5 Candidate Management Tips for Streamlining Screening

Without removing the human element from the hiring process, HRMS software can assist you with keeping the experience organized and effective. By creating effective channels to communicate at all stages of screening you can manage expectations of both your hiring managers and the applicants. What are some ways that HRMS can help with candidate management? How can it streamline your screening?

Screening Question Data

In an effort to remain compliant with ever changing employment laws there is some wisdom in developing standard questions that will assist the hiring process. Screening questions are the oldest trick in the candidate management book and your new HRMS system should allow you to create an online screening application easily and quickly. In addition to this, think about whether you need an HRMS which can assess the broad trends in this data? I’m not talking about whether it can reject a candidate for not having English and Math qualifications, I’m taking about whether it can link these screening questions to HR metrics such as ‘Time to Hire’ or future training costs.

Application Requirements

You should be setting the standard for the characteristics you are looking for in your applicant’s profiles. Communicating your expectations to applicants earlier on will make the candidate management process a walk in the park rather than a trek up Everest. Do you want to see three or more years of experience? Are you looking for someone with expert level skills in Microsoft Office? You should establish these requirements within the automated application module of an HRMS.

Candidate Accessibility

The easiest way for a candidate to access the application is to build a clear Call to Action into your website and social media output. Many modern HRMS solutions are built with these types of requirements in mind and a simple integration will publish this content to the web. Alternatively, you can struggle along with manual processes until you fingertips ache from repetitive manual data entry, you choice....

Hiring Manager Accessibility

Once an application is submitted through the system each hiring manager should have access to the information including the answers to the screening questions, the application requirements, and the resume. Remember that candidate management does not always revolve around the applicant, manager accessibility within your HRMS, whether this is through automated email alerts or a manager self-service portal, is vital. A ship’s captain without his bearings may just head for the rocks.

Social Media Integration

Traditional channels of communication are no longer sufficient for finding the very best candidates available. Talented people are turning to social media (and *billboard advertising apparently) to showcase their expertise and the best place to communicate with them is where they already are. Why not let them know that your application process allows CV import from LinkedIn, or publish your requirements and the job advert to relevant communities on Google Plus - people who are active in these communities show a genuine interest in that niche, exploit that! This level of social integration is still relatively new to HRMS and ATS software, but there are vendors out there who can provide it - so why not get ahead of the curve.