With the national unemployment rate hovering at its lowest level in 54 years, and with skilled labor proving to be particularly elusive right now, recruiting firms that match employers with qualified candidates are facing new, daily challenges. On one side of the equation, signs of economic recession are driving some companies to pull back on hiring. On the other side, the skills shortage continues to thwart even the best-laid employee recruitment, onboarding and retention plans.
"This year we are seeing a slower pace of growth, as the economy comes back down to earth after a meteoric rise last year in one of the fastest recoveries we have ever seen," LinkedIn’s Karin Kimbrough told the Society for HR Management (SHRM). "Nevertheless, labor-market dynamics remain tight. So, in many ways, employees still hold the power to demand more from their employers when it comes to salary, flexibility and benefits. But this power balance is likely to start leveling out in the coming months."
New Technology Solutions Needed
Current labor market dynamics aside, talent engagement platform Sense says staffing and recruiting firms are focused on improving productivity in a way that integrates with existing workflows and doesn’t disrupt operations or force an overhaul of established processes.
“But one of the biggest roadblocks to productivity right now is scattered point solutions and fragmented tech stacks. When recruiters have to spend time learning multiple platforms (one for texting, another for email, etc.), it adds additional friction in how they work,” Sense’s Pankaj Jindal writes in Top Challenges for Staffing Firms and Ways to Overcome Them. “They have to manage different logins and adapt to different interfaces, only to end up with candidate data that is isolated in each platform and needs to be manually inputted into the applicant tracking system (ATS).”
So, the more tools you add, Jindal adds, the more complicated things get. Some of the other software challenges facing today’s recruiting and staffing agencies include:
- Too many data silos. Firms often have a lot of data spread across different systems, making it difficult to get a complete view of the candidate pool. This can lead to missed opportunities and inefficient recruiting processes.
- A lack of integration across software platforms. These agencies often use a variety of different software systems, which can make it difficult to integrate data and automate workflows. This can increase the number of delays and errors in the recruiting process.
- Excessive manual processes. Much of the staffing and recruiting industry is still reliant on too many time-consuming, error-prone manual processes. Not only do these processes lead to higher error rates and delays, but they can also make it nearly impossible to scale a business.
- Poor compliance. Staffing agencies must adhere to various compliance regulations, which can make it difficult to choose the right software. Agencies that aren’t compliant may be subject to hefty penalties and fines.
NetSuite Answers the Call
The good news is that NetSuite Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) helps recruiting agencies work through these challenges, improve their operations, and grow their revenues. Here are some of the main ways NetSuite helps recruitment companies achieve these goals, and more:
- Improved data visibility. NetSuite improves data visibility by bringing together data from different systems into a single platform. This gives agencies a complete view of the candidate pool and helps them make better hiring decisions.
- Automated workflows. NetSuite automates workflows, such as candidate sourcing, screening and scheduling. This can help to free up recruiters' time to focus on more strategic tasks.
- Streamlined recruiting process. NetSuite streamlines the recruiting process by providing a single platform for all recruiting activities. This can help minimize errors and delays in the recruitment process.
- Better compliance. NetSuite can help agencies to comply with a number of regulations, such as those related to data privacy and discrimination. This can help to protect the agency from fines and penalties.
A valuable tool for recruitment and staffing firms that want to improve their operations, NetSuite works alongside ATS’ like BullHorn to help agencies track candidates throughout the recruiting process. The ERP also offers a recruiting dashboard that provides a real-time view of the recruiting process; and easy integrations with other ATSs, customer relationship management (CRM) systems and payroll systems. These functionalities all help recruiting firms work smarter, better and faster in any business conditions.
No More Sifting Through Resumes
Cost-effective and scalable, NetSuite also helps recruiting firms manage their finances by providing a single platform where all financial activity can take place. This, in turn, supports more accurate financial reporting and good decision-making. With NetSuite in place, agencies have the dashboards they need to be able to track key metrics and performance. They can then use that data to make improvements.
“Without digital tools, staffing managers would have to rely on manual processes like sifting through resumes, setting up interviews via phone calls with talent and clients, and tracking candidate information in spreadsheets,” Whatfix states in Digital Transformation in Staffing in 2023. “While doing so, they risk losing the best candidates to more digitally-savvy competitors.”
By helping recruiting firms streamline the hiring process and cast their nets for the best talent before any competitors can move in, NetSuite ensures that the right job opportunities are always in front of the right candidates, and at the right time. The ERP also automates repetitive processes and gives recruiters the data they need to make more informed staffing and hiring decisions.