10 steps to successful staffing and recruitment …...2018/01/10 · t 10 steps to successful...

10 Steps to

Successful

Staffing and

Recruitment

Software

Selection

T

10 Steps to Successful Staffing and

Recruitment Software Selection

echnology advances at a dizzying pace. Ten years

ago ‘social media recruitment’ via online social networks

was only an idea in some entrepreneurial minds. Today it

is a mainstay for tech-savvy recruitment and staffing

professionals. With ongoing advances and an eye on the

future, the recruitment industry must continually adapt to

provide faster, better services than ever before.

Staffing and recruitment software plays a crucial role in the continued success of agencies. It is, as one

staffing agency owner said, “the lifeblood of our company,” enabling the effective management of the

many complex business relationships between clients and candidates.

So it is with understandable anxiety that agency management considers upgrading the technology they

already have in order to keep up with or improve their fortunes in today’s sophisticated and competitive

environment. Today, measuring quality, increasing productivity, and being operationally efficient are all-

important in the business of making placements and filling jobs.

Choosing the best staffing or recruitment software product to meet your agency’s specific needs and

goals can be a formidable task. The stakes are high.

You need a vendor partner that delivers solutions, not just features.

To some, choosing the “best” system consists of looking at all the vendor software packages and buying

the one with the most or newest bells and whistles. With so many products available on the market, it’s

important to look much deeper than what the software may offer – you need to look at the partnership

you’ll be entering into as well.

Most importantly, clarifying the selection process begins with the simple recognition that the best system

for your organization is the one that provides real solutions to the challenges you now face and will help

you reach the goals you are trying to achieve. An analysis of those goals will provide the framework for

setting the criteria for system selection and will lend credence to the process for you and your staff. A

structured business analysis will yield a list of requirements that you can use to compare the

functionality of various software packages.

The 10-step approach that follows for selecting staffing and recruitment software should reduce the

stress of the selection process and ensure that your final choice will help you meet your goals.

3 10 Steps to Successful Staffing and Recruitment Software Selection

GOAL/PRIORITY Improve sales rep sales closure rates

Improve recruiter time-to-fill rates and placements Improve operating and service efficiency

1. Choose a Selection Strategy and a Selection TeamHow you will make your decision? Charting a strategy before you begin will

make the process easier and will enable involved personnel to visualize the

end result more clearly. Without a detailed plan, the process can become

never-ending. You need to decide:

•Who will be involved in the selection process?

•What part will each person play?

•What steps will you take?

•How will the final decision be made?

•Who will make the final decision?

•When do you plan to make the final decision?

•What is your budget?

Deciding whom to involve is probably simple. Your decision to look for a

new recruitment software solution probably began with both business and

technical factors. The people involved in those issues are the most likely

players in the selection process. Involving key stake-holder representatives

from your sales, recruiting, accounting, and technical staff will lend balance

to the final decision and create buy-in from all constituents.

2. Map Your Company Priorities and Business

Requirements

What are your priorities?

Software should help you meet your company’s goals. The three biggest

reasons to even consider looking at upgrading or replacing your current

recruitment software solution are:

• Your business is not achieving its performance goals due to the

inefficiencies caused by your current system.

• You believe that the system will not be able to meet your business

goals due to lack of features, functions, scalability, business strategy

changes, etc.

• Your current system is putting you at a competitive disadvantage.

Defining those goals will provide a better foundation for understanding how

software can provide solutions. Begin by identifying your top priorities based

on the primary roles of front-line staff and management, such as the partial

list of typical goals below.

SOFTWARE FEATURES • Unified user interface to reduce effort related to

processes.• Prioritization and management of sales activities.• Easy means to collaborate and manage pipelines.• Mobile capabilities to improve ease of response.• Intuitive user interface to improve productivity.• Easy management of candidates and contacts.• Fast, easy search and order/requisition fulfillment.• Cloud-based, web-browser Software-as-a-Service

(SaaS).• Reduce data entry effort, errors, and expenses with

integrated client invoicing and temp/contract payroll.• Dashboards and reporting provides actionable insights

for collaboration, pipeline management, and operations.

• Enables the implementation of configurable workflows.

Selection Tip

Always focus on ‘WHY’

something is important

when determining your

business priorities and

requirements. If you

can, attach a monetary

value to the priority or

business requirement.


Determine Your Business Requirements: What do you

want to fix or preserve?

First you need to identify the processes you may want to

change or preserve, such as:

• Applicant entry - where and how is it done?

• Method of capturing candidate skills - coding vs. CV searching and parsing

• Company/client ownership - what rules are in place?

• Job order information and evaluation - what questions are asked that must be documented? What rankings and other criteria are utilized?

• Back office processes - how will temp/contract payroll and

client invoicing be handled?

• Management reporting - what reporting is required, desired and optimal?

• Integrations - what other data sources and/or third party applications must be integrated to efficiently support operating business processes and/or strategies?

Once you have recognized the processes that should be fixed or preserved, then, based on

the results of the previous steps, compile your list of business requirements. This can be done

in spreadsheet form for easy use during the software evaluation process.

• List each requirement you have identified.

• Rate each item in terms of necessity:

o 3 = Must have, will not sacrifice.o 2 = Will sacrifice if necessary.o 1 = Nice to have.

• Add other features you would like, assigning the appropriate rating.• Lay out your requirements in a five column grid, with the columns labeled:

o Rating.o Requirement.o Functionality.o Advantages.o Disadvantages.

Add additional rows for pricing, support services, references and business partnership issues. You

now have a grid or template of your business needs and system requirements that you can use with

each system you wish to evaluate.


3. Define Your Company Structure and Climate for Change

The current structure of your organization and your plans for the future can each

influence your choice of a system. Consider your:

• Number of office locations, current and projected.

• Service areas: perm, temp, contract.

• Market niches and specific needs of the markets you serve.

• Need to share information across databases.

• Need to share information across locations, divisions or teams.

Some software systems are well equipped to handle multiple disciplines or office

locations; others are not. Some systems are clearly geared towards permanent,

tempory or contract recruitment.

Those that do handle a variety of disciplines do so with varying degrees of

success. If yours is a firm that has more than one service offering, the ability to

handle those offerings seamlessly will be a major factor in your consideration of

software systems.

Is your company ready for the impact of change?

Installing a new software system, whether replacing your current system or going

through a major upgrade, creates the opportunity to re-engineer your business

processes. Just attempting to mirror your current processes may deny you the

opportunity to gain significant efficiencies and productivity enhancements.

In addition, a new system may produce a temporarily negative impact on

productivity, as staff adjust to the changes. The size of that impact depends on

your staff’s attitude. When staff are inclined to embrace change, chances are that

a new system will show a positive effect quickly; when staff resist change, the

opposite can be true.

• Consider your staff’s tenure and how many changes they have been through –

management, organization, physical office moves, process changes, etc. How well have they dealt with the issues surrounding those changes?

• Examine your own attitude toward change. Do you believe that your “tried and true” methods are the best and that change would be a mistake? Or do you believe that processes should be malleable based on strategic goals?

• What is the level of your staff’s technical ability? Are they likely to embrace a new technological solution or will they be intimidated?

If you determine that your organization has a high quotient for change, the

structure of the system you choose will be less of a factor, giving you more room

to implement new processes. If, on the other hand, you wish to preserve your

current processes by automating them, you need to look for the system that most

closely mirrors those processes, or one that allows configuration or customization.

Even so, keep in mind that your business strategies and processes may change

over time. Starting up a new line of business would require changes in your

software processes as well. With that consideration, a system offering the

flexibility to change as your business changes is vital.

Importantly, you will reduce the impact of change on your staff’s productivity with

good training and communicating to your staff the benefits of the change to them

personally.

Selection Tip

A fresh look at your

sales, recruitment, and

operating processes

can help you uncover

and address areas for

improvement. A new

software system can

then be a positive

catalyst for change in

these processes.


4. Identify Internal Resources and Technology Infrastructure

The success of any software implementation depends on the ability to keep the

system running smoothly, both technically and operationally. In addition, training,

change management and operational issues need to be handled.

Identify your internal resources – people and infrastructure – for accomplishing these

tasks. The degree to which you can handle them internally may affect both the

complexity of the system you choose and your need for vendor services. For

example, do you have the internal staff already in place to effectively manage the

implementation and ongoing management of a new system?

Your current technology can greatly influence the selection of a software product.

Your desire to upgrade or attempt to maintain your existing infrastructure should be

based not only on the investment in hardware and platform that you have already

made but also on its ability to grow and accommodate your future plans. Here again

is an opportunity to look at your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over time. Consider

the following:

• Do you currently have a server in place?

• If so, how old is it? Is it depreciated?

• Is the platform meeting your present needs?

• Does the current system offer you enough room for growth?

• Does the current system meet your performance efficiency needs?

• Are your telecommunications needs being handled currently?

• Will future plans require added connectivity solutions?

• Does your budget allow you to upgrade or replace existing infrastructure?

• Could you reduce your TCO with an On Demand Software as a Service/SaaS

solution?

Obviously then, you have choices for the deployment of your new software, from

enterprise systems that you host at your location (On Premise) to On Demand

subscription systems (Software as a Service/SaaS).

If you purchase an On Premise enterprise system, software vendors may require that

you have a dedicated IS person on staff to ensure technical stability and

maintenance of the system on a day-to-day basis. In addition, a new On Premise

system will often require new server hardware, connectivity services, and new server

software.

Simplifying the implementation and offering attractive TCO, businesses of all sizes

are increasingly choosing On Demand SaaS systems to upgrade to from their current

systems. However, it’s important to keep in mind that SaaS comes in a variety of

deployment methods, which can have a significant impact on the cost, delivery,

flexibility, reliability, performance, and configurability of the software.

For example, multi-tenant SaaS applications may offer low cost and fast set-up, but

are not as flexible or configurable as single-tenant SaaS or virtualized systems that

enable software vendors to support multiple tenants in a single hardware

environment. When looking at potential cloud-based SaaS vendors, it’s imperative to

ask about the hosting environment and security. Furthermore, where the actual data

resides geographically is an important issue as you are dealing with private personal

data subject to the laws of the countries you are doing business in.

From your technical analysis, determine whether a specific technology is a

requirement for your company. If you are starting from scratch or fully replacing your

existing systems, you may want to consult experts who can provide technical

specifications to meet your current and projected requirements.

Selection Tip

Generally, businesses

replace computer

servers and user PC’s

or laptops every 3-5

years. Doing so will

give you a measurable

boost in performance,

especially when

combined with new,

more efficient staffing

and recruitment

software.


5. Create a List of Potential Vendors

Your first list should include six-to-ten vendors that appear to satisfy your

requirements, enough to provide a good cross-section of functionality without

overwhelming you.

There are several resources for identifying systems for staffing and recruitment.

You can start with a Web search for potential software vendors using such

keywords as “staffing software” or “recruitment software.” Visiting vendor sites to

review online demos and download brochures and/or white papers will provide

enough information for you to begin making a list of the systems that are most

likely to meet your needs.

Recruitment industry trade shows and events are a very good place to get a

sense of what’s available as well as do comparison shopping between the

offerings of several vendors. Word-of-mouth is also an excellent resource. Talk

with your colleagues in the industry; check with staff who may have worked at

other services, or consult industry experts.

6. Contact Vendors and Compare Product DemosAs you contact vendors, freely discuss your primary requirements, technology needs,

overall structure and plans for growth. It is especially important that you share as

much information as possible about the current challenges you may have with your

system as well as your business operations and strategy. The more the vendor

knows about your business and your future plans, the more likely it is that they can

effectively help you achieve your business goals.

These preliminary conversations will help you decide whether to proceed with each

vendor. When you’ve determined that you would like to know more, arrange for a

demo, which may be delivered in various formats:

• Online Demo. The most effective method of getting an understanding of a software

product is an online demo, where you can watch or participate in a demo of the

software over the Internet. This can be extremely useful, as you’ll be guided through the features in which you are most interested.

• “Sandbox” Demo. Some vendors offer you the opportunity of going online and using their software in a test environment. While this gives you some hands-on experience with the user interface, its value is limited without some training to familiarize you with using the software.

• Face-to-face Demo. At some time in the selection process it may be advisable to meet with the vendor in person, not only to see the product used live with your key stakeholders, but also to ensure that you are joining forces with a business partner

with whom you can relate and trust.

As you review the products, use the grid that you’ve prepared. Describe the features

and functionality that pertain to your requirements, and list the advantages and

disadvantages of each vendor’s products.

When possible, you or your staff should use the system yourself. There is a big

difference between watching someone else perform the commands and actually

doing them yourself. What may seem simple when you are watching may be quite

complicated when you’re the user. The caveat is that, without training and/or

guidance, your hands-on experience may be frustrating. Remember that there is

always a learning curve.

Selection Tip

Use a ‘Day in the Life’

demo for each role in

your organization. This

will show how well

unified the software’s

functionality and ease-

of-use is for your staff.


Also, you will want to 'dig deeper' with your questions. If you ask a question

about a process that is important to you, make sure you are shown exactly how

it works, or given the ability to test it out for yourself, rather than just being

verbally told it can be done. While not intentionally misleading, an explanation

could be misunderstood or interpreted differently by each member of your team.

Relationships matter for long-term success.

The quality of the vendor relationship should remain forefront in your mind

during the demo stage. Not only are you purchasing a product that will form the

basis of your business processes, but you are also forming a partnership that

will last for many years.

The nuances that you perceive in the initial stage are likely the kernel of the

ongoing relationship. You must feel comfortable that you are partnering with a

company that has the same ideals and ethics as your own. In this light, it is a

very good idea to visit the vendor’s premises, even if it means a long-distance

trip.

7. Identify the Top Three Contenders

Using the grids you have prepared as a guide, you and your committee then

identify the vendors that meet the greatest percentage of your requirements. It is

not unusual to ask for more demos of a system before reaching this stage.

Because every agency has its own objectives and methods, it is important to

remember that it is not likely that any one vendor will meet 100 percent of your

needs. A good rule of thumb is to look for a product that meets 80 percent of

your needs from a vendor who is your top choice as a long-term partner. But

what about the other 20 percent?

• Make sure the 80 percent is the right 80 percent. The priorities you ranked “3” should be met 100 percent. If your “3”-ranked priorities are not met, ask yourself whether you have gained information during the selection process that compensates for that priority or has even caused you to change your priorities.

• Obtain ideas from vendors or consultants about “work-arounds” – finding uses for which the software was not designed but that it can be made to do. Sometimes these turn out to be so useful that vendors will include them in future upgrades for all of their clients.

• Discuss customization or configuration, or the possibility of including functionality you would like in future releases. While customization and configuration can be costly, and some vendors are simply not willing to do it, some vendors consider it a good investment of their time and energy to add enhancements you request that may also be beneficial to other customers.

• Consider how you might change your internal processes to accommodate functions that are lacking in the system.

Ideally, at this point, you and your committee will agree on the top two to three vendors.


8. Obtain Pricing from the Top ContendersThere is a lot to think through in pricing new software – and it’s not just the cost

of software. You also have to consider:

• Software Delivery Method - How do you want to access and use the

software?

o As an enterprise (self-hosted/On Premise) solution?o As a subscription based On Demand Software as a Service/SaaS?o What are the costs for each?

• Data Migration Services - Does the vendor offer services to migrate data

from your old system to their system? If so, what will it cost? Data migration is

often one of the most challenging tasks related to software upgrades.

Consider:

o Do you have multiple databases to migrate from?o Are the databases all the same type, or do you have multiple

databases used by different departments or teams to be migrated intoone system?

o Do you have someone on your team that has the technical knowledgeto understand it's not a simple 'copy and paste' process?

o Do you have someone on your team with knowledge of your legacy

system who can assist in the mapping and translations tasks for themigration?

o Do you know how you will acquire a backup of data from your legacy

system? Is this something that you can provide, or will you have torequest this from your current vendor? This is required to provide anaccurate cost estimate, and of course for the actual migration itself.

• Implementation Services - Does the vendor provide assistance with

implementation issues involving the use of the system, definition of fields,

values for coded fields and the like? If so, are there additional costs?

• Installation - Does the vendor provide a full software install? What is the

cost?

• Training - What formats are available? Is there an additional cost, or is it

bundled into the total cost? Is ongoing training available? What does it cost?

• Support Services - What support plans are available, how much do they cost?

• Upgrade Policies and Costs - How often does the vendor release updates

to the system? Are the updates included in the support contract?

• Hardware Costs - What upgrades need to take place to your hardware, user

stations, and network? Be sure to include servers, workstations, printers,

cabling, telecommunication costs, and installation and support services.

• Additional User Costs - As you add new users, what will be the costs to

expand the software? (Whenever possible, ask the vendor to lock in a per-

user upgrade price for a certain period of time.)

• Internal Technical Support Costs - Will you need to upgrade the skills of

your internal IT support staff? Will you need to add IT support staff or contract

for outside IT support services?

• Additional Software Modules - Does the vendor offer other software

modules that extend the core applications’ functionality or capabilities? Do

these fit your needs? What do they cost?

• Additional Services - Does the vendor offer related technology services

such as disaster recovery services? Do they fit your needs? Will these

enhance your services and the vendor partnership? What do they cost?

Selection Tip

Determine the Total

Cost of Ownership

(TCO) for the software,

hardware, and services

for the system that you

are looking at over

three-to-five years at a

minimum.


9. Obtain References

Do not omit this critically important step. Whenever possible, obtain references

from users whose names were not provided by the vendor. Ad hoc information

can sometimes be useful as well. We suggest that you ask users of the software:

• How long have you had the software?

• What were your reasons for selecting this product?

• What other software did you evaluate?

• How many users do you have?

• What is the structure of your organization? (This establishes similarity to your organization.)

• What services do you offer?

• Has the product provided the functionality you expected?

• Has it provided functionality you didn’t expect?

• Did you have to do your own integration with third-party software? How did that go? How much support did you get from the vendor?

• Has the product made your organization more productive?

• Is there anything you don’t like about the software?

• How long did it take your staff to become fully functional with the software?

• How long does it take new users to learn the software?

• What kinds of problems have you had with the software?

• What has been your experience with vendor support? Is the vendor responsive? Are your problems fixed in a timely manner?

• Would you choose the same vendor if you were buying a system today?

10. Finalize Your Decision and Implement the System

Selecting a new software package for your agency is absolutely one of the most

significant business decisions that you will make. Objective and critical analysis

of the data you have collected is absolutely essential. You have to compare the

total package of the functional and beneficial capabilities of the system along

with the associated costs, references, and your relationship with the vendor.

Once you have made a choice, finalize pricing with the vendor, negotiate terms,

and discuss implementation schedules.

System implementation is no small task.

You used a well-thought-out and organized approach to system selection. You’ll

need to apply the same diligence and forethought to the implementation

process. A smooth transition depends on scheduling, planning to re-engineer

your business processes and clear communication with staff, vendors and

support services.

Be realistic about the time frame of the implementation project. Do you have

specific deadlines you need to make? What are these deadlines based upon? If

you would like to start off on a new system at the beginning of the calendar year,

are you prepared for the possibilities of your employees needing to work through

the holidays? Do you have someone going on holiday or maternity leave?

Selection Tip

The currency of a

reference is important.

Because software and

services change, you

should only seek

references who are

current users of the

software, not those who

may have used the

software in the past.


Make sure to ask the vendors for example project plans and ask for an estimate

on how long your implementation might take. Again, this will depend upon the

size of your business, the number of users, how many different databases you

might be migrating from, and any other internal projects or conflicts that may

arise.

In the end, this step-by-step approach to staffing and recruitment software

selection reduces the stress to you and your organization and enables you to

achieve your business goals.

Summary: 10 Steps to Successful Staffing and Recruitment

Software Selection

1. Choose a Selection Strategy and a Selection Team

2. Map Your Company Priorities and Business Requirements

3. Define Your Company Structure and Climate for Change

4. Identify Internal Resources and Technology Infrastructure

5. Create a List of Potential Vendors

6. Contact Vendors and Compare Product Demos

7. Identify the Top Three Contenders

8. Obtain Pricing from the Top Contenders

9. Obtain References

10. Finalize Your Decision and Implement the System

Acknowledgements This paper has been extensively revised and updated by the Erecruit Adapt team to

incorporate the latest and most relevant methodologies on staffing and recruitment software

selection. Erecruit wishes to express its appreciation to Mary Lynn Seaby, currently the

Senior Director of Operations for Randstad Finance & Accounting, for her role in developing

the genesis of this paper for Staffing Industry Analysts, Inc., who in turn shared it with

Erecruit.


Recruitment and Staffing Software for Fast-Growing FirmsAchieve efficiencies and enhance cross-company collaboration with Adapt’s recruitment software that ensures your staffing firm will succeed, grow and expand beyond expectations.

An intuitive and powerful solution for scaling and fast-growing staffing firms.

10 steps to successful staffing and recruitment …...2018/01/10 · t 10 steps to successful...

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