of this technology now. It's gone much further than just tracking candidates, and is fundamentally re-engineering the way recruitment is done. The overall mantra for these systems is faster, cheaper, better," he says.
On the trail
Depending on the technology in place the system will let users capture candidate information from the very start of the recruitment process or even introduce automated candidate matching and shortlisting.
From an online advertisement on a corporate or agency website the technology will then provide an audit trail for every candidate and how they are progressing through the recruitment process.
The software can also enable recruiters to work more closely with employers by improving communication, automating processes, speeding up job sign offs and integrating agencies into corporate systems.
"A lot of our clients use the system to interact with their recruitment agencies. It lets them submit candidates to corporate customers in a far more efficient way.
"Compliance to legislation is so important now that recruiters need to make absolutely sure they are following the rules and are not discriminating against anyone. These systems can remove human error and provide automatic safeguards," he adds.
Consumer-friendly approach
Phillips is confident that this new breed of ATS can cut recruitment costs by as much as 50%, but crucially he sees the 'consumerisation' of recruitment as the area where the most can be achieved.
The things that online firms do to attract consumers are increasingly being looked at by recruiters to attract candidates and improve the whole experience, which is crucial in a world where the employer brand is everything.
"Managers are starting to see the success of companies like Google and Amazon and are trying to apply some of the same techniques to improve the recruitment experience for candidates.
"When this type of technology is applied it improves the process for the candidate, delivering a more consumer-friendly experience," he says.
As the technology develops he predicts the increasing personalisation of recruitment sites, the use of specific portals, more tailored web content, Amazon-style automatic suggestions and tie-ups with social network sites like myspace.com.
Reg Singh, director of technologies at Kenexa, says that newer systems are starting to reflect the growing influence of HR on the bottom line of businesses.
"Organisations are really starting to listen to HR departments and are looking at how improved people policies and data can actually save money. Over time these systems have evolved and can now really accelerate the speed at which candidates pass through the process.
"It's a tool that's part of the larger recruitment process and is becoming central to creating a positive employment brand," he says.
Crucially this technology can provide a broad range of metrics, letting bosses track the most successful way of attracting candidates in an area that has been notoriously difficult to measure scientifically.
At the same time it will let recruiters see how well they are working for individuals and look at areas where they can improve the candidate management process.
"Recruiters are becoming far more sophisticated and they need to be able to build better relationships with candidates," he says.
"Candidates have so much choice these days that you can't afford to fail at any point of the recruitment process. You need to keep talent interested or they will simply look elsewhere."
New ways of working
Tim Richards, managing director of Bond International Software, has seen how this technology has also helped recruiters find new ways of working with employers.
"Although the technology platform handles the whole recruitment process, it's a hugely important interface that can bring everyone in the picture closer together," he says.
Richards says that some agencies have used the software as a separate own-badged product that they manage for individual clients, taking over their entire recruitment operation.
"Recruiters will manage the whole process for employers and provide a unique product that's hooked into the client's corporate website," he says.
Even as part of a more traditional relationship he thinks it helps recruiters work more closely with clients, communicate more effectively, share important data and ultimately place the right people.
"The ability to provide self-service to candidates, managers and recruiters has transformed the market. Agencies can track the progress of clients and use online timesheeting which improves efficiency and saves time. The overall reduction in administration is huge," he says.
Although technology can provide a host of cost and time saving benefits it seems that softer skills like branding and relationship building will be the new battleground for the latest recruitment tools.
EASYJET'S NO FRILLS RECRUITMENT
Budget airline easyJet has been one of the internet's biggest success story, utilising technology to pioneer ticketless travel, paperless operations and online sales.
The airline is also at the forefront of recruitment technology using the Adapt Workforce Management system to achieve a number of key benefits.
The introduction of the software dramatically reduced administration costs but more importantly helped drive the employer brand and pushed up the volume of applications from 500 per month to more than 4,000.
The system, designed by Bond International, also cut administration time by 75% by automating referencing and increased the placement rate from 5% to more than 35%.
EasyJet recruitment manager James Miller says it was the system's ability to integrate with the web that proved so successful.
"The web already plays a key part in easyJet's existing operations, and has played a pivotal part in our strategy to keep costs down through the effective use of high-quality software. It was entirely logical to apply the same principles when reviewing our needs for a recruitment application," he says.
"The new system dovetails beautifully with our existing website, simplifying and streamlining the application process and significantly reducing administration costs."
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