“In the past several decades, the human resource profession has evolved to become an integral component of the organization,” according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The role and the value that HR brings is changing. One survey reveals how HR departments “offer more to organizations than the transactional HR activities of record keeping, payroll and employee benefits administration.”

• 70 percent of responding organizations said HR has a place on the board of directors
• 66 percent reported having a written HR management strategy
• Responses indicated HR is taking sole responsibility for major policy decisions

Whether they are directly employed by a company or they work at an organization where companies go to outsource HR functions, these professionals are in need. Employment of HR specialists is projected to grow 7 percent by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). HR manager jobs are projected to grow 9 percent by 2026.

What Can I Do with a Human Resource Degree?

An HR or HRM degree prepares you for various career opportunities in the field. You might enter into human resources by becoming a generalist or specialize in some particular aspect of the profession, such as recruiting, training or development. Another opportunity, after you acquire several years of HR work experience, would be to become an HR manager.

HR Generalists

HR generalists handle all aspects of work in a human resources department. They may have responsibilities in anything related to HR, including recruitment, employee relations, compensation, benefits, training and the administration of HR policies, procedures and programs.

Job duties may include the following:

• Developing HR solutions by collecting and analyzing information, then recommending a course of action.
• Improving employee and manager performance by identifying and clarifying problems, evaluating and implementing potential solutions and providing coaching or counseling.
• Administering the compensation program.
• Monitoring the performance evaluation program.
• Developing and maintaining affirmative action programs, filing an annual EEO-1 report and maintaining other records.
• Maintaining company organization charts and the employee directory.
• Maintaining HR information system records and compiling reports from the database.
• Maintaining compliance with federal, state and local authorities, as well as with other applicable laws and regulations.

HR Specialists

Human resources professionals may specialize in a specific aspect of HR work. Here are two common examples:

• Recruitment specialists find, screen and interview applicants for job openings in an organization. Sometimes referred to as personnel recruiters or head hunters, they search for applicants by posting job listings, attending career fairs and visiting college campuses. They may also network, make cold calls and explore referrals for filling positions. Other responsibilities may include testing applicants, contacting references and extending job offers. Recruitment specialists must stay up to date on local hiring laws and regulations.
• Training and development specialists help plan, conduct and administer programs that train employees and improve their skills and knowledge. They assess training needs, design and create training materials, deliver instruction using a variety of techniques and assist in the evaluation of training programs. Other responsibilities include administrative tasks like monitoring costs, scheduling classes, coordinating enrollment and setting up systems and equipment. Training and development specialists may utilize lectures, group discussions, team exercises, videos, self-guided instruction manuals and online programs.

HR Managers

HR managers plan, direct and coordinate the administrative functions of an organization. They oversee all aspects of the human resources department, including recruiting, interviewing and hiring of new staff, as well as consulting with top executives on strategic planning.

Job duties may include the following:

• Planning and coordinating a company’s workforce to best utilize employees’ talents.
• Linking an organization’s management with employees.
• Planning and overseeing employee benefit programs.
• Consulting with other managers to advise them on HR issues, such as equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment.
• Coordinating and supervising HR workers and support staff.
• Handling staffing issues, such as mediating disputes and directing disciplinary procedures.

HR managers may also specialize in a particular area. For example, recruiting or staffing managers oversee these functions of the HR department. They commonly supervise a team of recruiters and may assume some recruiting duties for filling high-level positions. Recruiting or staffing managers are tasked with developing a recruiting strategy that will meet the needs of their organizations and compete for the best talent.

HR Salaries

HR specialists earn a median annual wage of $59,180, according to the BLS. Note that the agency classifies HR generalists as a type of HR specialist, but training and development specialists are classified separately.

Training and development specialists earn a median annual wage of $59,020. Training and development managers earn a median annual wage of $105,830.

HR managers earn a median annual wage of $106,910.

Competencies Needed for a Future in HR

If you want to pursue a future in HR, there are certain competencies that are needed for a successful career. The SHRM HR Competency Model offers nine competencies that correlate strongly with a high-performing professional.

• Human Resource Expertise: A strong working knowledge of critical HR functions, as well as the ability to apply best practices and deliver customized HR solutions
• Relationship Management: Ability to establish credibility across interactions, develop healthy interactions that promote individual and organizational success, and build an effective internal and external network
• Consultation: Effective in applying creative problem solving to business challenges in a way that invites others to approach them with career and organizational concerns
• Leadership and Navigation: Adept at building collaborative environments where solutions are generated that conform to organizational culture
• Communication: Skilled in delivering critical information, gathering information and communicating with people of various perspectives
• Global and Cultural Effectiveness: Culturally aware and show nonjudgmental respect for other perspectives
• Ethical Practice: Have trusting relationships and is seen as credible because of his or her judgment, in terms of confidentiality, ethical behavior and values
• Critical Evaluation: Objective and have the critical thinking skills that allow for making sound judgments based on keen analysis, best practices and an awareness of preferred outcomes
• Business Acumen: A strong understanding of the strategic relationship between HR and core business functions

Pursuing a Career in HR

An online bachelor’s in business administration (available with a concentration in human resource management) from Concordia University Texas can equip you with the skills to succeed in helping organizations thrive. Learn in a flexible, convenient online environment with a schedule that fits your life.

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Human resources departments are recognizing the importance of developing a talent management process and strategy. This emerging approach is concerned with the long-term professional development of employees within a company.

The Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior described talent management as a “recent, practitioner-generated term covering a range of long-standing practices that aim at getting the right person in the right job at the right time. These include workforce planning, succession planning, employee development and career management.”

The career management process is an important subset of talent management, but as an article from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported, these types of programs are falling short of their goals. Ideally, career management programs help employees understand advancement opportunities and chart career paths in their organizations; however, that’s not happening for many employees, according to a survey.

• 49 percent of employers said the programs are effective at providing traditional career advancement opportunities
• 38 percent said they are effective at providing nontraditional career development opportunities
• 45 percent said they make effective use of technology, such as corporate intranet platforms, to deliver career advancement programs
• 47 percent said they provide their managers with career management training and tools in the form of talking points or discussion guides (and 41 percent of employees rate their managers as effective in holding career development discussions)
• 48 percent report that their organizations have career architectures (or formalized frameworks) and career paths in place
• 27 percent of employees monitor the effectiveness of their career management programs

These figures represent opportunities for organizations to improve career management programs. The following section looks at the career management process from the perspective of employees.

The Career Management Process

There are six key steps of effective career management, according to author and consultant, Stuart McAdam.

1. Mapping: Before rushing to action, employees need to understand their situations by reflecting on where they are and what their motives are. Mapping can also help people come to terms with their strengths, deficits and true potential.
2. Planning: Planning allows employees to verify assumptions, receive feedback from others and examine next steps. It also helps determine where certain scenarios might lead, along with the knowledge, skills and behaviors the scenarios would require executing. Planning begins by defining specific objectives and benefits.
3. Exploring: This is where ideas are tested. Employees share and test their ideas, drawing on previous plans. Seeking and reflecting on feedback will help with becoming successful.
4. Demonstrating Competence: Employees should ensure that their CVs show their capability and capacity. They should also ensure “the ‘real’ you is present at the interview,” according to McAdam, and “establish goals and targets for job search/career shift, and regularly review progress, potential derailers, hindrances. Without this, nothing will happen!”
5. Delivering When in the New Role: Cultural understanding and a focus on delivering what’s required is crucial during the first 100 days in a new role. For senior roles, it’s critical to hit the ground running and deliver results, even if it’s in a very different environment than anticipated.
6. Consolidating and Reviewing: The career management process is not complete when a new position is found. Employees should continue focusing on delivery, maintaining their channels of communication, networking and remembering to scan the horizon within the organization and the market.

Pursuing a Career in Human Resource Management

Paying attention to the career management process can help organizations attract, develop and retain the right talent. An online bachelor’s in business administration (available with a concentration in human resource management), online applied business degree and online MBA from Concordia University Texas can equip you with the skills needed to succeed in helping organizations thrive. Learn in a flexible, convenient online environment with a schedule that fits your life.

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Estimates place the value of avoiding a toxic worker at about $12,500, and it’s even more to replace one, according to leadership and organizational development expert Chris Cancialosi in Forbes. Entry-level employees cost between 30 to 50 percent of annual salary to replace, while the number rises upwards of 150 percent for mid-level employees.

One key to finding and hiring the right people is paying attention to culture. However, given the speed that some companies hire new people, culture can become an afterthought. This is even more of an issue with the way that recruiting has changed.

“Hiring today is not about vetting applicants who are eager to work for your company,” Leela Srinivasan, chief marketing officer at hiring software firm Lever, told Cancialosi. “In today’s business environment, the balance of power rests with the candidates. Today, recruiting is more about mutual evaluation and finding the right fit.”

The following sections explore how to enhance recruiting strategies and processes so that they are effective and reflect a company’s culture.

Recruitment Strategies for 2018

Core Strategies

• Understand what makes your organization unique. What defines your company and separates it from every other business? You should know or find the answer from a business and a company culture perspective. The answer should be revealed throughout the recruitment process.
• Implement competitive compensation and benefits packages. Your company should offer more than a paycheck — but the paycheck is important. Also consider employee perks programs, wellness programs, flexible work options and more that can help employees financially (and boost morale).
• Start an employee referral program. “Good employers use their own employees, customers and vendors as prime sources of new hires,” according to entrepreneur and author Liz Ryan in Forbes. “If you post job openings to the entire world before letting your employees, customers and suppliers know about them, you are not only missing out on an awesome source of talent but also insulting your own best recruiting team members. If you don’t value your employees enough to make them ambassadors for your brand, then your culture is broken.”
• Provide realistic job previews. If recruiting is about mutual evaluation, giving employees a realistic look at their potential positions can save both sides from a potentially unpleasant situation. Getting feedback on these previews can be revealing for companies.
• Actively promote your brand. Both sides in recruiting should be trying to demonstrate their strengths. Show applicants why they should work at your company.
• Train hiring managers to interview well. “They should be evaluating candidates on various dimensions throughout the process, as opposed to rehashing things that have already come up in previous stages,” according to Cancialosi. “They should also be probing beneath the surface of a candidate’s answers to uncover useful insight into their skills and experience. This will likely require some form of interview training, so people feel ready to support the process when the time comes.”
• Consider re-hires. The most effective approach to recruiting is training existing employees to take on hard-to-fill roles, according to nearly 3,000 HR professionals in a Society for Human Resource Management survey.

Creative Strategies

• Apply for a local/state/national “best places to work” award. A third-party stamp of approval can catch the eye of your target audience. Explore awards that can get your company’s culture recognized.
• Utilize organic and paid social media recruiting. There are several channels that you can take advantage of in social media recruitment. Many large companies are leading the way in using these networks effectively.
• Handpick dream candidates and show them you want them. “Passive candidates (those who are already employed and not actively job hunting) are most likely to be your dream hires, but you’ll never attract them without letting them know how much you want them,” according to Business Insider.
• Make yourself stand out with non-traditional media. Videos and podcasts can differentiate your company from competitors and promote your company’s culture.
• Attend events other than job fairs. The best candidates typically already have jobs. Explore Meetup events and other creative ways to connect to passionate, skilled people.
• Skip the resume and have candidates call directly. Use this method with care. Yet, it can be a powerful way to quickly interact with candidates and gauge how well they would fit at your company.
• Create engaging, interactive content that sells your brand/culture. This can include fun, productive content like “game” ads that serve as tests for programmers.

Reshaping the Recruitment Process

As Robert Half describes, there are several steps in the recruitment process, and each step typically has some of the same actions. Yet, according to Liz Ryan, “leaders who are serious about hiring great people need to examine their own internal practices and fix whatever is broken.” Companies may need to change up what normally occurs. Here are some ideas for each step.

1. Human Resources Evaluation: Typically, computer programs scan resumes for certain keywords and phrases. “You will never fill out your team with awesome people by letting a piece of code screen resumes for you — you have to do it yourself, the old-fashioned way,” Ryan says.
2. Phone Interviews: Phone interviews help HR professionals gauge candidates’ communication skills, enthusiasm and discuss their resumes. This is where candidates should get a good feel for a company’s culture. HR professionals should discuss and demonstrate what makes the company stand out.
3. First Interviews: This step involves managers conducting face-to-face interviews with candidates. Extending from the previous step, companies should make every effort to connect with candidates and help them see what makes the business great. “When you interview candidates, do you welcome them to the company and show them around?” Ryan asks. “Do you make sure to answer their questions first, before you start asking them questions? Companies that treat job-seekers like gold will never have trouble filling their open positions.”
4. Second Interviews: A round of second interviews involves narrowing down the initial field. However, companies should examine if they need these at all (unless the position is a particularly high-profile one). This can clog the process.
5. Decision and Job Offer: Candidates are notified of the company’s decision. Like the previous step, companies should aim to make the process as smooth as possible. “Your recruiting process has a serious problem if you make candidates wait weeks to hear back from you after a job interview,” according to Ryan. “It shouldn’t take more than two or three business days to get back to every candidate — the ones you want to meet again or extend an offer to, as well as the folks you can see are not a great fit for your company at this moment.”
6. Salary Negotiation: This final step shouldn’t be as difficult as it is in some organizations. Ideally companies and candidates will be on the same page from early on. Ryan recommends sending an email like this before even conducting an interview: “Thanks for your resume! We love your background and are happy to hear from you. We have an opening for a product management coordinator. Here’s the job spec. The job pays in the low to mid-40s. Would that work for you?”

Pursuing a Career in HR or Business

The right recruitment strategies help companies attract the perfect candidates. An online bachelor’s in business administration (available with a concentration in human resource management), online applied business degree and online MBA from Concordia University Texas can equip you with the skills to succeed in helping organizations thrive. Learn in a flexible, convenient online environment with a schedule that fits your life.

The post Recruitment Strategies for HR Leaders in 2018 appeared first on Concordia University Texas.

Industries are facing a shortage of talent. To a certain extent, this statement seems to apply at all times, but it’s especially relevant now. Research from ManpowerGroup found that the talent shortage across industries is at its highest — 40 percent of employers globally say they’re experiencing difficulty filling jobs — since 2007, according to TechRepublic. The demand for IT personnel particularly has skyrocketed.

However, it would be a mistake to think that white-collar, degree-demanding jobs typify the current talent shortage, according to an article from HR Dive.

Employment experts say the skills gap may be even more pressing for decent-paying jobs that don’t require any college at all. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) predicts that U.S. companies will face 2 million job vacancies by 2025. And the American Welding Society contends that manufacturing industries will need 300,000 welders and welding instructors by 2020. Technology has replaced some jobs and made others obsolete.

Employee perks programs represent one way that companies can attract talent and build recruitment strategies. Employee perks programs will not only bring talented workers to organizations, but these programs can reinforce performance and retention. Business Insider reported that more than half (57 percent) of all workers say perks and benefits are among the top things they consider when examining a job, and nearly 80 percent of employees would prefer new benefits over a pay raise.

Popular Employee Perks and Benefits

• Profit Sharing: “Whether this is a quarterly bonus or it’s doled out at the end of the year, profit sharing will get your employees invested in your company’s success,” according to Forbes. “When people feel a direct benefit from your company’s profitability, they work harder and more efficient.”
• Gym Membership: Free or discounted gym memberships can help employees stay healthy and motivated. Also, “healthy employees cost you less, and they work harder,” Forbes reports. Reebok connects their brand with this benefit by offering an on-site gym with Crossfit classes, according to Glassdoor.
• Holiday PTO: Additional time off during a busy time of year can boost morale and help employees begin the new year with more energy.
• Off-Site Events: “While it’s a great way to build team unity and show your employees that you care, it’s also a great recruiting tool,” according to Forbes. “Let’s say you go go-karting, shoot a round of golf, or host a summer barbecue — you’ve got that many people taking pictures and posting it to social media, showing all of their friends and relatives just how great your company is.”
• Education Subsidy: Educational perks like tuition reimbursement programs can help employees pursue growth opportunities, and they can add value to the company. Verizon offers employees up to $8,000 in tuition reimbursement every year for classes that are related to the business. At Proctor & Gamble, up to 80 percent of tuition and fees are reimbursed (up to $40,000), according to The Balance.
• Company-Sponsored Sports Teams: “Another potential team-building and wellness program: Having a group of employees form a city league team is a no-brainer as a perk,” according to Forbes. “When the company sponsors the team (jerseys are a good idea), you get the advertising along with all the other benefits.”
• Free Food: Google employees get healthy food for breakfast, lunch and dinner (if they stay late) for free, according to Inc. Coffee and juice bars are located throughout the campuses as well.
• PTO for Community Service: Salesforce employees receive six days of paid volunteer time off annually, as well as $1,000 a year to donate to a charity of their choice, according to Business Insider.
• Extended Maternity/Paternity Leave: At Google, new dads receive six weeks of paid time off, moms can take 18 weeks off and employees’ stock continues to vest (and they continue to receive bonuses) while they are on leave, Inc. reports. At American Express, mothers and fathers receive up to five months of fully paid leave, and birthing mothers receive an additional six to eight weeks off for paid medical leave, Business Insider reports.

Pursuing a Career in HR or Business

Employee perks programs can help with attracting and keeping talented employees. An online bachelor’s in business administration (available with a concentration in human resource management), online applied business degree and online MBA from Concordia University Texas can give you the skills you need to succeed in helping organizations thrive. Learn in a flexible, convenient online environment with a schedule that fits your life.

The post Attracting Talent: Employee Perks Programs appeared first on Concordia University Texas.

Emergence of Social Media Recruitment

The explosion of social media recruiting came as a result of the recession. With millions of Americans losing their jobs, the talent pool grew more and more competitive. Luckily for employers, they now had a new resource — social media — to use to their recruiting advantage. By then LinkedIn was commonplace, and online job posting sites were the norm.

The practice had an effect on both candidates and businesses. Job seekers were able to use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to find potential opportunities, while employers used them to ensure potential employees were qualified.

Social media also allows candidates to see the experiences of current and former employees, both positive and negative. Any bad experiences will be reflected on websites like Glassdoor and could have an impact on whether someone applies to a company. Conversely, recruiters can use these websites to understand the past of potential candidates and gain a better understanding of them.

In addition, mobile platforms have enhanced social media recruiting. With smartphones and tablets, recruiters and candidates can search anywhere and anytime. This has made it easier for candidates to find potential opportunities, but more difficult for recruiters needing to reach a more mobile audience.

Social Media Recruiting Strategies

Each social network offers different resources for recruiters to take advantage of. Some like LinkedIn have options geared toward recruiters, while others can just help present a better picture of what a candidate is like.

Across All Platforms

Before focusing on individual social networks, it’s important that you have a few basics nailed down. It’s imperative that your job board uses social media integration. This will allow you to easily share job postings and direct potential recruits to the job board directly. You should also ensure that you have a brand identity across all platforms that properly identifies you as the recruitment arm of the company. If this identity isn’t unique from the larger umbrella, then it could confuse applicants and distract them from learning more.

You should also ensure that your social media strategy involves diverse content. Your goal across all platforms is to entice potential talent not just through job postings, but also through a conversation about the company. While looking through job information, applicants should be able to learn more about life at this company. They should learn from news, first-hand accounts and other information that this is a place they want to work.

LinkedIn

Being a business-oriented social network, LinkedIn has a service designed just for recruiters. It allows recruiters to run detailed searches on the exact kind of candidate they’re looking for and gives access to the candidate’s entire profile. Recruiters can search by location, previous employers and job titles, education and much more. This ultimate tool for recruiting can be steep (starting at $2,220 per quarter), but it is the ideal resource for any recruiter.

LinkedIn also offers extensive job posting capabilities for businesses, and the company has recently purchased several job-seeking services. Expect LinkedIn to expand its job posting capabilities as it attempts to become a one-stop shop for business professionals.

Twitter

For some companies, Twitter is a great way to recruit and reach candidates with progressive skills. Twitter allows companies to share available jobs quickly and efficiently. There are several hashtags used by job seekers to congregate opportunities including #TweetMyJobs and #JobSearch. The best part about using Twitter for recruiting is that it’s free. This makes it ideal for smaller companies unable to invest large amounts of money in recruiting software or services.

Facebook

While it may not seem like the right platform for recruiting, Facebook’s massive user base makes it hard to ignore. Recruiters who use Facebook effectively can reach an audience uninterested in the rat race of LinkedIn. Because Facebook is a more personal network, it allows recruiters to appeal to a potential candidate on a different level. Furthermore, Facebook helps recruiters improve the brand of their company, especially among students not yet involved in many other social networks.

Success Stories

Some companies have become quite strong at using social media recruiting to attract candidates. These four organizations have become an example for others to follow and are leading the trend.

UPS

According to its website, UPS employs 354,000 in America alone. Ensuring that its workforce is at full employment is a big task, and UPS uses all platforms to highlight the unique value proposition for potential employees. UPS social media accounts seek out applicants from a broader audience than what traditional recruiting would bring in. UPS highlights volunteer efforts, an ambitious tuition reimbursement program and the company’s diverse employee base. The UPS accounts are an excellent example of showcasing how your company is different than other employment experiences.

Disney

Everyone associates Disney with fantasy and dreams, so it’s not surprising to see that’s a focus of its social media recruiting. The company highlights the dreamer spirit behind its history and encourages potential applicants to learn more with the idea that it is a “dream come true.” By appealing to the desires of applicants, Disney is able to play to a strength that other companies cannot. For some, working at Disney is truly an opportunity to live a dream, and its social media reflects that.

L’Oreal

The world’s largest cosmetics and beauty company has invested heavily in social media recruiting. L’Oreal spreads an inviting message across all social media channels and in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The company uses several accounts directed at various age groups, from recent college graduates to longtime professionals. On Twitter, L’Oreal created a careers account, where the company regularly posts jobs and information about its culture.

Sodexo

Among the leading providers in food and facilities management, Sodexo is able to capitalize on social media recruitment in spaces that bigger names are unable to. The company focuses on displaying employee culture as a community atmosphere. Sodexo’s employment page features a blog with content intent on convincing potential candidates to apply. The blog is a big part of the company’s Facebook career page, which engages users with contests and videos. By focusing on the concept of community, Sodexo offers potential candidates a better understanding of what it’s like to work for the company.

Implementing Social Media Recruiting

Recruiters must use social media to attract top talent for open positions in today’s competitive job market. Learn the best recruiting practices and much more at Concordia University Texas in the online BBA with a concentration in Human Resource Management program. This affordable and fully online program can help you take the next step in your journey to become a skilled and knowledgeable human resources professional. Learn more today.

The post Turning Posts Into Positions: The Rise of Social Media Recruitment appeared first on Concordia University Texas.

As the American economy continues to rebound from the Great Recession, companies are placing great value on the strategic recruiting and hiring of employees. In many ways, the hiring process is easier than ever because of the technology available to HR professionals. But in other ways, technology has made the recruiting and hiring process more complex. How can HR professionals harness technology to improve the hiring process? What strategies and tools can they employ to successfully identify the best talent in the vast and rapidly changing job market?

Trends in the Hiring Process

When an employer begins the process of filling a position, it can be incredibly complicated because there are so many possible paths to take. Today’s HR professionals are using online job boards, applicant tracking systems (ATS) and even outside recruiters to find the people needed to fill positions.

The Hiring Process Is Taking Longer

According to a study from the employment site Glassdoor, the average interview process in the United States took nearly 23 days in 2014, up from about 13 days in 2010. Why is this the case?

Economic Turmoil Due to the Recession

Perhaps the biggest reason is the recession. With many companies recovering from the economic wringer, many are being more careful with their hiring. A mistake can lead to months of falling behind with productivity goals.

Furthermore, the recession left as many as 15.7 million Americans unemployed. Many job postings attract far more applicants than expected, which can make narrowing down candidates far more difficult.

More Screening Methods

Employers are also requiring more comprehensive hiring processes. Sample work, IQ tests, personality tests and drug tests have all gained in popularity. Each of these screening methods adds more time to the process before a final hiring decision can be made.

Workplace Culture in the Spotlight

With trends in workplace culture constantly in the news, companies are more considerate about finding new employees who will be a good fit. More companies are having candidates interview with several people to ensure that the hiring decision helps the entire team.

Online Job Postings

Today’s job search involves scouring a multitude of job boards and forums to find the perfect opportunity. This isn’t just difficult for job applicants, but it’s also difficult for recruiters and HR professionals who must spread the word. Companies must ensure that job openings are posted to the right places where they will be seen by great talent.

Social media has also emerged as a popular place for recruiting and spreading the word about job postings. The practice, referred to as social recruiting, will only become more common. Seventy-three percent of recruiters increased investment in social recruiting in 2014 according to a Jobvite recruiting survey. With professional social networks like LinkedIn becoming more popular, it is easier for recruiters to target potential candidates via social networking.

Applicant Tracking Systems

Although the hiring process has grown more complex, solutions are available for HR professionals. Applicant tracking systems can help keep the entire recruiting process organized, from job posting to hiring decision.

What Are Applicant Tracking Systems?

An ATS is a software application that handles all of a company’s recruiting needs in an organized fashion. An ATS may be an actual piece of software or it may be available on the Internet to authorized users. These systems are similar to customer relationship management systems and are highly filterable. They often allow for automatic job posting, resume searching and even automatic responding.

ATS Benefits

Effective use of an ATS can help make recruitment much less of a headache. This can help HR professionals place more of their efforts in endeavors other than hiring. An ATS can help save both money and time. An ATS can also help HR professionals cut through the clutter of the job market and find the best potential candidates for their job openings. Companies then have more flexibility to focus on what really matters in the hiring process rather than the paperwork and logistics.

Growth of ATS Use

A Wall Street Journal article estimated that 90 percent of large companies use applicant tracking systems. This is a huge change from years ago before the systems existed. An ATS may seem expensive, but it is becoming more affordable for smaller companies. Cloud-based and web-only applications are options with lower costs, making this technology accessible for all employers.

ATS Products

There are countless ATS products available to companies. Many corporations develop their own ATS, especially larger organizations. Here are a few of the most popular products.

Taleo

A 2014 survey by employer branding firm OnGig found that Oracle’s Taleo software is far and away the most popular applicant tracking system. With 54 percent of the market, Taleo is the most widely used system. While it began as a CD-based software suite, Taleo now has full integration with the cloud. Taleo offers a variety of services from planning to onboarding. There are also several levels of services, so companies of all sizes can afford Taleo. However, some companies prefer other products that are more accessible.

Jobvite

Tabbed by OnGig as “best for startups,” Jobvite tries to provide a forward-looking ATS. Jobvite specializes in employee referrals and video interviews. Jobvite is a standalone application; it doesn’t have Taleo’s suite. But with the ability to connect with more than 300 social media sites, Jobvite is well-suited for the future growth of social recruiting.

iCims

Launched in 1999, iCims remains one of the most easy-to-use ATS products on the market. While less robust than Taleo, iCims offers a three-product suite of talent acquisition solutions.  Both HR professionals and job applicants like the user interface. However, many features are at an extra cost, so iCims might not be best for smaller or growing businesses.

The Future of Recruiting and Hiring

It’s imperative that current and future HR professionals fully understand the rapidly changing nature of strategic human resource management. At Concordia University Texas, learning about best practices in recruiting and hiring is a major focus of the Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Management. The fully online program can lead to a successful career in human resources. Learn more today!

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