Premium Texting Now Available in ApplicantStack Recruit & Onboard 

Premium Texting Now Available in ApplicantStack Recruit & Onboard 

We are excited to announce that Premium Texting is available in ApplicantStack Recruit & Onboard as well as WorkforceHub Plus.

What is Premium Texting?

Premium Texting includes everything in Basic Unlimited Texting (discussed ahead) plus Text-to-Apply and Workflow Embed.

Text-to-Apply

With text-to-apply, candidates can apply with their mobile device at the point of initial engagement. When the candidate clicks APPLY in the job posting, the system will text the candidate a link to a mobile friendly application.

Why is Text-to-Apply a Game Changer?

More and more people find a phone more convenient for online access than a laptop or desktop. In fact, most of us have our phone within arm’s reach day and night. Today’s job seeker uses their mobile device to search job boards, research companies, communicate with recruiters, and submit applications. Because of this, text-to-apply is critical for employers trying to attract more applicants or speed up their hiring process. Furthermore, companies competing in the same labor pool as their local Walmart or Amazon warehouse will have an uphill battle without providing text-to-apply.

With text-to-apply:

  • Candidates can apply immediately when they see your job posting on their mobile device
  • Applicants experience a modern, convenient candidate journey that reflects well on your company
  • You will have fewer abandoned applications because candidates can apply without delay

Add Automated Texting to Workflows

Automated texting makes it easy to engage with candidates as they move through the hiring process. With Premium Texting, you can embed SMS in workflows and trigger texts with hiring stage changes.

  • Advance applicants and inform them of next steps with automated personalized text messages
  • Speed up the hiring process and avoid slowdowns due to poor communication
  • Never accidentally ghost another candidate

Premium Texting is sold at the account level, which means that if you have both ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard, you can use Premium Texting in both modules under the monthly price.

Basic Unlimited Texting

Basic Unlimited Texting has been available since 2019 and our users love it. It makes hiring faster, easier and more engaging for candidates. Just as important, it improves efficiency for hiring teams. With texting, our customers extract even more value from our hiring platform. ApplicantStack Basic Unlimited Texting, not surprisingly, lets you send as many texts as you want for one monthly fee. The software saves the conversations and several members of the hiring team can text as if from one person.

Send a text instead of an email any time you need to communicate with an applicant:

  • Confirm an interview appointment
  • Send a link to a screening questionnaire
  • Send a quick text as a follow-up to a call, email or interview
  • Send interview instructions – parking, building access, etc.
  • Answer candidates’ questions
  • Send a bulk text to a group of candidates

Improve the candidate journey with quick communication that keeps them engaged – applicants can respond immediately or at their convenience. Many top candidates are currently employed but looking for a better opportunity. With many job positions, the employee can communicate with text in situations where they couldn’t necessarily take a voice call. With texting, you can engage a larger hiring pool. This makes it quicker and easier to find the perfect hire for the job.

As with Premium Texting, if you have both ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard, you can use Basic Unlimited texting in both platforms.

What is WorkforceHub Plus?

WorkforceHub Plus is the small business time and labor solution from Swipeclock. (ApplicantStack Recruit and Onboard are also part of the Swipeclock product suite.) WorkforceHub Plus includes Timekeeping, Scheduling, Hiring, PTO Management and Human Resources. The Applicant Tracking module in WorkforceHub Plus has similar functionality as standalone ApplicantStack Recruit. However, it syncs with additional functions in WorkforceHub Plus.

Over one million people use Swipeclock workforce management solutions every day. To schedule a demo, visit WorkforceHub Plus demo.

For a free trial of our hiring solution, visit ApplicantStack free trial.

ApplicantStack Honored With 6 G2 Badges Based on ATS Reviews

ApplicantStack Honored With 6 G2 Badges Based on ATS Reviews

ApplicantStack Earns Six G2 Badges: Fall 2022

G2.com, Inc. recently announced their Fall 2022 awards and we’re excited to announce that ApplicantStack garnered awards in 6 categories!

  • Leader – Overall
  • Leader – Mid-Market
  • High Performer – Enterprise
  • High Performer – Small Business
  • Fastest Implementation – Enterprise
  • Most Implementable

G2 rates products and vendors based on reviews they compile from their user community, as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. ApplicantStack has received multiple G2 badges for the past four years based on ATS reviews.

As always, we appreciate our customers who took the time to leave ApplicantStack ATS reviews and share their experiences using our solution. While we appreciate all industry recognition, awards based on our customer’s recommendations are especially gratifying.

“It’s fantastic to earn these G2 badges as they validate how our solution truly helps small businesses thrive with the key functions of timekeeping, scheduling and hiring. The Fastest Implementation badge is the one I’m most proud of, as it demonstrates our rapid time to value and ease in use for employers as they scale.” Trish Stromberg, VP of Marketing, Swipeclock

ApplicantStack ATS Reviews Fall 2022

Here is a sample of ApplicantStack user reviews on G2:

  • For hiring, the most beneficial feature is their easy-to-use integration with the most common third-party job boards. The ability to have everything in one interface has been a big time saver. As far as onboarding goes, we have been able to move new hires through the process more quickly with ready-to-use paperwork checklists.
  • I like that multiple users can see what the other recruiters are saying to a candidate so we know where we are in the process with them. It makes it easy for others to step in and help or take over where one recruiter left off.
  • Simple to set up. You can create workflows for each job and pre-screen candidates much easier before ever meeting a staff person for an interview.
  • I can track new hires from the time they apply through hiring and Onboarding. Having all the documents done online has decreased the in-office time for training, and new employees can get on-site and train sooner.
  • In terms of recruiting on Applicant Stack, the pipeline page is very clear and allows you to see easily where you are with all your jobs. It keeps all your requisitions very organized.
  • The texting feature on Applicant Stack has been game-changing for us, as it has allowed us to cut our time trying to contact candidates substantially.
  • Intuitive software, Easy to post and track applicants. I like that you can assign different postings to different people within the organization. Managers can easily review applications.

About G2

G2 is the largest and most trusted software review site, helping 60 million people every year make smarter software decisions based on authentic customers reviews.

Looking for an Applicant Tracking System?

If you are interested in ATS reviews while researching a hiring solution, we invite you to start a free ATS trial with ApplicantStack. ApplicantStack can be used as a standalone platform, or as part of  WorkforceHub, our small business HR solution.

If you’re interested in an all-in-one Human Resources solution, download our free Small Business HR System Buyer’s Guide for comprehensive feature descriptions and checklists.

 

A Beginner’s Guide to Applicant Management in a Small Biz

A Beginner’s Guide to Applicant Management in a Small Biz

Applicant management is crucial to business success. That’s why large companies have massive hiring teams. At a small org, in contrast, one person may handle the entire hiring process. Today’s post includes an overview of applicant management for small businesses and HR departments of one.

What is applicant management?

The recruiting workflow has dozens of components which may include:

  • Write and manage job descriptions, job postings, interview scripts, candidate scorecards, and hiring communications
  • Post job ads to company careers page, social media and job boards
  • Engage with potential candidates on LinkedIn or other sites
  • Track, organize and review resumes
  • Filter and score candidates
  • Conduct interviews and gather feedback from your recruiting team
  • Perform background and reference checks
  • Negotiate employment contracts and extend job offer
  • Onboard new hires
  • Track hiring metrics
  • Manage hiring budget
  • Conduct skills gap analyses
  • Create hiring plans
  • Maintain recruiting compliance

Now, let’s discuss these HR processes and recruiting tasks in detail.

Job Description

A job description is an internal document and formal listing of the specific responsibilities and important details about an employment position. Note that the job posting or job advertisement is not the same thing. A good job description will:

  1. Define the job responsibilities
  2. Reduce the applicant pool to those who qualify
  3. Introduce the applicant to your company

How do you write a job description?

First, define the basic information about the position. Next, identify the specific skills and qualifications the position requires.

  • Location of job (or remote)
  • Job title
  • Salary range (optional)
  • Job responsibilities
  • Necessary qualifications
  • Desired candidate credentials
  • Statement about company and benefits
  • EEOC statement
  • Disclaimer

Make sure your job description is straightforward and concise. Avoid acronyms, jargon, and witty job titles. Remember that job seekers will search job boards using the job position and location. Therefore, put those in the headline. If it’s a remote position, put it in the job title. Example: Medical Coder (Remote Full-time).

All job descriptions should include a disclaimer that states that the description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not a comprehensive list of all possible responsibilities, tasks, and duties. Disclaimers should also state that other duties, as assigned, might be part of the job. This is most important in a labor union environment where the document can be literally interpreted.

Should you include the salary range?

There are good arguments for including the salary range as it will encourage applicants who have similar expectations–and filter out those who have different requirements. Note also that some cities and states mandate salary information in job advertisements. The National Law Review gives an overview here: New Wage Range Disclosure Requirements in Multiple States.

Create a Job Description Template

Create a template for your job descriptions so they will all follow the same format. Your job description will also be a template for writing job postings, candidate interview scripts and candidate evaluation forms. For an in-depth guide on writing job descriptions, see How to Write a Job Description. With an applicant tracking system, you can create and manage a library of recruiting job descriptions. If you have several hiring managers, they can help you build the templates and update them as necessary in your recruiting software.

Advertise Your Job

Once you’ve written your job description, it’s time to get the word out. Post the job on your company’s careers page if you have one and social media sites. Job boards are also important as many job seekers use them exclusively. Choose job boards based on the position. Money.com recommends the following sites:

  • ZipRecruiter: Best for Large Scale Recruiting
  • Indeed: Best for Free Job Posts
  • LinkedIn: Best for Executive and Upper Management Positions
  • Handshake Job Search Site: Best for College Recruiting
  • Dribble: Best for Scouting Designers and Creatives

There are also sites that cater to a specific type of job, industry or talent pool. These include diversity candidates, tech jobs, remote jobs and internships. For more information on posting jobs, see Job Posting: Where and How to Post Job Listings.

You may find that paid listings are worthwhile in recruiting when there is a lot of competition for applicants. Paid listings get a higher profile on the boards.

Employee referrals are a great source of candidates. Be sure to ask your team for recommendations!

Applicant Management Analytics

Use analytics to best manage your recruiting time and budget. This includes tracking the source of everyone in your candidate pipeline so you can tell which venues are delivering good candidates. Results may vary based on the particulars, so track that too. These include job location, job type, education level, years of experience, hours, and physical requirements. For example, a college job board may attract good applicants for an entry-level job while a tech job board like Dice would attract qualified applicants for a senior IT position. Applicant manager software is an indispensable HR tool. In will automate recruiting, candidate tracking, reporting.

Organizing Applications

Hopefully, soon after posting your job, you’ll start receiving applications. Whether they are paper, electronic, or a mix of both, gather them in the same place and form. You can scan paper applications to create a digital copy. Create folders to manage your job applicant pool. You might have three: 1. Top Applicants, 2. Unqualified (Do Not Pursue) and 3. Partially Qualified. In other words, Yes, No and Maybe.

The goal of the first-pass sorting is to isolate the best candidates and eliminate the unqualified applicants. You don’t want to waste time in your recruitment process on candidates that don’t meet the basic requirements. You only want to touch their resume once. Remember, however, to keep their applications. There may be some candidates that would be a good fit for another position. Build a database of applicants to consider for future openings.

Engage With Candidates

It’s important to let applicants know immediately that you’ve received their application. Many candidates prefer to communicate by text. If you decide to advance them to the next stage, tell them right away so they won’t look elsewhere. If you eliminate them, be considerate and inform them so they can pursue other openings. Don’t ghost your candidates! It is just plain uncool and gives your business a bad reputation. (Be aware, however, that many applicants will ghost you. Unfortunately, it comes with the territory.)

You can create email or text templates for each type of hiring process communication. “We’ve Received Your Application,” “Let’s Schedule a Phone Screening,” “We Would Like to Set Up and Interview,” “We are Moving Forward With Other Candidates But Thank You for Applying,” etc. An ATS (applicant tracking system) can save you a lot of time with candidate communications. You can store templates and set triggers for automatic emails personalized with the candidate’s name and the position they applied for.

How to Conduct Interviews

When you have a pool of promising candidates, it’s time to schedule interviews. Many companies start with a phone screening. The purpose of this call is to verify qualifications and experience, clarify any questions you have and get a sense of the applicant’s communication skills.

Phone screenings should further whittle down your applicant pool as you move through the hiring process. The next step for the candidates you are recruiting is a video or in-person interview. The best practice here is to create an interview script based on the job description. An interview script helps you evaluate each candidate based on the same criteria. Learn more here: How to Conduct an Interview With a Job Candidate and here: Define Your Hiring Selection Criteria.

Score Candidates

When you write your interview script, create a scorecard for evaluation. During the interview, or soon after, fill it out and then sort quality candidates by score. Have your hiring manager and all members of the hiring team use the same scorecard. Learn more and see scorecard templates here: How Manager Feedback and Interview Evaluations Improve Hiring. Applicant tracking software has templates for scorecards and other evaluation tools.

Reference Checks

If you didn’t ask for references on the application, do it now. This is where you talk to previous employers and look for any issues that were not uncovered. Try to automate this process as much as you can. For example, send an email to the references asking them to fill out a linked questionnaire. Or, call the references and fill out the questionnaire yourself. Either way, try to gather information in a consistent manner from each reference for each final candidate.

Background Checks

Background checks are an important part of an employer’s recruiting due diligence. They protect your business, your employees, your customers and the public at large.

Background screenings protect:

  • employees from violence or harassment
  • customers from theft or harassment
  • your business from fraud, theft, a tarnished reputation or legal liability

Laws that Govern Background Checks

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) applies when employers hire a third-party service agency to conduct consumer credit reports and other investigative reports. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the FCRA. When a third party service performs background checks, they may obtain information termed as “investigative reporting.” An investigative consumer report may contain subjective judgment regarding the job candidate.

How does the FTC define a “report”?

It’s important to know that a report doesn’t need to be in written form. A report could refer to information obtained in a short phone call which is communicated orally to the hiring manager in another short phone call.

An FCRA consumer report is “Any written, oral or other communication of any information by a consumer-reporting agency bearing on a consumer’s credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living. In the employment context, this definition may, for example, include credit reports, criminal history reports, driving records and other background check reports created by a third party, such as drug tests.” The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Employers must provide the applicant with a formal written disclosure and obtain the applicant’s consent before conducting the research. The disclosure and consent form must be a separate document and can’t be included in the application. The employer must disclose that the information may be used to influence the hiring decision.

After you’ve gotten consent from the applicant, you must inform the background check service that you notified obtained their consent and verify  that you met with the FCRA anti-discrimination provisions. If you are asking a company to provide an ‘investigative report’—a report based on personal interviews concerning a person’s character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and lifestyle— you must also tell the applicant or employee of his or her right to a description of the nature and scope of the investigation.

Extend the Job Offer

When you’ve made your choice, it’s time to offer the job. If everything has gone well, the candidate is excited and wants to join your team. If everything has gone quickly, they are still available.

Send an offer letter that states clearly the key information about the offer, including wage, location and start date. You might also want to include where and when to report and any other details that are specific to the offer. Give the candidate a signature line and send it out.

Don’t waste any time. Remember that talent acquisition is extremely competitive. Now that you have identified this person as the ideal candidate, you can be certain that others have, too.

It helps to have a job offer ready to go before you start the process. Use an offer letter template to make this a speedy and consistent process. Include your company logo, standard text and merge fields where you can easily add the details for the specific position. Create the template in advance and have it ready to go for this and your next hire. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have job offer letter templates. Once you’ve created a template for each job position, you can store and manage them in your ATS.

The Candidate Accepts!

Congratulations! You have crossed the goal line and have successfully filled the job. Time to go for the extra point—onboarding your new hire. You can learn how in our free eBook, 16 Tips to Quickly and Efficiently Onboard Employees Remotely.

For in-depth guidance on small business applicant management, download our free eBooks: Creating the Position, The Interview, Hiring the Candidate

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels

 

 

G2 Awards ApplicantStack Multiple Badges in Spring 2022 Report

G2 Awards ApplicantStack Multiple Badges in Spring 2022 Report

ApplicantStack Recognized by G2

G2.com, Inc. recently announced their Spring 2022 awards and we are excited to announce that ApplicantStack was recognized in 5 categories.

  • Leader
  • Leader Mid-Market
  • High Performer Enterprise
  • Most Implementable
  • Fastest Implementation

We appreciate all users who took the time to leave an ApplicantStack review on G2.com. Here is a sample:

ApplicantStack has a great feature where you can text all of the applicants that come in. Email is convenient and still available, but with the applicants we have now, it is about immediate responses and constant communication.

About G2

G2 is the largest and most trusted software marketplace, helping 60 million people every year make smarter software decisions based on authentic peer reviews.

Looking for Human Resources Software?

If you are researching Human Resources software, we invite you to visit Swipeclock ApplicantStack and WorkforceHub. You can also get a free trial of ApplicantStack applicant tracking system.

ApplicantStack Honored as Top Performer in Customer Success Report

ApplicantStack Honored as Top Performer in Customer Success Report

ApplicantStack has been recognized as a Top Performer in the Winter 2022 Applicant Tracking Software Customer Success Report by FeaturedCustomers.

FeaturedCustomers evaluated all the potential Applicant Tracking Software companies on its platform for possible inclusion in the report. Only 25 companies met the criteria needed for recognition in the Winter 2022 Applicant Tracking Software Customer Success Report. ApplicantStack earned a Top Performer award in the category.

The Customer Success Report is based on the curation of authenticated case studies, testimonials, and videos from across the web, telling a complete story of vendors in the Applicant Tracking Software space through real customer experiences. Rankings are determined by multiple factors including total number of customer success content, social media and market presence, vendor momentum based on web traffic and search trends, and additional data aggregated from online sources and media properties. FeaturedCustomers is the world’s leading customer reference platform for B2B business software and services.

ApplicantStack is Tailored to SMB Hiring Teams

ApplicantStack is a full-featured hiring and applicant management solution powered by Swipeclock. It was created specifically for the pressing hiring demands of small to mid-size businesses. With ApplicantStack, small business recruiting teams can:

  • Create, post and manage jobs from one system
  • Qualify candidates with prescreening applications and elimination questions
  • Communicate with emails and texting–right from the software
  • Find best fit hires with standardized feedback
  • Build hiring workflows with stage change triggers
  • Set task reminders to ensure effective collaboration
  • Provide a candidate-centric applicant journey

Overcome 2022 Hiring Challenges

Hiring has never been more difficult–especially for high turnover industries and frontline job roles. To succeed, SMB hiring teams must optimize their processes with intelligent automation. ApplicantStack is equal to the task, helping you find higher quality candidates faster and with less effort. Our solution enables small hiring teams to compete with companies of any size in today’s tight labor market.

ATS Texting is a Must-Have

ApplicantStack’s texting feature is essential for today’s hiring landscape. Small businesses need to communicate with candidates where they are–on their mobile devices. Texting with candidates is crucial for the candidate experience as well as improved productivity, reduced ghosting, and higher success to fill rate. In addition, texting helps you reach job seekers and passive candidates that may not otherwise engage.

With ApplicantStack, you can send and manage texts with multiple candidates. The system stores a record of the conversations so everyone on the hiring team knows what’s going on. Recruiters can text links to screening questionnaires and interview scheduling calendars. Texting is especially helpful during the interview process. Candidates who make it to this stage are the cream of the crop and you don’t want to lose them to a faster competitor. If you shorten the interview evaluation process, you are less likely to have candidates drop out or receive an offer from another company.

Interested in trying out ApplicantStack for free? Visit ApplicantStack Free Trial.

Check out some ApplicantStack reviews:

ApplicantStack Top Performer

About FeaturedCustomers

FeaturedCustomers is the world’s only customer reference platform for B2B business software and services. FeaturedCustomers helps B2B buyers research and discover business software through vendor validated customer reference content including customer testimonials, case studies, success stories, customer stories, and customer videos. Every day, their platform helps influence the purchasing decisions of thousands of B2B buyers in the final stages of their buying cycle from Fortune 500 companies to SMBs. Form more information, visit FeaturedCustomers.