Cost analysis and control is driving the adoption of recruitment software systems among employers,Tony Flanagan marketing manager of ASR Computers told Recruiter at the Softworld HR and Payroll Show in Birmingham.

“Self-service functionality on HR systems means roles that were traditionally overseen or undertaken  by HR, such as recruitment, are now carried out by line managers,” he said.

As a result, businesses are struggling to collate data and analyse how the whole organisation is recruiting.

Systems can monitor where each candidate is coming from, and which advert they are responding to. Flanagan says: “When you input the cost of each piece of recruitment, you can produce data on the cost-effectiveness of all the organisation’s recruitment.”

He continued: “All managers have to justify any spend in a competitive environment,  so systems give managers the tools they need to justify their recruitment spend.”

Steve Sunley, OpenPeople business partner manager, agreed. He told Recruiter: “When customers come to us at the moment they are asking about analysis. Our system uses scorecards, and flags up any potential issues as green amber or red, so people can keep an eye on whatever concerns them, whether that’s retention, headcount, or the cost of recruitment.”

Ian Henderson, HR officer, pay and performance at Rotherham Metropolitan Council, told Recruiter that broad HR analysis had helped the organisation cut sickness absence and deal with succession planning. He said: “We are investing in a recruitment system, which will help us with analysis on that side too.”

This focus on analysis has made the recruitment modules of HR systems a more core spend, Flanagan said: “Two years ago the focus was on HR systems. Now most people who buy the system seem to opt for the recruitment module.”