The Ultimate Cloud Based Recruitment Guide [With Optimization Kit] for Talent Managers

The pandemic caused a paradigm shift in HR processes, especially recruitment. With an enormous influx of displaced talent in the job market and a lockdown situation, HR teams accelerated the process of automating the recruitment process using digital media. 

This growth is driven primarily by the rapid adoption of cloud-based recruitment software.

Continue reading to understand how cloud recruitment can be a competitive advantage in the post-covid HR landscape for businesses of all sizes.

Index:

• Cloud-Based Recruitment: What is it?
• Cloud-Based Recruitment: How does it work?
• 7 Benefits of Cloud-Based Recruitment Solutions
• How to select the right cloud recruitment platform?
• Which platform is best for recruitment?

Cloud-Based Recruitment: What is it?

Cloud-based recruitment is the automation of end-to-end recruitment processes using digital applications hosted on the cloud infrastructure. 

What is the Cloud?

Before the IoT cloud burst, large enterprises hosted IT applications on-premises. They physically installed the required hardware infrastructure like servers, routers, and other devices within their business locations. 

They also hired in-house teams to configure and maintain these applications. It required substantial upfront investments and an extended go-live process. 

Cloud-based apps have since emerged as the preferred option. Cloud solution providers host these applications at their end, and users login into hosted apps over the internet.

The experience is as easy as logging in to a website or mobile app. Also, enterprises do not have to worry about upgrading or maintaining the hardware infrastructure.

What is Recruitment?

Recruitment covers the entire range of processes involved in hiring new talent for an organization. Cloud-based recruitment automates all the processes, from raising a hiring requirement to onboarding completion. 

Recruitment Optimisation Kit

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Cloud-Based Recruitment: How does it work?

HR team members can access cloud-based recruiting platforms online with their login credentials. Every user can access relevant role-specific modules and data.

Following is a brief list of use cases showcasing how cloud-based recruitment works.

1. Pre-interview 

• Managers can raise hiring requests in the cloud-based recruitment system. The hiring requests initiate an automated workflow for approvals from recruitment teams. 
• Following approvals, managers can use company-specific templates to create job descriptions. The recruiting tools integrate with job boards, the company website, and social media to post these job openings.

• Further, HR teams evaluate these profiles in order of work experience, qualifications, test scores, and other relevant parameters to shortlist candidates for interviews in a few clicks

2. Interview

• Application tracking systems (ATS) and self-service portals enable uploading candidate information and supporting documents in digital formats.
• The cloud-based recruitment software selects interviewers based on their availability and sends automatic interview notifications to identified potential candidates.
• Pre-interview test scores are made available for interviewers. They can record their interview feedback in the system.
• Predictive analytics can help determine the optimum salary amounts to maximize the probability of offer acceptances.

3. Recruitment

• The cloud-based software streamlines the onboarding of new hires as the software integrates with identity-access systems to update recruited status’ automatically.
• The software also keeps track of company assets and workstations assigned to recruits. 
• Self-service portals and chatbots ensure quick resolution of queries by the new hires.

7 Benefits of Cloud-Based Recruitment Solutions

Cloud-based recruiting has a direct and immediate impact on your organisation’s bottom line. Additionally, it helps build your brand in the job market to attract top talent.

Take a look at these benefits of cloud-based recruitment solutions:

1. Improved Candidate Experience and EVP

A seamless, digital recruitment process signals a cutting-edge work environment to candidates and enhances employer branding. With digital access to applicant tracking systems, prospects save time on travelling and documentation (manual labor). 

Video interviews and online assessments represent enterprise readiness for flexibility and hybrid workplaces, a criterion for candidates in recent times. 

2. Better Quality of New hires

Cloud-based recruiting solutions to provide access to predictive analytics that help find the best candidates most suited for the role and likely to stay with the enterprise longer. 

Recent trends have shown that personality test data and technical skill assessment scores can better predict a candidate’s performance than qualifications and work experience. Automation helps you leverage this data. 

Moreover, automated resume screening helps eliminate human biases and prejudices in the recruitment process, resulting in a diverse, high-quality workforce.

3. Recruitment Cost Savings

Automation helps by cutting down the time required for creating job descriptions, screening applications, and assessing technical skills. It positively impacts the productivity of top management executives as they can spend more time on their role-specific tasks. 

4. Reduced Time-to-Fill

Recruitment solutions reduce the time-to-fill vacancies with industry-standard workflows that work with stringent deadlines. 

Auto-assignment of approvals, automated reminder notifications, and in-built escalation mechanisms ensure that each step of the recruitment process completes within time.

HR teams do need to spend time with manual, ad-hoc follow-ups. Besides, AI-based tools and analytics help reduce the time required for screening and evaluation.

5. Higher User Adoption

Cloud-based recruitment apps are easy to use and secure your enterprise data in a centralized database. They offer responsive and intuitive user interfaces. You can access these apps online using personal computers and mobile devices.

Cloud-based recruitment software boosts adoption by business users and drives ROI. 

6. Scalability and Security

Scaling system recruiting solutions are efficient with company growth. You can buy additional licenses or functional modules for fixed monthly fees based on your business requirements. The application provider will automatically handle other hardware and network components at the backend.

SSL protocols ensure that data is stored and transmitted in an encrypted manner. Automated backups, antivirus, and malware scans deployed at the solution provider’s end ensure company data security.

You can also configure role-based access to different modules. Automated audit trails assure that every record modification is time-stamped and user-stamped.  

7. Easy Deployment and Customization

Unlike in-house solutions, cloud-based solutions do not require heavy upfront investments in hardware infrastructure. Cloud-based software solutions provide administration panels to configure and customize workflows. 

You can deploy them much faster with monthly subscriptions that align with your budgets. 

How To Select The Right Cloud Recruitment Platform?

You can go for a cloud recruiting software that automates a part of the recruitment process like stand-alone team applicant tracking systems, video interviewing tools, testing and assessment tools, and job portals.

 You can also begin with the recruitment module of a full-fledged HR Management system (HRMS) that can extend in the future to automate all HR processes. The latter approach is beneficial from a strategic perspective and can streamline future HR automation initiatives.

Step 1 – Assess AS-IS Recruitment Processes

The first step is to review the existing processes of attracting, engaging, selecting, and onboarding employees. You can compare these processes to industry best practices to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to incorporate digital efficiencies.  

Step 2 – Define Goals And Identify Gaps

Define the future state in terms of measurable goals. For example, a 20% decrease in time for screening resumes or a 10% increase in candidate engagement. These goals will provide a clear picture of the use cases that need to be automated. 

Step 3 – List Use Cases And Business Requirements

Create a business document listing all requisite features, functionalities, and use cases that need automation upgrades. Referencing the scope document, start exploring solutions available in the market and interact with sales teams to understand suitable suitability. 

Step 4 – Try Free Demos and Proof-of-Concepts

Most solution providers offer live demos, free plans with limited features, or paid proof of concept. These offers and methods are helpful when you want to experience the solution first-hand to build stakeholder buy-in.

Step 5 – Take Client Feedback 

Interact with a few existing clients using the solution you are considering. Choose organizations from your industry vertical and similar size for better feedback.

Step 6 – Compare The Shortlisted Solutions

Following are the comparison parameters to consider

1. Functionality coverage – Create a checklist based on your scope document to understand if all requirements are covered.
2. Ease of customization – Assess how close the workflows are to your requirements and how much customization is required. 
3. Ease of scalability – Review the cost of purchasing higher licenses and adding functionalities to project future costs as your organization scales.
4. Security protocols – Review the data security measures, access mechanisms, privacy, and confidentiality policies. 
5. In-built report and analytics – Assess the depth of the bundled reports and visualizations the software provides out-of-the-box.

The structured process, with budgetary analysis, will enable you to decide on the right cloud recruitment software aligned with your requirements.

Cloud-Based Recruitment Software: The Future of Recruitment

Several new trends are emerging in the HR recruitment landscape. Companies are focusing on developing compelling EVPs, remote hiring capabilities, and passive talent pipelines to stay ahead of the competition. The future of recruitment seems to be completely different from the present.

Recruiting firms are building analytics capabilities to identify agile candidates with a proven track record of upskilling.

A rapidly changing job market demands an equally nimble recruitment team. State-of-the-art cloud HR software can empower your recruitment teams to keep pace with ever-changing talent acquisition strategies.

 

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Recruitment Optimisation Kit

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