ATS vs CRM: Which Recruitment Software is Right for You?

ATS vs CRM

Recruitment software is changing with the growth of technology, becoming more advanced and more intelligent. The current digital era of recruitment has only been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with ever-increasing emphasis on the importance of remote hiring. Additionally, another priority of digital recruitment is the organisation and preservation of candidate information, so it’s worth assessing what each type of recruitment software can do, and which option is right for you and your company based on your recruitment objectives.

Applicant Tracking Systems

Applicant Tracking Systems, or ATS as they are commonly known, is a system used by companies to create a database for job applications. ATS software allows you to search, organise, and communicate with large groups of candidates based on large quantities of information.  It can help employers to find the top-ranking CVs for their job role by searching candidate applications for specific keywords, work experience and places of employment, to name a few.  Oleeo also uses anonymous screening to reduce bias, hiding sensitive information such as names, gender, and location.  According to research, more than 95% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS systems for recruitment, showing its reliability in securing the best candidates for successful companies.

Customer Relationship Management

A Customer Relationship Management System, or CRM as it’s commonly known, is a piece of software that is often used for creating a large customer base for commercial purposes.  However, in a recruitment context, it works by building and nurturing relationships between your business and talent pool by creating brand awareness. Oleeo achieves these results through regular tailored communications, such as emails and SMS. In comparison, CRM does not follow reactionary recruitment as ATS does, but instead relies on proactive recruitment.  Oleeo’s recruitment CRM emphasises reaching out to candidates in your existing business talent pool. It seeks to grow their interest in the company and encourages them to apply for roles based on their skillset, rather than assessing a fresh set of candidates for each new position.

Which Recruitment Software Should You Use?

Overall, CRM and ATS have different benefits, depending on the qualities you are looking for in recruitment software.  If you value a candidate-first approach, then CRM may be a better fit for your company than ATS, purely due to its emphasis on creating sturdy and lasting relationships with candidates.  However, if you’re interested in finding the top candidates for your roles based on the data acquired alongside job descriptions, then ATS may be the best fit for your business instead. This is because ATS software places greater emphasis on finding the best applicant based on compatibility to the job description.  While both systems may reduce the time taken to recruit, each system does so in a different but valuable way; CRMs advocate candidates already having brand awareness of your business, and an existing relationship, whereas an ATS can filter candidate information, looking for desirable data that can be used to build a profile.   

Finding the right people to hire can be a difficult task, especially if you’ve got a lot of vacancies to fill and not a lot of time to do it.  If not executed well, you could end up with unsuitable employees and have to start the process all over again, so a strong high volume hiring strategy is essential. Whatever your reasons for seeking out volume hiring in recruitment, from restructuring your company to expanding your business, discover more about high volume hiring.

What is high volume hiring?

Volume hiring in recruitment is used by companies who have to hire a large number of people in a short space of time. Typically, this is recruiting for similar roles; they are generally entry level positions that appeal to a wide variety of applicants.  One of the most notable examples of high volume hiring in recent years is Amazon. During the pandemic they set out to hire an additional 75,000 workers across the US and Canada to keep up with the added demand of lockdown closing high street retailers.  Now, you might not be looking to hire quite that many people, but whether the positions you’re looking to fill number in the hundreds or the thousands, high volume recruitment is a valuable tool.

How volume hiring in recruitment differs from traditional hiring

There are numerous differences in the recruitment process with high volume hiring and traditional hiring. For example, when sourcing candidates in the traditional hiring process, a large portion can be conducted manually, and the position can be advertised on major job sites. Whereas with volume hiring, manual sourcing is not only usually impossible, but attempting it would be ill advised.  Similarly, in regular recruitment, when the applications are in, much of the screening is also conducted manually. This is again something that would take far too long and require too many man hours. 

What a volume hiring process can do for your business

When you volume hire, you’ll help to keep your company from being understaffed, alleviating the stress on your existing employees, and allowing your business to run smoothly.  Implementing a strong volume hiring process is the ideal to save time in your recruitment journey. When you have a large number of positions to fill, it isn’t feasible to undertake the same strategies you would for more complex roles that require more specialist knowledge and qualifications.  By getting to grips with volume hiring and consulting with experts, you’ll be able to undertake mass hiring without sacrificing quality.

How to best utilise volume hiring

To get the most out of your high volume hiring, you should introduce tools to your recruitment process. Software such as our High Volume Hiring AI can take all the hassle out of your mass requirement needs and improve the all-round quality of your candidates.  If you’re preparing to undertake mass recruitment, then contact us for more information to help you get started.  

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