White Paper HR Technology for Small Businesses How Your Business Can Benefit from an Applicant Tracking System
Growing your small business requires getting great people involved from the beginning. Hiring high-quality talent gets your business off the ground and sets the stage for future success. Small Businesses According to the U.S. Small Business Association, small businesses, having fewer than 500 employees, represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. 1 Further census research shows that 79 percent of all firms in the U.S. have no payroll, and another 17 percent employ less than 10 people. 2 Additionally, self-employed Americans and the workers they hire account for approximately 44 million jobs in America, or nearly 30 percent of the workforce. 3 Small businesses also employ about half of all private sector employees, have created the majority of the job growth in the past 15 years, and are at the cornerstone of innovation. Small businesses hire 43 percent of all high-tech workers, including scientists, engineers, computer programmers, and many others. 4 Despite their integral role as the country s largest segment of employers, small businesses still face many challenges. In order for a company to be successful, having the right people in place is a key factor. Recruiting is important at any firm, but it s even more critical at start-ups and small businesses as they struggle to maximize return on staffing investments. For large companies that employ hundreds or thousands of employees, it s easy to get by with a few C players. Small businesses, however, are too lean to tolerate sub-par performers. Every hire counts, because a single bad hire can significantly lower overall company performance and productivity. Applicant Tracking Systems Traditionally, it was believed that applicant tracking systems (ATS) and HR technology only benefit large companies. Industry changes and technological advances have made applicant tracking systems feasible, affordable, and even necessary for small and very small businesses. According to HR technology blogger Steve Boese, There is almost no reason why even the smallest, least technically capable organizations and HR departments can t take advantage of at least some level of automation to better manage the recruiting process. Applicant tracking systems have moved out of the realm of big corporations and made their way into human resources departments across all segments and industries. Gone are the days when email folders, spread sheets, and filing cabinets were considered viable systems for recruiting high-quality talent. With nearly 28 million small businesses in the U.S., the war for top talent is becoming increasingly competitive, and losing qualified candidates in paper piles just doesn t cut it. However, 70 percent of companies with fewer than 1,000 employees are not using an applicant tracking system of any kind to manage their talent acquisition process. 5 Only 13 percent rated their talent acquisition process as more than moderately effective, with nearly 1 in 3 rating their process as less than effective. The takeaway? There exists a need to improve the small business recruiting process, and HR technology can help. 1. U.S. Small Business Administration. FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions. U.S. Small Business Administration. U.S. Small Business Administration, 2013. Web. Mar. 2013. <http://web.sba.gov/faqs/faqindex.cfm?areaid=24>. 2. Compeau, Marc. Defining Small Business. Forbes. Forbes, 2011. Web. Mar. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/marccompeau/2011/10/22/defining-small-business/>. 3. Pew Research Center. Three-in-Ten Jobs Are Held By the Self-Employed and the Workers They Hire. Pew Social Trends, 2015. Web. November 2015. <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/10/22 three-in-ten-u-s-jobs-are-held-by-the-self-employed-and-the-workers-they-hire/>. 4. U.S. Small Business Administration. FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions. U.S. Small Business Administration. U.S. Small Business Administration, 2013. Web. Mar. 2013. <http://web.sba.gov/faqs/faqindex.cfm?areaid=24>. 5. BrandonHall. Talent Acquisition Benchmark Survey. 2014. Web. November 2015. <https://membership.brandonhall.com/posts/785540>.
How Small Businesses Benefit From an ATS Many small and very small businesses often hesitate to invest in new HR software because it can be difficult to quantify the benefits received from automating many processes; however, there are a number of quantifiable advantages associated with implementing a talent acquisition solution, listed below. Small businesses can create career sites that are just as engaging, user-friendly and informative as any well-known brand, if not more so. Given that 85 percent of job seekers rely on career portals at some point during their application process, it s imperative that every company, even the smallest of businesses, maintain branded career sites. 2. Social Media Integration Employment Branding: Large firms have well-known products and the advantage of an employment brand that s already well-established and more easily attracts the very best applicants. Start-ups and very small businesses have little to no name recognition, possibly no dedicated recruiters, and an informal recruiting process, which makes growing a small business and attracting top talent a particular challenge. Leading applicant tracking systems provide several tools to increase your employment brand and value among potential applicants: 1. Branded Career Sites Career sites are built to match your company s branding, giving potential applicants a sneak peek at your company culture. Right from the start, companies can provide a friendly and immersive candidate experience. Online career sites also allow for the online submission and storing of resumes, CVs, cover letters, and other requested forms. Career sites also allow you to add job descriptions with flair. Include pictures, videos, and a compelling story around your company and the specific open position what its main tasks are, how it impacts the business, what interactions can be expected, etc. Branded career sites are a great way for small businesses to level the playing field when it comes to competing with larger businesses for talent. Though 1 in 3 small businesses still don t believe that social media is important to their recruiting efforts 6, 65 percent of companies say they ve sourced quality new hires from social media. 7 Social media is no longer an ancillary recruiting approach for the tech-savvy, it s a necessary part of recruitment for all businesses. Many HR technology applications also integrate with social media networks like Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn, allowing potential applicants to submit their social media profile to a company in a few easy steps. Recruiters can then view candidate profiles in real-time within their systems. That means that the recruiter has immediate access to the most up-to-date candidate information any time. Additionally, recruiters can display available jobs on company social media pages with very little effort. This not only expands the company s recruitment reach but also shows other interested parties, such as potential investors, the company s growth strategy. Passive candidates, customers, and fans then have the ability to browse and share open positions through their favorite social site. For example, jobs can be posted on Twitter timelines or Facebook walls. 6. Enplug. Small Businesses Don t Think Social Media is Important, Consumers Think Otherwise. SocialMediaToday.com, 2015. Web. November 2015. < http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/ryangushue/2015-08-17/ small-businesses-dont-think-social-media-important-consumers>. 7. Society for Human Resource Management. SHRM Survery: 2/3 of Companies Made Social Media Hires. ERE Media, 2015. Web. November 2015. < http://www.eremedia.com/ere/shrm-survey-23-of-companies-made-social-media-hires/>.
high-caliber applicants have been overlooked. As a solution, employers can use applicant tracking systems to pre-screen and identify qualified candidates quickly and easily. 3. Employee Referrals Established companies will agree that their best source of qualified talent often comes from effectively leveraging their current workforce. In fact, research finds that 88 percent of employers rate employee referrals above all other sources for quality of hires. 8 As a general rule, smart people associate with other smart people. HR professionals consistently point to employee referral programs as one of their strongest and most cost-efficient sources from which they hire. Applicant tracking systems ultimately make it simple to develop and implement a robust employee referral program. For example, current employees can share existing jobs with friends and family through email and social media. Then, an ATS can track the source from which a candidate enters your platform as well as tag the employee that referred them. An employee referral program is a great way for startups and small businesses to grow their workforce quickly and cost effectively, and doesn t require robust resources and capital. Maintaining an employee referral program with an applicant tracking system doesn t require extensive maintenance, either. Using tools like icims Social Distribution, job openings will automatically post to participating employees social media profiles, at a frequency of their choosing. Save Time and Money Attracting candidates and collecting resumes is only half the battle! Many employers spend a significant amount of time manually sifting through resumes, screening, and interviewing dozens and sometimes hundreds of applicants. With this many applicants, employers often cannot read each resume individually. As a result, employers must question how many icims proprietary research also finds that recruiters report spending five or more hours of their week on manual or redundant data entry. An applicant tracking system takes virtually all the manual data entry and resume screening away from the hiring process, allowing you to focus less time and funds on growing your business. Additionally, if you work in an industry with high turnover, hiring can be a never-ending process. It can be difficult to keep up with the constant stream of resumes. Automating your hiring process keeps you organized so you can manage this process efficiently. Much of the initial screening time, and in turn, cost is eliminated with an ATS. Build a Candidate Database Over Time More than 80 percent of hiring small businesses report that they have few or no qualified applicants for open positions. 9 With a database of resumes collected through your ATS, you ll have access to contacts when you need to fill current positions or new openings. Companies that focus on actively recruiting are considered the strongest and most viable, but building an effective pipeline to sustain such an effort goes beyond collecting and managing resumes. Effective pipelines are composed of qualified candidates ready to work at a moment s notice. Ideally, pipelined candidates have already been screened and are just waiting to be matched to an ideal opening. 52 percent of U.S. companies surveyed say that building a talent pipeline is their top talent acquisition priority 10 ; given that 97 percent of U.S. companies are small businesses, it s safe to assume that many small businesses are already considering the advantages of talent pools. Track Compliance 8. CareerBuilder. Referral Madness. Web. November, 2015. < http://www.careerbuildercommunications.com/pdf/referralbook.pdf>. 9. National Federation of Independent Business. 2015. Web. November 2015. < http://www.benefitspro.com/2015/07/20/hiring-challenges-for-small-business>. 10. icims HIring Insights
Despite the importance of the OFCCP s evolving regulations, many organizations are still struggling with manual EEO data entry and time-consuming, inefficient report generations. Applicant tracking systems allow for automatic collection and storage of a broad range of applicant-related information, making it easy to track and report EEO data in compliance with federal regulations. If your company is selected for an audit, comprehensive reports can be produced instantly. Typically, small businesses see their smaller budgets, especially in their human resources departments, as an obstacle that keeps them from taking advantage of HR technology and truly recognizing their value. However, today s leading HR technology serves as a hub for a multitude of flexible talent acquisition services, ensuring that small businesses get the most for their money. As Bersin & Associates notes, Today s ATS is really an integration platform, which not only is used to track incoming resumes, but also connects to sourcing tools and services and job boards. All these business areas are like planets in the solar system of Talent Acquisition, and to some degree the talent acquisition system is the sun. Software-as-a-Service talent acquisition software therefore makes targeted human resource technologies accessible and affordable, helping small human resources teams function like a full-fledged department.
How icims Can Help icims is the leading provider of talent acquisition solutions that help businesses win the war for top talent. icims empowers companies to manage their entire hiring process within the industry s most robust Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Built on the foundation of a best-to-market talent acquisition software suite, icims PaaS framework, UNIFi, allows employers to expand the capabilities of their core talent acquisition technology by integrating with the largest partner ecosystem in talent acquisition to help them attract, find, screen, and manage candidates. Offering scalable, easy-to-use solutions that are backed by award-winning customer service, icims supports more than 3,500 contracted customers and is one of the largest and fastest-growing talent acquisition solution providers. For more resources visit icims.com/hiring-insights Connect with icims on social media!