A talent acquisition platform is a valuable HR tool. The right technology can help you source and screen potential applicants so that you get more quality candidates in your recruitment pipelines, helping you create more efficient recruiting cycles that add value to your business.
However, despite investment in Human Resources technology hitting an all-time high in 2021, most organizations still achieve less than one-third of the impact they expected from their digital investment. This is partly due to not choosing the right HR Saas software solution. And this is understandable, given the sheer volume of software solutions currently on the market, all offering a range of features.
With this in mind, we have put together this in-depth guide to help you navigate the complex world of talent acquisition technology. We will break down the best talent acquisition software solutions to help you find the right talent acquisition platform for your small business. Table of Contents
What Is a Talent Acquisition Platform?
A talent acquisition platform is a recruitment and selection software solution that helps you find the right candidates for the job in less time. The system allows you to create a streamlined profile for sourcing, attracting, screening, interviewing and onboarding candidates from your talent pool, whether you are looking to fill lower-level or manager roles or rehire boomerang employees. Many solutions also include features for internal and external recruitment processes such as applicant tracking, recruitment tips, forecasting, small business hiring analytics and employee development.
The main aim of using a talent acquisition platform is to create a strong candidate pipeline. This means that the solution you use should serve as an end-to-end recruitment solution that covers every stage of the hiring process checklist, right through to onboarding and incorporating a candidate into your general employee management system.
The best talent acquisition software is one that includes features for:
- Writing job descriptions and posting job ads on recruitment boards
- Candidate sourcing and filtering
- Managing interviews
- Candidate relationship management
- Reporting, analytics, and dashboards
- Data and employee process management centralization
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) reporting
In addition, you should be looking for a solution that helps you take things a step further than just filling vacancies and ticking boxes. The best talent acquisition platform should also help you build employer-employee relations and work on career development. This will improve your overall employee experience and reduce your turnover, again reducing the time, money, and efforts needed to constantly hire and train new people.
Benefits of Talent Acquisition Software
Here are just a few of the benefits of using a talent acquisition platform:
- A recruiting platform for small business can help you find the best candidates for all your open positions. It streamlines your processes and gives you the tools you need to find top talent. This includes everything from writing the perfect job ad, filtering candidates, designing your employee offer letter templates, and managing virtual recruitment. All this saves you valuable time that you can better spend on strategic tasks instead. Plus, by speeding up the recruitment process, you can quickly identify and address understaffing or overstaffing issues where necessary.
- Using talent acquisition software gives everyone involved in the recruitment process access to the same candidate information. This means you spend less time confirming details like interview notes or contact information, and more time meaningfully interacting with potential candidates. This reduces the chances of miscommunication and helps you reach hiring decisions faster. It also helps you create a better candidate experience.
- Software for recruiters helps you develop a strong employer brand. For example, you can ensure your company’s website, culture, and social media profiles appeal to your candidates.
- Powerful recruiting analytics help you evaluate every stage of your recruitment funnel so that you can make better recruiting decisions.
- Talent acquisition software is also a great tool for helping you implement diversity, equity and inclusion best practices in your business. For example, you can use software to create blind CVs to help you make objective hiring decisions. You can also use recruiting software to reach a wider audience of candidates by quickly posting open positions to multiple job boards.
Which Talent Acquisition Platform is Best? 7 Top Recruiting Software Companies
The first stage in selecting a talent acquisition platform is clearly defining your needs. You need to consider which processes you are looking to merge and automate, what problems you want to solve, and which features you need. You also need to consider how much you are able to invest in a software solution.
Once you have clarified what features you need and what your budget is, you will be ready to filter through the various talent acquisition software companies currently on the market in order to find the best recruiting software for your business.
To help you out with this, we have put together a list of some of the top recruiting software companies.
Factorial HR’s Talent Acquisition Platform
You can use Factorial’s intuitive talent acquisition platform to manage every stage of the hiring process. You can centralize all your data, from job postings right through to onboarding and beyond. And best of all, you can adapt the software to the specific needs of your company. This helps you streamline your application process and improve the overall candidate experience, making it by far the best platform for hiring.
Here are just a few things you can do with Factorial’s talent acquisition platform:
- Design tailored job offers, application forms, and careers pages for your website
- Adapt pipeline steps to your current workflow
- View all your candidate data and recruitment updates from one place
- Monitor all candidates through a comprehensive and intuitive applicant tracking system
- Create workflows with automated emails
- Access customizable email templates
- Analyze recruitment data and run customized reports
- Centralize all your data and integrate the platform with your existing systems and processes
- Aggregate employee information at every stage of the employee lifecycle
- Improve internal communication and get all your managers in the hiring loop with a simple click
- Sign documents with electronic signatures
- Incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies in your processes
- Easily post your job offers on multiple platforms, including LinkedIn and Indeed, straight from your Factorial account
You also get access to a wide range of handy free tools and templates, such as this free Hiring Process Checklist. Our free excel spreadsheet ensures you don’t miss a single step in the hiring process, every time. Plus, Factorial’s ATS system lets you effortlessly integrate new employees into your onboarding software once you hire them.
ICIMS Talent Acquisition Platform
iCIMS Recruit is an applicant tracking system (ATS) and database that allows businesses to move recruiting from paper-based systems to a streamlined digital solution. The cloud-based recruiting software is built for both commercial and large, global employers, making it a good solution for businesses of all types and sizes.
The talent acquisition platform includes features for automated communications, streamlined workflows and integration with social networks. iCIMS also offers modules for social media and branding connection (iCIMS Connect) and for new hire onboarding (iCIMS Onboard). This helps you manage the entire recruiting lifecycle efficiently, reducing job advertising spend and helping you grow your talent network.
ICIMS has great add-on features, such as TextRecruit, that make it convenient and easy to interact with candidates. The process for adding candidates to the software is easy and user-friendly. There’s also a dashboard on the front page, which makes it easy to access candidate data when needed.
In terms of drawbacks, the software leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to design, and the reporting feature can be difficult to figure out as it is so robust. There’s also no direct feed through job posting sites such as Indeed. Plus, some users report that customer service can be a bit hit and miss (some reps are great, but some don’t seem to understand the system), which can be a problem if something goes wrong. This can be frustrating, especially considering there is a lot of custom programming required if you want to implement any changes.
Workable
Workable provides recruitment tools, processes, and automation all in one solution. The recruitment platform has been designed for organizations of all types, from high-growth tech start-ups to well-established organizations in healthcare, hospitality, media, manufacturing and more. The software solution includes automated and AI-powered tools that source and suggest candidates, simplifying decision-making and streamlining the hiring process.
Overall, the system is pretty good. It’s easy to create ads, post jobs, and make notes throughout the entire hiring process. A review board makes it easy to evaluate candidates from a mobile or desktop and add comments, feedback and ratings to each profile. Communication features work well, too, as you can send bulk emails and communicate with candidates via email and text. You can also connect the platform to your existing HRIS system, helping the transition to onboarding run smoothly.
The drawbacks are that reporting features are a bit limited, as are some of the more complex functions. For example, the software doesn’t allow for multiple interview scheduling or provide specific blocks of availability. Plus, interview notes need to be manually saved to a candidate’s record. AI features for identifying suitable candidates are pretty basic. Also, you are not able to set standard application screening questions that you can use across all job posting sites (they need to be added manually for each posting). Customization features are also very limited. Plus, users report that the level of customer support leaves a lot to be desired, which is a big drawback considering how expensive the solution is.
LinkedIn Talent Hub
Of all the hiring platforms for small business, LinkedIn Talent Hub is perhaps one of the most well-known.
Most people think of LinkedIn as being a professional social networking site. However, the site also includes a talent acquisition platform which offers users access to one of the world’s largest talent networks. It offers core ATS capabilities, as well as proactive recruitment outreach tailored to LinkedIn’s site. LinkedIn Talent Hub also enables competitive insights and recruitment marketing. Tools like the LinkedIn Recruiter help with sourcing; the Jobs Network helps you target the right person for your opening; and the Careers Page helps you highlight your company’s culture and improve brand awareness.
Thanks to the size and popularity of the social media side of the platform amongst job seekers, LinkedIn Talent Hub can be a great tool for locating a large talent pool and finding out a great deal of information about a candidate. Plus, as most people are already aware of how the platform works, it’s fairly easy to navigate.
There are a few drawbacks though. For one thing, job posting layouts aren’t the best. Depending on the job format, not all information is displayed at first glance to users. Talent acquisition features are also pricey so this might not be the best option if you are on a tight budget.
ClearCompany
ClearCompany is a talent-hiring platform that includes features for applicant tracking, onboarding, performance management and goal setting. The aim of the software is to streamline the process of moving talent from applicant to new hire to productive team member.
ClearCompany offers access to a full suite of recruitment tools. You can use these tools to source, filter and locate potential candidates based on your selected criteria. Once you’ve done that, you can then easily contact them through the platform via phone, email or social media. You also get access to a host of interview and candidate evaluation features. This helps you shortlist the best candidates for hire.
Pros of the platform include that it is one of the most user-friendly and intuitive HR, recruitment, and talent management solutions currently on the market. It offers a clearly designed user interface that enables you to access all features at the click of a button. ClearCompany also offers an excellent onboarding experience that helps your company leave a lasting impression on your new employees.
However, the software is unfortunately prone to software bugs (software freezing, links not working, slow speed, etc.). Annoying glitches are fairly common, and users report issues with accessing certain features at times. Technical support is also not always quick to resolve these issues.
ADP Workforce Now
ADP is best known as a compensation and payroll solutions company. However, the company also offers a suite of recruiting and HR tools known as ADP Workforce Now. This can be a powerful solution if you are looking to streamline all your HR processes. However, it is best suited to companies with more than 50 employees.
ADP Workforce Now is a pretty robust, intuitive and user-friendly talent acquisition platform. The platform’s comprehensive HR suite combines all core payroll and HR management processes into a single database-driven platform. Features include payroll management, time and attendance tracking, talent management, benefits administration, and complete HR management. The integrated HR software is built on a single database, which automates data synchronization and helps human resource teams minimize manual administrative task procedures.
Perhaps the best feature offered by the platform is its reporting capabilities. It’s easy to extract any data you need and create customized reports if you want something not included in the reporting templates. The platform also includes a great tool for locating data known as the “Field Grabber”.
ADP offers 4 different pricing plans: Payroll Essentials, HR Plus, Hiring Advantage, and Performance Plus. However, all plans are fairly pricey, and there is no option to try before you buy with a free trial. Users also report that there is a lack of communication with end-users. Plus, customer service often fails to follow up on issues when you escalate a problem.
Greenhouse
This is perhaps the fastest-growing hiring platform in the industry. Greenhouse claims that its software is capable of streamlining the entire recruiting process from planning to sourcing, screening to interviewing and hiring. This enables HR and recruiting professionals to conduct more focused interviews and access data-driven analysis. Greenhouse also offers a range of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) tools, helping to mitigate bias and create a fair hiring process.
Greenhouse allows you to build great hiring plans for every role, tailored for each member of the hiring team. Navigation is easy and you can configure the platform so that it aligns with the specific needs of your organization. You can post jobs, review candidates, schedule interviews, and send out offers straight from the platform. There are also some great candidate reporting features, and it’s pretty easy to manage integrations with third-party providers.
However, there are a number of drawbacks to this particular talent acquisition platform. The biggest issue is that although there are a number of reporting features, data is difficult to manage unless you are a trained data analyst. This is mainly because all visualizations have to be individually developed. Users also report a number of bugs, including issues with adding tags and filters to resumes. Plus, reporting templates are not as customizable as they are with other solutions such as Factorial’s talent acquisition platform.
