Running a business can be frustrating with all the tools you need to run it effectively. And when you are talking about a business in HR consulting, it can seem daunting. That is where you looking for an off-the-shelf product or designing your own staffing agency software to meet your needs.
The use of this technology to further the workflow and recruitment processes can be super beneficial and that is why in this article we will be taking a look at the tools, functions, and tips on using staffing software solutions to assist you in creating a well-oiled HR machine. Time is money and so let’s not waste any of it and get right into what you came for and hopefully by the time you are done with this article you will feel better equipped to decide on just how to handle your staffing needs.
When you are building a recruitment firm your staffing software will be one of the top tools you will use. The function of this software is to build a platform that will help your team form and nurture a good communication database with a wide range of potential candidates. Then with this communication set in place your HR and team will be capable of monitoring and managing the recruitment process more effectively.
The best staffing software can automate and simplify the process of finding, evaluating candidates, sending offers, and managing the whole process from processing job requirements to sending a new employee off to work.
Undertaking this enterprise may seem difficult and if that is the case, you can always reach out to a software development service to make a custom staffing agency software for you. There are a lot of problems that are solved by enlisting the wide selection of staffing software features that most will come or be designed with. With these software solutions you will be able to:
These benefits will help conquer some of the major problems you face as you are building your business. Things like:
There are several types of staffing agency systems that you can utilize to help streamline the hiring and talent management processes within your company. Here are the three main types:
Otherwise known as a Human Resource Information System this software is used for the input, tracking, and needs of all data related to your HR, financial (payroll), management and other accounting tasks.
This acronym stands for Human Capital Management Software. This is enterprise-level software that is easy to scaleup and allows for the automation of things like payroll, reviews, training and recruiting of talent.
You may find this also listed as a Human Resource Management System. This software has a large stack of processes and systems housed within it to streamline the HR management and information gathering parts of your hiring and talent management processes.
No matter what the cost of staffing software is there a lot of great solutions to be had by looking into these systems. But knowing which one is the right one for you can be difficult and with so many ready-made options why should you look at developing your own? In this section, we will be diving into all these questions and more.
This is a crucial decision and there are certain criteria that you should use when choosing your SAS. Here are some brief thoughts on what you should consider when making this decision:
Engineering your own SAS may not be in your budget and so you may find yourself looking at some of the amazing and well known pre-built systems on the market. There are a lot of great ones, so let’s look at three of the biggest.
This is a software solution that is built to help manage the hiring process, searching for candidates, storing data about candidates, managing and generating resumes with your logo on it, and more. Zoho is built with many different options to fit the needs of a wide variety of business models and industries. This means that you can choose the pricing tier that not only fits your budget but your business as well.
Features
This recruitment software is combined with an ATS to help improve your companies recruiting and hiring processes. It is designed with an intuitive interface that will help simplify many of the repetitive tasks involved in the talent and recruitment department.
Features
This is an applicant tracking system (ATS) that comes with a lot of features including access from any browser or smart device. Through this system, you can manage the entire process of hiring from a job posting to the final hiring as well as utilize social media to optimize the process.
Features
Though it may be easier to just go with a commercial option making the decision to build a staffing software comes with a pretty great list of advantages.
Just like everything else in this world SAS’s are not one size fits all. You may have industry requirements that differ from others or simply want only a handful of certain options and with a ready-made system, you get what they think you need. Taking the bull by the horns and crafting your own system will allow you to tailor to the needs you have and the processes you want to benefit from it.
On the subject of the process with a custom-made SAS, you will be able to build the system around the processes you have in place in your business. If you use a pre-made system you will have to bend your processes to the whims of that system, and this may mean more training and time taken away from more urgent matters to do so.
Waiting for a company to get to your technical issues and maintenance can take forever as they have a whole slew of customers potentially dealing with the same issues. When you invest in your own staffing agency software you are in charge and when something goes wrong you can react with haste to get it fixed and back up and running.
Having control over your own software will allow it to expand as your business grow. If you use a pre-made SAS, you may have to upgrade your software or even go with another company altogether as your company grows. This can be expensive and time-consuming.
Because this software is made to your specifications you will be able to optimize the exact benefits you want to, and this will boost not only your talent retention but your sales too.
Once you decide if you are going to go with a custom-made system the next step is starting the process of development. This will require a little planning and some big decision, so it is probably best if we start with how to create your own staff agency software.
But before we go into that lets dive into some numbers really quick. When dealing with the cost of building your custom-made software the entire process you will be looking at a budget of anywhere from $10,000 up to $250,000. Though you may run into higher financial culpability the more unique and larger you expand your software out to. (The numbers that we will discuss further will be estimations in regards to a low-cost software build.)
In order to craft the perfect and most efficient SAS software you will want to follow a plan and that plan starts with the preparation of the software. The steps you should take are detailed below.
This may be the most crucial part of the process. In this step, you will talk to the people that will be using this software when it is done. That includes your management team, your core team as well as future candidates so that you will make sure the interface and processes make using the system easy.
Then you should look at the problems you are looking to address with the software and divide them into levels of importance as well as divisions (i.e. talent management)
Now that you have some idea of what you want from your staffing agency software you will want to look at other software that is popular on the market to see what they offer and how user-friendly they are. This could lead to some ideas on how you ant your software set-up.
Then you will want to look at the stakeholders that will be affected and be using your system to make sure you are addressing their needs as well.
Now that you have all the core information down you will want to begin to categorize the features regarding the problems you are addressing.
You also need to begin to think about the technology aspect at this point and form your final list of components.
This is the final part of the initial process. This is where you build the final aspects you will require in your software as well as the parts you will need to complete these transactions.
Now that you know what you want, it is time to begin the hunt for the right developer to do it. Before you choose though there are some important questions you need to have at the ready to make your final decision easier.
Questions to Ask
Will a custom-made software give the company the biggest pay-off?
What type of experience do you need and want?
What does the cost of this project look like from beginning to end?
How long will it take to develop this intricate software?
What option when it comes to developer works the best for you?
Options
With those questions answered or in hand now you need to choose the option that will work best for you. There are only really the options here is a look at each of those:
This option may have a lot of great benefits, but it will also take time. With in-house, you will hire a developer that will stay on your payroll permanently. Here are the pros and cons of this option:
Pros:
Cons:
There is a whole world of freelancers out there. These independent contractors can be a great choice if you want to find an inexpensive way to hire someone with a lot of experience in their chosen field.
Pros:
Cons:
Using a software development agency may be the most cost-effective and secure way to go. These companies specialize in completing this project with the highest level of efficiency.
Pros:
Cons:
Feature | In-House | Freelancer | Agency |
Cost | High | Low | Medium |
Time Needed | High | High | Low |
Communication | Great | Challenging | Great |
Efficiency & Quality | Great | Problematic | Excellent |
If you do decide that an agency is your preferred option, there are a few steps to take into consideration when choosing the right one for you and your business. Here are the steps you should take in this process:
In the end, having your very own staffing agency software is clearly the way to go. An application that is custom-tailored to your agency’s processes will help manage vacancies and resumes from different clients and candidates. It will help you automate the routine tasks that eat up the time and store volumes of data about your agency’s work.
If you decide to develop a software system for your HR agency, contact our services and we’ll gladly discuss the details with you and advise on the best possible outcomes