Recruitment CRM and ATS — Knowing the Difference

Recruitment is transforming from a reactive function to a proactive one with a much greater focus on candidates. Hiring new employees isn’t as easy as posting job ads and shortlisting candidates anymore.

With over 70 percent of the workforce comprising of passive candidates, organizations are now readily using advanced recruitment CRM and ATS tools to uncomplicate the entire hiring process and find better talent.

To make the most of it, it is critical to choose the right HR tool which aligns with your hiring needs and existing recruitment processes. In order to make the selection process easy, it is critical to understand what these terms represent and learn their strengths and differences.

What is a recruitment crm system?

A recruitment CRM (candidate relationship management) system allows hiring managers and recruiters to build and maintain relationships with prospective job candidates and in turn manage the entire recruitment process. Similar to a CRM system, a recruitment CRM treats candidates as customers and invest a substantial amount of effort to convince them using personalized candidate experience.

With the increased competition in the market, leading employees are realising that maintaining good relationships with candidates is more important than ever. But using paper, pen, or spreadsheets for it is no longer viable. There needs to be a better way to attract and engage top talent–a recruitment CRM can help with that.

For instance, if the HR managers come across a great candidate who might not be suitable for the current job position, they can still maintain communication with that candidate and contact them when a job position that better fits them opens up.

What is an applicant tracking system (ATS)?

Managing relationships with the candidates is only one part of the entire recruitment process. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) go beyond recruitment CRMs by offering features like maintaining a talent pool, automatically posting job ads on multiple platforms, scheduling interviews with the candidates, shortlisting candidates, and managing their onboarding process.

A modern applicant tracking system is fully equipped with automation and built-in workflows that can allow you to manage every phase of recruitment.

When do you need a recruitment CRM?

The goal of a recruitment CRM is to help recruiters attract passive candidates even before there is an opening for them. They can then use the tool to stay connected with the candidates. Recruitment CRM is an engine that drives the sourcing team and allows them to nurture relationships with passive candidates so as to convince them to join the company when a suitable job becomes available.

With a recruitment CRM tool, you are able to:

1- Actively source candidates

An ideal CRM tool can help you harness the power of big data and contact candidates that would be suitable for the positions within the company. The tool doesn’t just focus on the currently vacant job positions, but it also helps to track leads for future hiring requirements thus lowering the total hiring time.

2- Automate communication with candidates

Attracting top talent can be a struggle, especially when there are always headhunters trying to scout them. By using an efficient CRM tool, your recruiters can effectively manage communication with the candidates for maximum results. A recruitment CRM can automate email campaigns to inform candidates of the current job openings, company events, or any other recruitment drives.

3- Create a streamlined talent pool

With a recruitment CRM tool, you are able to build a talent pool of non-applicants that either fit the open roles or the company culture. Instead of digging deep into spreadsheets, you get access to all the candidate information through a unified platform that lets you filter, categorize, or segment the candidates in any way you want.

When do you need an ATS?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is an end to end recruitment tracker that helps manage all the recruitment requirements of a company, which a recruitment CRM cannot. Apart from creating and managing a talent pool like a CRM, an ATS can also help you with:

1- Posting job ads

Creating compelling job ads is the easy part, but posting the job descriptions one by one on every recruitment site and categorizing it correctly can take a large chunk of your time. With an application tracking system, you can automatically post ads on all the websites with a single click. You can also track which applicants are coming from which job website to modify your distribution strategy accordingly.

2- Receiving and sorting applications

Using an ATS, you can sort and organize candidate applications. ATS tools that are powered by intelligence automation can also screen and shortlist resumes by matching the candidate profiles to the existing employees’ resumes. This drastically cuts down time and efforts of the recruiters and allows them to better examine candidates that are perfect for the position.

3- Scheduling interviews

You can automate the entire scheduling process and directly fix a time for the interview that works for the applicant, HR managers, and other department heads that need to attend the interview. As the interview date nears, the ATS can automatically remind everyone of it.

4. Collaborating

When the candidate you are about to hire is expected to work closely with a team, it is important to get feedback from that team before you make the final call. ATS boosts collaboration in the hiring process by allowing you to easily share the applicant information with colleagues and get their feedback on it.

5- Onboarding

You can speed up the onboarding process for the newly hired employee by automating it through ATS. This can help new hires get up to speed with other employees who have been in the company for long.

Recruitment CRM vs. ATS: choosing the right one

While recruitment CRM and ATS software have their own advantages and disadvantages, using an ATS tool is more preferable because it allows companies to manage all their recruitment automation efforts through a single platform. If you use a recruitment CRM, then you would need another tool to streamline and automate other parts of the hiring process.

Kissflow’s HR Cloud is an ATS and a complete end-to-end HR tool that can streamline all the recruitment and other HR-related activities in your organization.

Sign up for a free trial to see how Kissflow can transform your company’s HR department.

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