From MVP to Market Momentum

Founded by Rob Green, Rectec began as a mission-driven startup born out of firsthand frustration with the complexities of buying HR and recruitment tech. Rob, who led over 100 successful tech implementations across enterprises and recruited for notable brands like Reed, knew the buying process was broken. That insight led to Rectec’s MVP, meticulously iterated over the last few years.

Despite operating with minimal sales and marketing resources, Rectec has achieved extraordinary milestones:

Impressive revenues

120+ vendor partnerships

Over 448,000 vendor comparisons processed

Supported 900+ customers, including Sky, ISS, and Accenture

Now, with a robust foundation and proven demand, Rectec is poised for scale.

Strategic Co-Founder Addition

Joining Rob at the helm is Rohan Dickinson, who steps in as Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer. Rohan brings extensive experience from scaling with category-defining tech companies such as FundApps (reg-tech leader) and Adway (social recruitment tech leader). With a unique mix of HR background, startup founder experience, and growth-stage leadership, Rohan adds deep commercial firepower to Rectec’s leadership team.

A Market-Ready Solution, Arriving at the Perfect Time

Rectec is launching its next-generation Copilot platform – a powerful, data-driven tool built to guide HR and recruitment teams through the chaos of software selection. This new product enables instant vendor matching, tailored shortlists, and deep data insights (with up to 150+ data points per vendor), solving critical pain points at every stage of the buying journey.

The market conditions couldn’t be more fitting:

25% of IT projects fail entirely

60–80% fail to meet their objectives

70% exceed their budgets

Buying cycles are longer than ever, averaging 6–18 months

As buyers grow increasingly fatigued and marketplaces rise in relevance, Rectec’s timing is spot on. According to Gartner, 70% of buyers now prefer independent research and marketplaces when evaluating software. This said, Rectec importantly is designed and built to ensure both HR and recruitment vendors and buyers succeed!

The Next Chapter: Growth Mode

With traction, talent, and timing aligned, Rectec is entering its most exciting chapter yet. The team is actively seeking new partners, investors, and collaborators aligned with its mission to become the #1 software buying Copilot for businesses.

“Rectec was always about solving a real, painful problem. Now, with a world-class product, exceptional team, and clear market pull – we’re ready to win,” said Rob Green, Founder of Rectec.

“The future of B2B software buying is smarter, faster, and more transparent. Rectec is here to lead that charge,” added Rohan Jacob, Co-Founder & CRO.

A quick, responsive process is what you need to attract and engage the best talent.

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best Applicant Tracking System, best Recruitment CRM, or best HRIS to suit your needs, accompanied by our unique complementary technology marketplace, to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business.

The post Rectec Enters Growth Phase with Game-Changing Product Launch and Strategic Leadership Expansion appeared first on Rectec.

Choosing the perfect ATS (Applicant Tracking System) for your organisation seems to be becoming an increasingly complex task. Internally, your business is working to tight deadlines and against stiff industry competition. And externally the market is noisy and congested of endless vendors, who all promise to be the ‘perfect fit’ for you. Quickly, the process can turn into an uphill battle to find the light.

In order to enhance your ATS search and ensure you grab the best results, we have 6 key factors that you must consider. By simplifying the process down you can rest easy in the fact that critical points are not missed and your organisation can find the best solution to make way for success.

Assess your current situation and needs.

Before even thinking about solution options, spend some time evaluating your current processes. Notice areas of your operations that experience bottlenecks or inefficiencies and note them down. By looking inwards we are able to begin to curate a list of priorities that you want to be remedied by your ATS.

Don’t stop here however, we suggest adding other things to this list that might be important to you. The sort of things not identified by simply observing your current situation. This could be enhanced security or the amount of support the vendor offers. Remember, the perfect ATS should work hard for your exact needs and wants, so it is critical that you have the strongest grasp of what these needs look like.

Ease of use

This sounds obvious but it’s something that still gets forgotten about.

A strong ATS ensures that tasks like reviewing applications, scheduling interviews, and generating reports are straightforward, reducing the time spent on training or figuring out complex features. The platform should be simple to navigate and should almost complete time consuming tasks without you even noticing.

Most providers will happily supply you with demos or trials and you should lap them up. Spend some good time testing out a selection of vendors and ensure that you and your team find them simple and effective to use.

What support is offered?

The ATS market is flooded with options. To cut through the clutter and find the right fit, it’s crucial to focus on the quality of support you’re getting from the vendor. Look for a partner who is not just selling you a product but is genuinely invested in helping your team succeed. A reliable, supportive vendor will work alongside you to make sure the system fits your unique needs and delivers results.Avoid getting caught up in aggressive sales tactics. Instead, pay attention to how the vendor will be there for you long-term. Are they offering ongoing support, listening to your feedback, and continuously improving their system based on your needs? A great vendor should make you feel valued and offer guidance at every step of the way, ensuring your ATS works for your team.

Some strong pillars of support include

Implementation Managers who can guide and support the initial process. They should share best practices and offer recommendations to ensure your ATS suits your specific needs and enhances your processes from the get go.

Account Managers who continue to build a strong relationship with your business by regularly checking in and ensuring your requirements are met.

Think about the future

We all aim for our business to grow and, with this, our companies often change – your ATS needs to be able to do the same. Look for vendors that offer flexible configurations that simply strengthens your recruitment process. It should in no way control it.

The right system will evolve with your team, ensuring that you don’t outgrow it or feel the need to switch providers down the line. You don’t want to put in all this hard work and then find ourselves back at square one – searching for another vendor.

Look for recommendations

In the same way you might search for a tradesperson to fix your home, you may want to look at your network and ask them if they have any insights or recommendations. We suggest doing this when you have whittled down your choices to a few preferences and if at this point you’re still struggling to decide then ask a friend if they can assist in suggesting the best option.

Your peers’ experiences, whether they be good or bad ones, can be the key to unlocking your perfect ATS.

Leverage Rectec Compare

Rectec Compare ticks off all of the points listed above in a matter of minutes.You just fill out a simple form with your business needs, and the platform’s smart algorithm does the hard work. It cross-checks thousands of vendor data points to quickly and accurately suggest the best ATS options for you. Rectec Compare also gives you everything you need to make a confident choice—vendor profiles, feature lists, customer reviews, and demo videos, all in one place. You can rate and compare ATS options as you go, making the whole process smooth and stress-free.

Final Thoughts 

Selecting the ideal Applicant Tracking System for your organisation doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

By focusing on key factors such as assessing your needs, ease of use, vendor support, future scalability, and seeking recommendations, you can streamline the process and make an informed decision.

Furthermore, utilising Rectec Compare simplifies this journey, providing valuable insights and a clear path forward. With careful consideration and the right support, you can ensure your ATS choice aligns with your long-term recruitment goals and sets your organisation up for success.

A quick, responsive process is what you need to attract and engage the best talent.

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best Applicant Tracking System, best Recruitment CRM, or best HRIS to suit your needs, accompanied by our unique complementary technology marketplace, to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business.

The post 6 Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Your ATS appeared first on Rectec.

In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment and HR isn’t just a concept; it’s a daily reality. Over the last few years, businesses across the UK have increasingly adopted AI technologies to streamline their hiring and HR processes, adapting to meet growing demands for talent, efficiency, and adaptability in the workforce. But how did we get here, and what does AI really bring to the table?

Early Days: Automating the Mundane

In its early days, AI in recruitment was primarily focused on automating repetitive tasks. Processes like scanning CVs and identifying keywords helped recruiters sift through applications faster than ever. This automation took off because, as anyone in HR knows, hiring takes time—especially when hundreds of applications come in for a single role. AI tools that could identify candidates with the right qualifications cut down screening time, but the technology was far from perfect. Early AI models often relied on keyword matching, meaning qualified candidates could slip through if their CV didn’t fit the exact format the algorithm expected.

This phase helped HR departments save time but didn’t always address deeper needs, like reducing unconscious bias or identifying cultural fit. Still, the groundwork was laid, and the success of early automation led to an industry-wide push to explore AI’s broader potential.

Shifting Focus: AI as a Tool for Fairer, More Inclusive Hiring

One of the most exciting developments of AI in recent years is its use in reducing bias. Despite efforts to create fair hiring processes, unconscious bias remains a reality in recruitment, and AI can help by standardising parts of the hiring journey. For instance, some tools now strip identifiable details (like names, locations, and universities) from CVs before a human recruiter sees them, focusing the process on skills and experience alone.

By 2024, companies in the UK are recognising that AI-powered tools can support fairer hiring. According to the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), many UK employers are adopting these solutions as part of their commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)​. Removing bias isn’t straightforward—algorithms themselves can learn biases based on the data they’re trained on. But with oversight, companies can use AI tools that help create more equitable recruitment practices, bringing in talent purely on merit.

Real-Time Data: Insights into Talent and Workforce Trends

Beyond hiring, AI has become an invaluable tool for workforce management and planning. Today, AI-driven insights enable HR teams to monitor employee engagement, predict turnover, and even identify development needs. These insights allow organisations to be proactive, addressing issues before they escalate and making HR a strategic player in business planning.

With the rise of real-time analytics, HR teams are empowered like never before. Platforms that incorporate AI can track metrics such as employee engagement, performance trends, and even skills gaps. For example, AI can highlight trends that may indicate a lack of motivation in a department, giving HR teams time to intervene. According to the HR Analytics and Tech survey, over 70% of UK HR leaders report using AI-powered analytics to gain deeper insights into their workforce​.

AI-Powered Interviews: More than Just Video

In 2024, AI-driven interviews have moved far beyond simple video calls. Many organisations now use AI to assess candidates’ verbal and non-verbal cues during digital interviews, with algorithms evaluating responses, body language, and even facial expressions to gauge emotional intelligence and fit. This approach, however, remains controversial. While some argue it can provide an additional layer of insight, others worry about privacy, ethics, and accuracy.

The UK has been at the forefront of addressing these concerns, with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) setting strict guidelines on AI usage in recruitment. Candidates, too, are more aware than ever of their rights, questioning how their data is used and ensuring AI isn’t used to invade their privacy. Responsible use of AI in interviews is now a hot topic among HR leaders who aim to balance efficiency with ethics.

Employee Experience: Supporting Talent from Hire to Retire

AI is reshaping not only recruitment but the entire employee journey. From onboarding to professional development, AI is now a cornerstone of the employee experience. Chatbots, for example, are used in onboarding to answer new hires’ questions quickly and help them get up to speed. For ongoing development, AI can analyse employees’ skills and suggest learning resources or training to help them advance their careers.

Larger organisations are even implementing AI-driven personalisation for development paths. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, AI can assess individual strengths and areas for improvement, recommending bespoke training. This model, widely adopted in the UK, empowers employees by offering tailored opportunities, with CIPD research indicating that personalised learning boosts employee satisfaction and retention by nearly 20%.

Generative AI: Shaping the Future of HR with Creativity and Precision

2024 has seen the rise of generative AI in HR. No longer just a tool for automation, generative AI is creating entirely new content, from crafting job descriptions to drafting employee communications. With the power to adapt language for specific roles, companies are using AI to create more appealing job listings and streamline communication.

In a recent study by Deloitte, 89% of UK HR leaders expressed interest in leveraging generative AI for creative tasks, seeing it as a valuable resource to improve efficiency without sacrificing personalisation​.

Generative AI can also assist in building templates for performance reviews, diversity statements, and internal policies, ensuring consistency across the board while freeing HR teams for more strategic work.

UK Statistics: The Growth and Adoption of AI in HR

The adoption of AI in HR and recruitment in the UK is growing rapidly, with research showing that around 60% of medium to large UK businesses now use some form of AI for recruitment and workforce management.

In 2024, spending on HR tech is set to increase as organisations focus on digital transformation, investing in technologies that make them more competitive. The UK’s HR tech market, now valued at over £1 billion, is projected to expand further as AI solutions become mainstream across industries.

The Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities

While AI in HR has many advantages, challenges remain. Ensuring fairness, transparency, and ethical use of AI is critical, as is addressing candidates’ and employees’ privacy concerns. In the UK, regulatory frameworks are increasingly guiding AI use in HR, setting a high standard for ethical practices.

Looking ahead, we can expect AI to continue evolving. Future advancements may include better sentiment analysis, improved predictive capabilities for workforce planning, and more sophisticated virtual reality (VR) experiences for onboarding and training. As the UK’s economy remains competitive and globally connected, embracing these technologies while maintaining ethical standards will be key to success.

A Final Thought

The journey of AI in HR is ongoing, with each new development bringing fresh opportunities and considerations. For HR leaders, the balance between efficiency and humanity is paramount. The adoption of AI should be about enhancing, not replacing, the human touch.

If your organisation is ready to explore AI-driven HR solutions, start by understanding the basics, examining case studies, and speaking with experts. Ensuring your technology aligns with your values is the best way to move forward confidently in 2024 and beyond.

The post The Evolution of AI in Recruiting and HR 2024 appeared first on Rectec.

While this model has its merits, it also presents challenges that businesses must carefully consider.

The Pros:

Attracting and Retaining Talent: Research has shown this is one of the biggest benefits. A shorter workweek appeals to those seeking better work-life balance, making it a strong tool for recruitment and retention. Employees are increasingly valuing flexibility, and a four-day workweek can help meet this demand.

Increased Productivity: Studies show that employees can maintain or even increase productivity with fewer working days. The additional day off often leads to more focused and efficient work during the remaining days. The rise of flexible working has shed a stronger light onto productivity. Whilst having more freedom in terms of managing their work schedules, workers often come to realise that their workloads can be condescended down to lesser days, without hampering results and success (many have even found this is stronger as a result).

Reduced Operational Costs: Businesses may save on utilities, supplies, and other overheads by operating one day less each week. These savings can be particularly significant for smaller businesses.

Improved Employee Health and Well-being: With an extra day off, employees have more time to rest, pursue personal interests, and spend time with family, which can lead to lower stress levels and fewer sick days.

Environmental Impact: Fewer commutes and less energy consumption in the office contribute to a reduced carbon footprint, aligning with corporate sustainability goals.

The Cons:

Customer Dissatisfaction: For businesses that require constant customer interaction, such as retail or customer service, a four-day week could lead to delays and dissatisfaction if managing client expectations is not properly managed.

Additional Costs: Companies might need to hire additional staff or pay overtime to cover the reduced hours, which could negate any cost savings from fewer operational days.

Potential for Reduced Productivity: If employees struggle to adjust to a compressed schedule, productivity could suffer. This model may not work well in all industries, particularly those requiring long, continuous hours of work.

Longer Workdays: To make up for the lost day, employees may have to work longer hours on the remaining days, impacting on their mornings and evenings during the week. Without time to properly switch off between shifts, workers could experience burnout and a dip in their productivity.

Complex Implementation: Transitioning to a four-day workweek requires careful planning and communication to ensure smooth operations. This includes restructuring workflows and setting clear expectations.

I feel the four day week often sounds scarier than it is, or a strategy that is unachievable but, various trials have shown us that it can definitely work. As with all operational changes you may make for your company, you must evaluate your specific needs. This model is not a one-size-fits-all solution but, when implemented thoughtfully, it can be a valuable strategy for modern workplaces.

A quick, responsive process is what you need to attract and engage the best talent.

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best Applicant Tracking System or best Recruitment CRM to suit your needs, accompanied by our unique complementary technology marketplace, to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business.

The post The Pros and Cons of a Four-Day Working Week: Is It Right for Your Business? appeared first on Rectec.

Westminster seems to be on board too, they’ve recently announced ‘no-skills-required tech bootcamps’. These government funded schemes aim to plug the demand for entry level tech workers in roles encompassing cloud computing, cybersecurity, software development and coding amongst many others, by promising applicants an interview at the end of the study and enhanced salary expectations, with some students expected to start on a whopping 70k. Additionally, the government themselves have existing tenders for Cloud services alone equalling over £7.5billion which will further increase demand for skills and talent. 

The ‘slow down’ era that was 2022 pushed the industry to hit a refresh button. Skills that once seemed like nice additions to the team are now vital organs. Think artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, and cloud computing—they’re not just skills anymore; they’re priceless and everyone seems to be clamouring for them. Companies are realising that in order to stay ahead of the game their talent must be ready to cover any sudden shifts in demand and are willing to pay the price for versatile talent. According to Robert Half, with pay already creeping up in the sector despite the fall in demand reported in recent times, a hiring increase will likely precede another salary spike. Roles under the job category of software development and testing reported the greatest increase in salaries (24 per cent) between the 2023 and 2024 reports. Transformation product managers, first line support specialists in cloud and infrastructure and data analysts also reported high levels of pay increases of 14 per cent, 14 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. 

The plague of mass layoffs within an industry often leaves candidates wondering what skills to learn in order to be able to weather any future storms that may lay ahead. Within tech, which often moves at an extremely swift pace, this is currently felt more so than ever. According to insights from a recent Techopedia article, the top 10 tech skills to learn in 2024 are the golden tickets to not just staying relevant but also commanding a six-figure salary. To name a few, these include the likes of cybersecurity, which is seeing mass investment from companies against a backdrop of increased threats. Cloud computing, where the article states if you can master the most popular platforms including AWS, Azure and Google Cloud then your pay cheque could be in for a treat. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are also listed as powerful, in-demand, skills to master.

A cocktail of factors including the industry’s pivot towards specialist skills and a surge in global demand for IT professionals, paints a promising picture for a potential job boom in the sector. As organisations recognise the value of these skills in navigating the complex tech landscape, the increased demand for professionals possessing these capabilities will in turn have a positive impact on compensation also. With funding pouring into technology-driven initiatives, the stage is set for a robust job resurgence. This not only highlights the resilience of the tech industry but also underscores the potential for a flourishing job market as businesses set their sights on investing and growth. For IT professionals, this presents a unique opportunity to ride the wave of this transformative period, armed with sought-after skills and the prospect of substantial career growth.

A quick, responsive process is what you need to attract and engage the best talent.

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best Applicant Tracking System or best Recruitment CRM to suit your needs, accompanied by our unique complementary technology marketplace, to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business.

The post Will we see an IT jobs boom in 2024? appeared first on Rectec.

As usual, we were surrounded by the great and the good in the recruitment, HR and tech world – visionaries and industry stalwarts both, decking out the good halls of Ashton Gate and connecting with inhousers across the South West and Wales.

The IHR Bristol event was, as always, a smashing success – not only were we able to engage with new users of Rectec Compare, but we were able to fly the flag for our vendor partners via our stacked Swag Table and reconnect with co-exhibitors who are partners on our Comparison and Marketplace platforms.

The story of the show. 

Every show has its rhythms and its stories, driven by guests, speakers and exhibitors all coming together to share best practices and bond over our little slice of the HR world. 

We’ve found in the few years of hitting the event circuit that every event becomes somewhat of a recruitment culture weathervane. As Rectec is tech-agnostic, our exhibit becomes a focal point for free-wheeling ideas-sharing over tech, the future of recruitment, talent and tech snags, tech purchasing pain points and how the industry is changing in the hybrid era.

The story of this year’s IHR Bristol was all to do with assessments, and how assessment tech has fast become the front line of recruitment agility and specificity in the war for talent.

Assessment technology – what is and why is so important?

Bolstering recruitment efforts with assessments is hardly anything new – almost everyone reading this blog will have at some point have had a skills test or a technical thrown at them during an interview process. 

So why are assessments suddenly a hot topic? Do people actually want more assessment tools, or simply ones that work better? And perhaps most importantly, how is assessment data being utilised and does it really make any difference to hiring outcomes?

Context is, as with everything, key. We’re going to look at the answers to the above and more through two contextual lenses – Big Data, and how it fundamentally makes assessments better; and candidate connection in a hyper-personalised recruitment environment.

The war against siloing Big Data, and the future of candidate skills development. 

Big Data has the potential to revolutionise every digital touchpoint across the hiring spectrum. But speedy integration or grasping at the most accessible or affordable plug-and-play solution will not improve hiring outcomes without understanding how, where and why data is so important. 

Assessment platforms are absolute troves of data, but the first mistake anyone can make when considering the use of data assessment tools to gather, clean and use data is siloing.

By this, we mean consciously limiting what data can do and where it can be applied.

This is done typically by only using assessments – and the data gleaned from answers to those assessments – at one point in the interview process.

The data generated by assessments is so much more valuable when utilised in a long-term L&D strategy. Think of it this way – assessment answers give a snapshot of candidate ability in a single moment, and that moment decides whether or not a hiring manager hires or doesn’t hire that person. 

But the results of that assessment – the data that shows an employee’s strengths and weaknesses in high definition, and how competent they are in any given field – provide the foundation for long-term talent skills development.

Assessment data, when seen as part of an employee development strategy, is the compass that drives improvement. Assessment Big Data provides that foundation. It sets a developmental context and a benchmark for staff investment and skills improvements. And, as any good recruiter knows, investment in staff development is talent retention gold dust.

This is why so many guests to our IHR stand were talking about assessment tools and the development of assessment strategies – when recruitment has become more competitive, faster, more digitally dominated and more expensive, being able to deploy candidate assessment data effectively, at scale, has become a must-have tool in the recruiter tool belt.

The cult of hyper-personalisation.

Assessment tools can help build employer brands, set a high standard for technical framework gatekeeping and correctly infer who is the best fit for a job. 

But to truly connect with a potential employee requires a connection beyond the brand – it requires the building of a perception of competence, competitiveness, positivity and personalised services in an employer by a candidate. 

Agile, AI-powered tools are becoming key here, and sit at the forefront of creating a more personalised culture of recruitment. The foundation for this new, personalised era of recruitment lies in adapting to the strengths, drivers and motivations of each employee via a range of agile assessment tools. 

From behavioural and cognitive testing and AI-powered job matching, to personality motivation benchmarking, image-based personality assessments and more, forward-thinking recruiters understand that “personalisation” has to be more than a slogan – every candidate touchpoint has to be powered by it, and every candidate has to know why and how their information is used to power not only their application to a job, but their whole career.

This is what assessment tools can give if leveraged in the right way. And at IHR Bristol it was the hot topic!

 A quick, responsive process is what you need to attract and engage the best talent.

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best Applicant Tracking System or best Recruitment CRM to suit your needs, accompanied by our unique complementary technology marketplace, to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business.

The post Assessment, Big Data and Personalisation – what we learned at IHR Bristol 2023! appeared first on Rectec.

Let’s set the scene – you’re an agency head on the hunt for a new Recruitment CRM. 

What makes a CRM platform good? Is there a formula for creating, or sourcing, a communicative platform, tool or app that strikes the right balance of savvy UX and novel UI, modern design and simple usability?  

What bizarre alchemy of tech, design and content makes a digital tool impossible to ignore? And crucially, how do you know if the platform meets your needs, within your budget? 

A quick Google and you’ll find a lot of advice about what makes a digital platform, or ecosystem of platforms, simply work better than others. Some examples include: 

• Locality, big data and competitive awareness as the winning formula – MIT Sloan. 
• Flexibility and independence are key to platform success – McKinsey. 
• Interoperability with other platforms and partnerships will win the tech day – Bain. 

All good advice, of course. But each point above speaks to hiring success in the face of modern technical challenges – challenges that, if not addressed, can hamper platform adoption, and in our neck of the woods ultimately candidate attraction and hiring feasibility. 

So let’s hyperfixate on how challenges to successful Recruitment CRM implementation can manifest, and how eagle-eyed Recruitment business leaders can pre-empt those challenges to create a culture of seamless platform adoption and integration. 

What are the primary challenges when it comes to implementing a Recruitment CRM? 

We believe that recruitment agency heads should be aware of 5 primary challenges to successful Recruitment CRM adoption.  

They are: 

• Forget the end-user at your peril.  
• Integration without preparation = failure. 
• Assess the vendor roadmap and constantly strive to improve platform performance. 
• Data is your friend, not your foe. 
• Platform customisation and segmentation will elevate performance. 

Integration without preparation = failure. 

• Many, if not all, CRM vendors will take the lead when it comes to platform integration with your existing stack (more on vendor feature roadmaps and platform evolution below). 

• Successful integration takes time and user buy-in, feedback and step-by-step learning, all of which needs to be prepared for, with time set aside to commit to it.  

• Effective Recruitment CRM integration is both a technical process as much as it is a human one, so responsibility should always be taken to prioritise pre-existing user understanding, training and development pathways for all stakeholders. This will guarantee seamless platform use, better candidate communication and ultimately better hiring outcomes. 

Assess the vendor roadmap and constantly strive to improve platform and user performance. 

• Watch the roadmap! 

• This is something we could not champion more – a vital requirement for any technical lead on any implementation project is to work closely with the CRM provider, monitor their product roadmap, watch for new features, and take the time to assess the value they can add to your business. 

• In short, keep your vendor close. Try to understand the product roadmap to see how your recruitment organisation can benefit in the future.  

• This is also essential for CRM auditing purposes, as every vendor partnership should be judged on its merits and effectiveness, and if the roadmap is heading in a direction that may not be right you can spot this ahead of time and either work with your CRM provider on platform development, or consider a new path forward. 

Data is your friend, not your foe. 

• Your new Recruitment CRM is where recruiting data and hiring strategy collide.  

• To get the most out of any digital tool, especially one that is linked to your candidate base and talent pools so intimately, you need to know both how the tool works, and what successful use of that tool looks like.  

• Without a totalising, visualised idea of what success means in the context of your new Recruitment CRM, you’re working blindfolded. You need to create clear lines of performance expectation, based around how the platform works, and what it’s able to do. 

• Data analysis + strategy = the best utilisation of your new platform. 

Platform customisation and segmentation will elevate performance. 

• This is one for the project and implementation managers – approaching Recruitment CRM implementation with a one-size-fits-all mindset will simply not work.   

• You must have a critical understanding of the breadth of services and tools available from your CRM. What a particular platform offers – those USPs that differentiate it from the competition –  are the key to understanding success and are the reason why you chose a provider. 

• Success in this regard looks like this – remain as open-minded as possible to learning new ways of working. Use your new Recruitment CRM platform’s segmenting tools to build task management that elevates performance. Reduce the possibility of creating a generalist culture of surface-level platform usage and limited recruitment impact by utilising every asset available. 

Forget the end-user at your peril – training, upskilling and the push for continual improvement, 

• The simplest way to put this is that users need to understand all of a platform’s functions to really get the best out of it…but they need to do so through the lens of continual learning.  

• Upskilling isn’t a plug-and-play asset to give to staff. It requires time and effort to learn, iterate, and perfect platform performance.  

Successful Recruitment CRM adoption starts with strategy. 

As a final thought, we want to briefly open the door a little more to how recruitment business leaders should position their team to make the most of any new Recruitment CRM platform. 

A not insignificant element of any recruitment strategy lies in understanding typical recruitment or HR platform user challenges – the user pain points, the integration issues, and the recruiting dead zones – that make for rough going.

But, when these pain points are mastered, an entire operation is elevated.  

Behind every click of every screen, every candidate screening and every automated email sent to cold leads lies a clearly defined user/candidate strategy – a singular plan to engage, enthuse and drive a user/candidate into a meaningful experience with a company.  

This connection – this strategy – sits at the soul of UX.

So we especially urge users of Rectec Compare to clearly delineate their strategic needs and reasonings for buying a new Recruitment CRM before diving into our Comparison service, or engaging any vendor in a demo. Learn where those user pain points are, and plan where improvements can be made across the adoption matrix, and you’ll find the whole procurement and impletementation process runs quicker, smoother and often under budget.

The bottom line. 

If implemented well, a new Recruitment CRM can revolutionise recruiting.  

If implemented badly, without strategy, forethought, expertise and leadership, the wheels fall off. 

Within the storied halls of recruiting firms and staff agencies worldwide, the adoption of a new Recruitment CRM platform should be cause for optimism – and, to a large degree, being ahead of the challenges of new platform adoption and understanding key implentation challenges is the absolute key to success.

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best recruitment and talent acquisition technologies to suit your needs.   

From Applicant Tracking System and Recruitment CRM comparison, to vendor snapshots, and technology showcases in our unique technology marketplace, we provide fee-free tools to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business!  

The post What are the main challenges when it comes to Recruitment CRM implementation? appeared first on Rectec.

But how do humble tech platforms, most importantly an Applicant Tracking System, really help in the modern War for Talent? 

An ATS provides a scalable, customisable “eye in the sky” view of your entire applicant base, and offers a granular look at individual applicant progress, providing both recruiter, employer and employee with ample data to adjust and perfect a job or applicant search. 

The end result, if well-manicured and maintained, is a hiring process of immense personality and leadership, built on efficient use of data and applicant visibility via a one-tech solution. 

Now, this all goes to plan in a stable recruiting environment.  

But we live in an era beset by a constant battle for talent, fighting for EVP visibility and hiring sustainability in a fast-changing world.  

We live in an era of aggressive, no-holds-barred recruitment competition, and we’d make a healthy wager any HR leader reading this has seen the frequency of talent gazumping explode over the last couple of years. It truly is a War for Talent. 

So how does an ATS help you stand above the competition when talent is in high demand and short supply, and the hiring landscape is more competitive than ever? 

The definition of “The War for Talent”. 

The beauty of living and working in a pluralist, innovative, ideas-centric culture is that there are multiple ways to build a career and myriad ways to connect with and develop talent both internally and externally.  

But these systems and networks are fragile.  

Since the pandemic, we’ve played witness to the effects of one of the biggest market shocks to this system in a generation, and the results, for some, have been catastrophic – the near collapse of talent pools across the world, mass walk-outs in others, and a considerable lack of skills and training in emerging niche sectors have all caused what can only be described as the perfect candidate storm.  

So where are we now?  

Ask any HR leader to define our current recruitment present and they’d say the market is “candidate-led”. 

• “A candidate-led market is, in short, when the number of vacancies is outweighing the number of people searching for employment and as a result, the market is highly competitive, with companies battling to attract and recruit the best candidates out there”. 

Candidates in most sectors understand their skills are in high demand, and as such “control” how and where they apply themselves.  

This has set a new precedent in a new War for Talent, and this new normal has come to define modern hiring.  

In areas of high talent demand – such as Tech, Education, Healthcare and Logistics – shortages of talent, the rise of remote work and upward pressure on wages have upended years of recruiting norms, and ushered in a hyper-competitive era of recruitment and retention. 

How an Applicant Tracking System can help in the War for Talent? 

So how does the humble ATS help in this war?  

Are the tools contained within applicant management systems the arsenal to defeat the immortal enemy of hiring managers everywhere? 

We believe there are 5 key features of an ATS that can improve hiring outcomes and help in the War for Talent: 

• Hiring Costs Reduced – ATSs are hiring efficiencies made real. As they centralise applicant details, provide accurate, real-time reports and provide the basis for establishing hiring metrics, not to mention the fact they systematically improve communication and applicant transparency, they massively impact the overall costs of hiring. They also reduce the need for relying on external companies or agencies to do the legwork of sourcing, vetting and hiring staff by providing talent management structure.
• Time To Hire Improved – ATS platforms simplify the recruitment process. They make staff more efficient, they improve applicant management, they improve talent pool management and they improve consultant behaviours and organisation. The end result is faster hiring through automated services, centralised data gathering and cloud-based accessibility.
• Quality of Hire Improved – the value of an ATS lies in the work it does behind the scenes – CV parsing; data gathering; shortlisting; automated communications. The sum result of a consultant utilising these tools is, simply, better quality hiring outcomes. By effectively screening and shortlisting the best applicants from an applicant pool, a consultant can spend more time establishing rapport and relationships with the best in class, without worrying about whether any candidates have fallen through the gaps. 
• CX improvements – in a candidate-led market, the candidate experience is often a significant career choice differentiator. Tech should not and, at this stage, cannot take the lead on establishing good CX, but it can most certainly help bolster it. An ATS can subtly (and sometimes overtly) improve the things that make CX great – open communication, application transparency and the digital foundation for real, consultant-driven emotional connection between worker and employer.
• EB Improvements – all of the above points impact the overall impact of an employer brand – the DNA of a company, the brand power and placement within a market and the overall attractiveness of a place to work. ATS’ do incredible work – they streamline applications, make communication easier and quicker, and improve shortlisting and reporting of applications. The cumulative result of these small improvements is a seamless candidate application process and a brand that screams “We hire well”.

The ATS bottom line.  

In our view, your Applicant Tracking System is your biggest weapon in the War for Talent, allowing you to engage, protect and nurture talent more efficiently, and more importantly, better than your competitors.  

At the end of the day an ATS will never supersede the very human nature of talent acquisition – what it should do, however, is provide a platform that elevates expectations and performance. 

A good ATS is the landscape on which you do the hiring fighting, to mangle the metaphor even further – it sets the context and creates an indomitable culture of hiring that’s impossible to ignore, due to its efficiency, speed, personality and ease of use. 

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best recruitment and talent acquisition technologies to suit your needs.  

From Applicant Tracking System and Recruitment CRM comparison, to vendor snapshots, and technology showcases in our unique technology marketplace, we provide fee-free tools to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business! 

The post How to use an ATS to stay ahead of the competition in the war for talent.  appeared first on Rectec.

But data is increasingly becoming a major point of competitive difference when it comes to hiring success…especially when combined with active, forward-thinking leaders who are obsessed with creating data-led recruitment strategies that create better, more meaningful connections between people.

So how exactly do we use data to improve hiring decisions? 

In our view, you want to look at four key recruitment points of action:

• Understand where hiring can be improved.
• Choosing the right data metrics, and understanding how they intersect.
• Identify and invest in platforms to collect the right data.
• Aggregate and isolate this data for maximum human impact.

Understand where Hiring can be improved.

Identifying where hiring improvements can be made is a lesson in operational humility. 

Typical metrics of successful hiring practice – things like healthy time-to-hire ratio, low turnover rate, affordable and sustainable ROI-per-hire (more on that below) – require up-to-date data sets and hands-on operational follow-through to maintain

In the last few years, HR teams have battled with an incredibly stormy recruitment environment – from the Great Resignation to the Great Rebound to, now, a country-wide push for higher wages (not to mention mass public sector walkouts) via striking in light of rising prices.

Hiring health, in this context, can be tricky to measure. 

For example, if average candidate tenure within certain sectors is dropping, and turnover is rising sector-wide, how do you buck the trend? What do you need to identify to make improvements if everyone is suffering from the same problems?

Data analysis, aggregation and integration are your saviours here. 

• Data analysis and integration require aggregating your digital data metrics – your recruitment ratios, budgets, CRM feedback, hiring metrics, all the digitally-generated data that inform your hiring models – and analogue feedback from workers in real-time, involving things like exit interview information, peer reviews, performance reviews, L&D feedback, skills budgeting, training, and management training under one roof.
• The combined weight of data should give you a full, if not slightly messy, view on your company health, retention health and therefore hiring health.

To correctly aggregate and simplify this information requires company-wide buy-in, some nifty tech, agile leadership and advocacy from departments and team members to better analyse where breakdowns occur. 

Then it’s on the bosses to enact change.

Choosing the right data metrics and understanding how they intersect.

“Metrics set the parameters for the data your organisation will use to measure performance”.

Diving into the metrics of successful (or failing) hiring is your fuel for change.

The outcome of a little metric data identification and analysis should be simple – you identify which hiring metrics you need to improve. Those improvements should, in theory, lead to better hiring.

But, of course, as in all recruitment, nothing works in a vacuum. 

Every metric and outcome of analysing those metrics, and changing company policy as a result, will impact other metrics. Without adequate oversight, changing how you measure and analyse data metrics can have a cascading effect on other measurements and outcomes and so on and so forth.

So choosing the right data means mapping every data channel and understanding the company-wide impacts of that data on hiring success. 

The most typical data metric measurements to understanding hiring success are:

• Source of hire
• Time-to-hire
• Cost-per-hire 
• CV-to-interview ratio
• Interview-to-hire ratio
• Staff turnover 
• Candidate experience measurements
• Job offer acceptance rates
• Exit interview data

Our question for business leaders is always – do you know how each metric above impacts the other? Do you have the data to prove it? Can you or your team visualise their success, or identify where hiring could be improved, based on the raw data above?

Identify and invest in “platforms” to collect the right data.

Rectec prides ourselves on breaking down sometimes-complex hiring theory and tech implementation into neat, bitesize chunks. 

So here is another chunk of knowledge: we know, better than most, how important recruitment data is. 

We also know how important it is to understand the reach and effectiveness of platforms to collate and analyse that data. 

But, above all else, we know that TA teams, recruiters, HR pros and business leaders don’t have hours to spend crunching data sets – they need clear visualisation, clear line-of-sight, and “cleaned” data to quickly inform hiring strategy.

Time is money, and data is money. So get yourself a hiring platform that collates the data YOU need to improve your hiring outcomes. 

In fact, we know it’s so important we built a market-leading HR tech comparison tool and marketplace as a result!

Aggregate and isolate data for maximum human impact.

The result of having built a culture of hiring humility, of knowing your data metrics and of having a data platform that collates and displays it in a way that works for you is then isolating where change needs to occur. 

This is where leadership nous comes to the fore – you need to isolate past failings and focus on future-proofing your hiring strategy. 

Having a data-driven recruitment plan is a major part of it, but the best leaders in the business will know that data doesn’t do the hard work of consultant-led change. 

Clients still want to work with a person who has their business interests at heart, and candidates are still putting their careers in the hands of a relative professional stranger. 

So use data to improve these relationships and empower your consultants to provide better, more data-led, more empathetic services.

The bottom line.

We’re obsessed with data here at Rectec…but we also know data used without humble leadership goes nowhere.

We talk a lot about the aggregation of data and recruitment, metrics and outcomes…but in reality, how data aggregates with the human is the most important facet of a data-led recruitment strategy.

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best recruitment and talent acquisition technologies to suit your needs. 

From Applicant Tracking System and Recruitment CRM comparison, to vendor snapshots, and technology showcases in our unique technology marketplace, we provide fee-free tools to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business!

The post How to use data to make better hiring decisions. appeared first on Rectec.

But most recruiters are strapped for time, battling a flood of demand and rising talent requirements. They often don’t get the time or space to fully understand how ATS providers and platforms can still help at the non-digital end of the hiring funnel – at interview stage. 

Well, we’re here to drop some easy-reading facts and stats on why, how and where ATS platforms can help not only improve interview processes and outcomes but address issues in remote interview cultures and improve wholesale recruiting outcomes, both analogue and digital.

Remote Interview Statistics for 2023.

With the pandemic falling away in the rearview mirror, just how long-term have the changes been to workplace interview processes? 

Is remote interviewing now seen, or expected, as standard fair from employers, and how are candidates reacting to remote interview requirements?

• “Per a recent Indeed survey, 82% of employers surveyed use virtual interviews, and 93% of employers plan to continue using them”.
• “There has been a 57% increase in the use of video interviews from 2019 – 2023”.
• “Pre-pandemic 79% of employers conducted first-stage interviews via telephone or face-to-face meeting. As of January 2021, video interviews are the most popular method of conducting first-stage interviews with 86% of employers favouring it”.
• “Nearly 50% of job seekers prefer video interviews over face-to-face interviews”.
• “60% of recruiters use video technology to interview candidates, regardless of whether the job is remote”.

The chief takeaways from the above stats are fairly clear – video interviewing is not only expected from candidates but critical for recruitment success. Video interviews are now expected as standard irrespective of whether the role is remote or not. 

In short – remote interview dominates. If you’re not utilising it at some point in your candidate journey, you’re failing potential hires and future stars.

ATS innovations in interview technique, strategy and platform use.

The humble Applicant Tracking System is more than an agile platform for candidate communications and organisation – they are often packaged as an all-in-one, end-to-end digital solution for every recruitment step and every possible recruitment need, including hosting remote interviews. 

Innovations in the ATS recruitment space have been legion. From AI-led candidate sourcing to CRM-esque application organisation and administration and more, applicant tracking systems and their affiliate plug-and-play recruiting tools and hiring products are now essential hubs of recruitment information. They are central to successful hiring, and consistently improving data dumps for recruitment metrics and analysis.

Naturally, digital dominance offers new techniques and strategies for recruiting, most importantly around data accessibility and analysis, and how data is understood to drive more favourable recruiting outcomes across the candidate journey. 

In our view, Applicant Tracking Systems do one thing more effectively than any other software in a recruiter’s stack, especially when it comes to candidate handling at the interview stage – they sit at the juncture between data, people, and meaningful interview cultures and provide maximum visibility across the entire hiring spectrum.

The trick is using each element to improve hiring outcomes, deliverables and, of course, company reputation.

Applicant Tracking Systems sit at the juncture between data, people, and meaningful Interviews.

So how does the humble ATS organise and administer data and people, and improve remote hiring outcomes?

Data. 

• Consider one of the primary features of an ATS – communication automation. 
• ATS platforms can automate candidate communications and rapidly move applicants through a sourcing, vetting and pre-interview stage without you having to lift a finger. 
• This not only utilises data to highlight and prioritise the best hires but hones that data for applicant upkeep and retains applicant momentum during a critical part of the hiring process – that of screening and vetting candidates for interview.

People.

• A well-placed ATS aligns people across the interview fold, from candidate to interview panel. It can reduce barriers between different departments and provide a sole interview HQ for all applicant information. 
• Some ATSs take it a step further, allowing for seamless, multi-site interview panels, or AI-led analysis of applications and resumes to improve interview questions and direction.
• In short, an ATS can improve the connection between every interview party, and even provide niche analysis of specific skills to improve interview effectiveness.

Meaningful Interviews.

• Lastly, an ATS is on-demand information in the palm of your hand. Critically, if one was to centralise an interview process within an ATS or adjacent to an ATS, candidates can rest assured they’ll have immediate feedback on their application and interview.
• An ATS almost acts like a backstop against dropped applicants post-interview and provides immediate context and clarity to interview next steps.

The bottom line.

In theory and practice, ATS systems are a one-stop-show for interview prep, follow-up, and organisation. But above all else they centralise and simplify complex recruitment processes, thereby streamlining those processes and getting talent in front of employers quicker.In

In the digital age, when ATS providers are leaned on more than ever to guarantee hiring success at every stage of an application, ATS platforms can find new and novel ways of engaging candidates and improving interview processes, even when those interviews are remote!

If you’re looking to identify the Best Applicant Tracking System for your business, then be sure to check out our comprehensive guide to the Best Applicant Tracking Systems (2024).

At Rectec we help organisations to find the best recruitment and talent acquisition technologies to suit your needs. 
From Applicant Tracking System and Recruitment CRM comparison, to vendor snapshots, and technology showcases in our unique technology marketplace, we provide fee-free tools to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business!

The post How does an ATS streamline your remote interviewing process? appeared first on Rectec.