• Focus on Data-Driven Research
• Highlight Opportunity Cost
• Showcase ROI and Accuracy
• Enhance Employer Branding
• Emphasize Cost Reductions
• Ensure Seamless Integration
• Present Industry Success Stories

Focus on Data-Driven Research

Data-driven research is absolutely essential when developing a business case for purchasing new recruitment technologies. From my own experience, concentrating on measuring the possible return on investment is the most effective strategy. Examining our present recruiting statistics in great detail has been one tactic I have found to be really successful. I’ll review items such as applicant pipeline conversion rates, cost-per-hire, and time-to-hire.

For instance, I dealt with a customer whose 45 days of average time-to-hire was reduced. We projected a 20% savings by including a recruiting automation system, therefore reducing it to 36 days. By use of variables like lowered overtime, lost productivity, and opportunity cost, quantifying the impact in actual dollars helped create a strong financial case.

Another approach I’ve found valuable is benchmarking our recruiting performance against industry peers. Using outside data sources, I will determine our position and then create the case for how the correct recruitment technology may bridge any gaps. Presenting it as a competitive need rather than a nice-to-have will inspire leaders far more. The secret is really turning the advantages of a new tool into real-world commercial results.

Whether it’s improving hiring efficiency, enhancing the applicant experience, or strengthening employer branding, I constantly try to link the technological investment with the bottom-line influence. Though it’s not always simple, I have discovered that the most convincing business case is created by a data-driven, outcomes-oriented strategy. Quantifying the ROI in plain financial terms helps me to excite executives about the possibilities presented by these new recruitment approaches.

Swati Paliwal, Technical Recruiter, Gowide

Highlight Opportunity Cost

When making a business case for recruiting tools, I always stress the opportunity cost of leaving the issue unaddressed.

Too many business leaders see HR as a pure cost center and do everything they can to cut tangible costs in the HR department. However, rarely do business leaders consider the costs associated with time, effort, and existing internal resources, which are often considerable.

As a result, framing things from an opportunity-cost perspective helps highlight the cost-saving benefits of recruiting tools, satisfying business leaders’ innate need to reduce costs. For example, if a recruiting tool saves 1,000 hours of administration a year, that represents a significant cost saving from a working-hours-spent perspective.

With opportunity cost approximately framed, you can now highlight potential return on investment clearly, increasing the likelihood of adopting your chosen tool.

Chloe Yarwood, HR Manager, Test Partnership

Showcase ROI and Accuracy

One strategy I’ve used to build a compelling business case for investing in new recruiting tools is to clearly highlight the return on investment we can expect from the tool. For instance, Reveal competency-assessment users estimate they’re saving $400 per candidate when using competency assessments as part of the hiring process due to faster decision-making. This highlights the immediate cost-saving benefits.

Additionally, I share the impressive improvement in hiring accuracy. For example, before using Reveal, users were hiring the right person for the role 60% of the time. After incorporating Reveal’s competency assessments, this figure has jumped to 90%. This drastic improvement demonstrates the effectiveness of the assessments in identifying the best candidates for the job.

I also highlight the long-term financial benefits. Reveal has enabled organizations to save up to $100,000 per executive position by allowing them to target their approaches to developing and promoting internally. This not only reduces turnover costs but also ensures that we are building a team from within that is aligned with our company’s culture and values.

By presenting these specific metrics and connecting the investment to tangible outcomes, I build a strong case for why adopting these new recruiting tools is a smart move for our organization. It demonstrates that competency assessments not only enhance our ability to identify the best candidates but also contribute significantly to the overall success and financial stability of our teams.

Linda Scorzo, CEO, Hiring Indicators

Enhance Employer Branding

A strategy I’ve used is to highlight the enhancements in employer branding that modern recruiting tools can offer. In the competitive tech industry, the ability to stand out as an employer of choice is crucial. I illustrated how new tools with better candidate-experience capabilities, such as streamlined application processes and enhanced communication features, could significantly boost our brand in the eyes of potential candidates. By improving candidate engagement and interaction, these tools not only aid in attracting better talent but also in projecting our organization as a forward-thinking, tech-savvy company.

Alari Aho, CEO and Founder, Toggl Inc

Emphasize Cost Reductions

I think one effective strategy for building a compelling business case for investing in new recruiting tools is to highlight the substantial cost reductions achieved through these investments. For instance, by automating routine administrative tasks such as candidate screening and scheduling interviews, we can significantly decrease the time our HR team spends on these functions—often saving upwards of 20 to 30 hours per week.

Besides accelerating the recruitment process, I think these time savings allow our HR staff to concentrate on more strategic initiatives like talent development and employee engagement programs, which are crucial aspects of HR.

Additionally, if we consider the impact of these tools on the success of our recruiting efforts, such as successfully hiring two additional HR team members due to improved efficiency, it becomes evident that the investment pays for itself.

Spending less on repetitive tasks and more on strategic planning can enhance overall team productivity, boost employee morale, and ultimately foster an environment that supports growth and innovation. I would say that aligning resources with strategic goals definitely helps the organization to attract top talent and gain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Vikrant Bhalodia, Head of Marketing & People Ops, WeblineIndia

Ensure Seamless Integration

When pitching a new recruiting tool, I focus on three main things: seamless integration, clear benefits, and measurable outcomes.

I make sure the tool will easily fit into our current systems. Changing old habits is hard enough without adding extra complications. When we brought in a new recruitment platform, I emphasized how it would connect effortlessly with our existing HR software. Smooth integration helps everyone feel more at ease and confident about the switch.

Next, I highlight what the tool will improve. Without showing tangible benefits, the pitch doesn’t make any sense. For example, when presenting a tool that promised to speed up our hiring process, I explained exactly how. I shared real examples and success stories from other companies to illustrate its potential impact. Without this, someone not involved in the HR trends wouldn’t see much value in it.

Finally, I focus on tracking success. Clear metrics are essential. I set specific goals like reducing time-to-hire and improving candidate quality. These measurable outcomes provide a way to assess the tool’s effectiveness over time. This transparency builds trust and ensures we can make informed decisions about whether to keep using the tool or not.

On a personal note, I’ve always believed that staying current with technology is what keeps you alive in the market. In my years in HR, I’ve seen how the right tools can simplify tasks, which has a direct impact on boosting morale.

I know many of us defend ourselves from change, but remember it’s a chance for growth and innovation.

Susan Andrews, HR Consultant, KIS Finance

Present Industry Success Stories

One effective strategy for building a compelling business case for new recruiting tools is showcasing success stories from similar companies. It’s all about demonstrating that others in your industry have faced the same challenges and found solutions with these tools.

For instance, when we considered upgrading our recruiting software, we identified a few companies within our sector that had already made the switch. We collected and shared their testimonials and data, showing significant improvements in their hiring efficiency and candidate quality.

Presenting these success stories to our leadership team painted a clear picture of the potential benefits. It’s not just about saying the tool works; it’s about proving it through real-world examples. This approach made it easier for everyone to see the value and reduced the perceived risk, ultimately helping us get the green light to invest in new recruiting tools.

Jessica Bane, Director of Business Operations, GoPromotional

• That’s why we’ve created The Small Business Recruiting Advice Manual. This comprehensive resource is designed to provide expert guidance and practical advice to help small business hiring managers improve their hiring outcomes.

From establishing realistic hiring goals to spending recruiting budgets wisely and leveraging affordable hiring software, this eBook covers everything you need to know to streamline your recruiting process and find the best candidates for your business.

The Small Business Recruiting Advice Manual is a must-read for any small business owner looking to fast-track their hiring process and attract top talent, especially in today’s competitive job market. It’s packed with tips and strategies curated specifically for small businesses that face unique challenges when it comes to hiring. 

Here’s a peek at what’s inside:

In today’s competitive business environment, employee loyalty is a key pillar of organizational success. This loyalty hinges on positive experiences throughout the recruitment and onboarding cycles. Sectors such as nonprofit and healthcare face unique staffing challenges, making the need for efficient recruitment and onboarding processes even more critical.

This blog explores how integrating an ATS (applicant tracking system), Payroll, and HR (Human Resources) system is key to building employee loyalty, with insights from Greenshades and JazzHR on their approach to simplifying these critical processes.

The Importance of an End-to-End Recruitment Process

A seamless recruitment process, stretching from candidate sourcing to onboarding, lays the foundation for building a loyal workforce. Integrating ATS, Payroll, and HR systems plays a critical role in streamlining this journey, ensuring a smooth, efficient, and positive experience for new hires.

Such integration not only increases operational efficiency, but also significantly improves the interaction between the organization and its potential employees, setting the stage for a lasting relationship. Organizations with strong onboarding processes experience an 82% increase in new hire retention and a 70% improvement in productivity.

The Challenges Across Sectors

Different sectors experience unique challenges in their recruitment processes. For instance, nonprofit and healthcare sectors demand quick placement of candidates due to the urgent need for staff and the high turnover rates typical in these industries.

However, a staggering 79% of healthcare candidates have abandoned the recruitment process because the placement wasn’t quick enough.¹ A strategic integration of ATS, Payroll, and HR systems makes the recruitment process steadfast, enhances communication, and ultimately boosts worker satisfaction and loyalty.

Benefits of Integration for Employee Loyalty

Integrating ATS, Payroll, and HR systems creates a cohesive ecosystem that allows information to flow smoothly across systems and processes. This integration significantly boosts the employee experience, cultivating loyalty through streamlined processes.

Automated forms and onboarding processes reduce administrative tasks, allowing new hires to concentrate on their roles instead of on paperwork. This shift bolsters their initial engagement and their loyalty from the start. Moreover, with data flowing seamlessly to payroll, employee compensation is both timely and accurate, a crucial element in promoting job satisfaction.

Integration of ATS, Payroll, and HR systems brings benefits that directly contribute to employee loyalty through:

• Timely & Accurate Payments: Workers are more likely to stay when payments are correct and timely. Data suggests that half of all workers would seek new jobs after just two payroll errors.²
• Streamlined Operations: Automating time tracking, scheduling, and payroll reduces frustrations, enhancing worker satisfaction and reducing turnover.
• Compliance Assurance: Integrated systems ensure adherence to labor laws and regulations, which helps to foster a compliant work environment.

Integrated Solutions Offered by Greenshades and JazzHR

Integrating ATS, Payroll, and HR systems is a strategic approach to enhancing employee loyalty across various sectors. By streamlining recruitment processes and ensuring a positive onboarding experience, organizations can build a strong, loyal workforce ready to contribute to their success.

Greenshades and JazzHR offer innovative solutions to meet the unique challenges faced by sectors like nonprofit and healthcare by integrating ATS, Payroll, and HR systems to optimize hiring and HR operations.

• JazzHR focuses on refining the recruitment process to make it more efficient and less time-consuming, directly addressing the urgency and complexity challenges faced by nonprofit and healthcare sectors.
• Greenshades offers a flexible, cloud-based payroll and HR solution that ensures proactive compliance, detailed tax reporting, and user-friendly employee self-service, contributing to a positive onboarding experience.

Enhance Your Employee Loyalty

For organizations looking to improve their employee loyalty through efficient recruitment processes, exploring the solutions offered by Greenshades and JazzHR is a step in the right direction.

About Greenshades

Greenshades provides mid-market businesses with flexible Payroll, HR, and Tax solutions. Our ERP-agnostic platform boosts in-house operations with proactive compliance, detailed tax reporting, and user-friendly employee self-service. Designed to meet diverse business needs, Greenshades offers dedicated support, ensuring efficiency and reliability for thousands of US-based clients. To learn more, visit our website.

¹Bullhorn. (2023). 2023 Talent Trends Report: Healthcare Spotlight. Bullhorn. https://www.bullhorn.com/grid/grid-2023-talent-trends-report-healthcare-spotlight/

²Miller, R. (2017, June 14). Just two payroll errors can cause 49% of employees to start job hunting. HR Dive: https://www.hrdive.com/news/just-two-payroll-errors-can-cause-49-of-employees-to-start-job-hunting/444377/

• How are you seeing small businesses focus on candidates to drive hiring efficiencies and compete with more well-known brands in the market?

Brian Ip, Co-Founder, Omni 

Small businesses are attracting talent by playing to their unique strengths that big-business often can’t replicate. So, while small businesses may not have the budget for impressive perks like gym memberships or stocked office kitchens, they do have the opportunity to build compelling candidate experiences that reflect their company culture and employer brand in a highly personalized way.

We’re seeing many small businesses present personalized and transparent recruitment processes, from friendly social media outreach to prompt feedback, which really helps set them apart in the marketplace. Candidates don’t want to be seen as another number, the job search is a vulnerable and time consuming process, and adding that human touch can make all the difference. Streamlining the process with technology and clear timelines drives home the respect your company has for candidate’s time.

Beyond the recruitment process, small businesses are focusing on cultivating an authentic employer brand through sharing their company’s unique culture, mission, and impact, and putting an emphasis on highlighting opportunities for growth and purpose. This can go a long way in connecting with candidates and appealing to the mission driven values of Gen Z as they grow in the job market.

Finally, small businesses are investing in boosting their hiring efficiency with smart strategies. We’re seeing a trend of SMEs leveraging affordable tech like HRIS that equip them with applicant tracking tools, automated personalization functions, and simplified benefits administration; it really moves the needle when you’re working with a small team or limited budget because you can do more with less. 

Omni is an all-in-one HRIS platform that frees HR teams from administrative cycles by automating the entire end-to-end employee lifecycle — from recruitment and onboarding to employee engagement and payroll — allowing them to redirect their time to strategic work that drives business growth. Omni is powering Asia’s fastest growing companies to reach their full potential with our fully customizable HR tools that seamlessly integrate with your team’s favorite workplace platforms. Learn more at omnihr.co

Mark Heyman, JD, Founder & CEO, HRHappens.com

The small businesses winning the recruiting wars are the ones who have strong culture. A sense of purpose. A social mission. An engaging and empowering environment where you can learn and grow, personally and professionally.

Culture has the effect of driving greater efficiency in your recruiting efforts when combined with the best talent acquisition software and best practices. Your culture is what allows you to position your employment brand in the most effective way. Knowing your culture will help you identify the talent you really want while also allowing candidates who may not be aligned with your values, your culture to self-select out.

Businesses that “walk the walk” when it comes to culture will always be a magnet for top talent. Top talent is always able to see through the words on the wall when they don’t resemble what happens on a day-to-day basis in the workplace. Small businesses with strong Culture use their size and work environment as an asset.

You do need to provide competitive compensation and benefits you can afford, but in the end, Culture always wins. Culture is why people leave those big brands and big companies that had far more bells and whistles than most small organizations. And if you can’t describe or define your culture, can’t qualify your candidates with the same rigor you’d qualify a sales lead, you may realize some good efficiencies in time to fill, but will lose any gains made battling high turnover.

The best way to drive hiring efficiency and truly leverage the benefits of today’s talent acquisition technology is to not only know your culture, but put it out front and center as the primary opportunity and reason for applying in the first place. You’ll attract the talent you want and allow others to focus on opportunities more aligned with what they want to do.

HR Happens is a human resources consultancy providing a full range of HR consulting services, from project work to developing the HR function in your business and serving as your fractional HR department on an ongoing basis. Our team is focused on developing and cultivating a strong culture and work environment that is engaging, empowering and can sustainably meet your short and long-term business objectives. Our team can provide you with tactical day-to-day HR support as well as strategic HR leadership and guidance to support your growth. Learn more at hrhappens.com

How are other growing companies navigating this hiring landscape? Their secret weapon is an applicant tracking system (ATS) for small business.

An ATS is a powerful tool that can drastically speed up the hiring process, especially for small business owners. By automating tedious tasks, such as job posting, resume screening, and scheduling interviews, SMB owners and hiring managers are afforded more time to focus on the other aspects of their jobs that require more human interaction. Here are a few ways ATS can make your hiring process faster and more effective.

Post to Multiple Job Boards at Once

One of the biggest advantages of using an ATS is the ability to post job listings on multiple popular job boards with a single click. This means that in an instant, your job listing will reach a much larger pool of candidates, especially compared to the time it takes to manually post on one job board.

An ATS also makes it easy to track your job postings and see how many views each one gets so you can adjust your strategy if necessary.

You can also manage your entire candidate pool, allowing you to view qualified candidates right away or add them to your list for future hiring.

Hiring managers also have the option to purchase job traffic through pay-per-click and pay-per-post job boards around the web. With all of these capabilities at your fingertips, you’re far more likely to find the perfect candidate for every role.

Screen Candidates in a Fraction of the Time

Another way an ATS makes the hiring process faster is by screening resumes automatically. Instead of manually sifting through stacks of resumes, an ATS can match resumes to specific job requirements.

With advanced filtering capabilities, an ATS can quickly narrow down the pool of applicants to those who are the most qualified for the job. This not only speeds up the hiring process, but ensures that you are selecting the best candidates for the job. This means that you can quickly identify the most qualified candidates and focus your attention on them, rather than wasting valuable time on candidates who don’t meet your needs.

As an added bonus, an ATS can keep your entire hiring team up to date with a real-time stream of the latest activities related to the candidate.

Empower Faster Communication

Another way that ATS can speed up the hiring process is by streamlining communication between you and your candidates. Responding promptly to inquiries and scheduling interviews can be a challenge, especially when you have a high volume of applications coming in.

With ATS, you can send automated emails and reminders to ensure that all communication is logged and organized, allowing you to easily track progress and follow up with candidates.

An ATS also simplifies the interview scheduling process. With the right system, you can send out automated emails with interview invitations and use an online calendar to schedule interviews without the hassle of back-and-forth email exchanges.

This saves time for both you and your candidates, and helps ensure that you don’t miss out on hiring top talent because of scheduling conflicts.

Identify Bottlenecks and Improve Processes

Finally, an ATS can help you track your hiring progress and identify any bottlenecks in the process. Applicant tracking systems provide reporting and analytics tools that give you real-time insights into your hiring process. This ability allows small business owners to better see how long each stage is taking and where they might need to improve.

The experience a candidate has with your company is a direct reflection of your employer brand, so it’s vital to ensure it’s a good one. An ATS provides built-in workflows, customizable blueprints you can tailor to outline each stage of your hiring process. This allows you to take full control of how you hire.

Ironing out your internal hiring process not only makes things easier on your team, it improves the candidate experience as well.

Reach your Hiring Goals with JazzHR

At JazzHR, we understand the unique challenges that small business owners face when it comes to recruitment. That’s why we have developed a powerful ATS tool that is specifically designed to meet the needs of small businesses.

With our software, you can easily automate many of the time-consuming tasks involved in hiring, save valuable time, and select the best candidates for the job.

JazzHR is a leader in providing comprehensive recruitment software for SMBs. This easy-to-use ATS is designed with small businesses in mind, offering flexibility and affordability that can accommodate your hiring needs in particular.

JazzHR’s Applicant Tracking System helps streamline the recruitment process with customizable templates and automates routine tasks such as sending email reminders and follow-ups.

If you’re a small business owner or hiring manager looking to streamline your hiring process, an ATS like JazzHR can make a big difference. Don’t let the hiring process weigh you down – contact JazzHR today for a free demo today.

Hiring teams need a scoring system that helps them evaluate job seekers objectively. Each hiring team member must also share their distinct points of view regarding potential candidates with other interview panelists so they can agree on which candidates deserve job offers.

That’s where an interview scorecard can help.

Why small business recruiting teams use interview scorecards

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte A. Burrows recently noted around five in six employers (83%) screen and rank candidates using recruitment automation.

Investing in recruiting software with automation is essential for your small businesses.

Some hiring automation technology can sort qualified candidates from unqualified candidates. This saves your HR team lots of time they can put back into other core HR and hiring tasks.

However, one activity your small business should not allow your recruitment platform to tackle for you is ranking candidates and deciding which ones to hire.

That’s because the human element of hiring is required to make smart decisions about which high-quality candidates to engage, interview, and extend offers to. 

Rating job seekers is a manual task, but it’s one that can be carried out efficiently with an applicant tracking system (ATS) that offers an interview scorecard:

• Let’s say your hiring team has a structured interviewing process. That means you ask candidates who interview for the same role the same list of questions. This allows you to compare each job seeker in an organized way and remove the potential for hiring bias.
• After speaking with candidates, some SMBs use an interview scoring sheet to rate candidates without providing any context around their rating decision. Others create Microsoft Word or Google docs where they simply jot down their thoughts on job seekers.
• The more streamlined and consistent way to evaluate candidates you engage is to use a candidate scorecard, also known as an interview scorecard.
• Interview scorecards help recruiters, hiring managers, and others who speak with candidates make data-backed hiring decisions and help them stay focused on candidates’ answers to interview questions.
• Instead of determining whether a person is worth hiring based on whether they maintained eye contact during an interview or their personality traits, interview scorecards feature the same criteria for all roles your company fills.

To streamline this process, you can easily use the JazzHR Candidate Scorecard tool to rank job seekers based on a candidate fit in the company culture, their past work experience, and whether their resumes match the job-specific qualifications tied to a role. 

This ensures they make fair and objective hiring decisions based solely on this uniform rating system and data-backed insights shared by hiring team members, not any subjective criteria.

How an interview scorecard can improve your hiring process

Skills-based hiring is on the rise. The approach ensures candidates are assessed and selected based on their expertise and abilities that directly apply for roles they interview for.

To ensure your small business hiring team evaluates and chooses qualified candidates with the required qualifications in a repeatable and consistent way, you need two things:

1. An applicant tracking system (ATS) where you can store all candidate info in dedicated profiles that are easily scannable and accessible to all hiring decision-makers
2. An interview scorecard that is included in your small business ATS software and allows your hiring team to compare candidates in a fair and unbiased manner

Here are three specific benefits of using an ATS with a candidate scorecard.

1) Keeps recruiting structured and removes bias 

“Discussions that lack structure can fail to gain insights into a candidate’s ability to manage responsibilities and excel,” recruitment advisor Sean Fahey wrote for Forbes. “Not only can this leave job seekers with a poor brand experience, but interviewers can also fall victim to confirmation bias.”

However, when your hiring team chats about candidate fit and factor ratings from your interview scorecard in your discussions, you can make smarter, bias-free hiring decisions and ensure all talent you engage for job openings are evaluated using the same criteria.

2) Enables SMBs to make data-backed decisions

A candidate scorecard is a form of data. It provides a numeric grade for each job seeker you speak with that you can use with hiring team feedback to decide which candidates to move to the next stage of your hiring cycle and offer jobs to.

The more hires you make based on the use of an interview scorecard, the more quality-of-hire data you can collect and use to update your SMB’s interviewing approach.

“By correlating your predictions with candidates’ actual performance on the job, you can also get quantitative feedback about your accuracy at assessing different criteria,” executive coach and development consultant Ben Dattner wrote for Harvard Business Review. 

3) Ensures the right candidates are ultimately hired

Your quality-of-hire data may show you make bad hiring decisions from time to time. 

The reality is, even when you use an interview scorecard and a structured hiring process, there will sometimes be candidates who don’t pan out for reasons you couldn’t think of when interviewing them.

However, you’re far more likely to see a strong candidate “hit rate,” as Ben called it, than hire poor-fit employees at your small business when you judge candidates with a fixed scoring system.

Chat with us today to learn about JazzHR’s Candidate Scorecard and take the tour of our powerful small business recruitment software. Schedule a custom ATS demo today.

This recognition further supports JazzHR as a powerful, easy-to-use applicant tracking system — perfect for SMBs looking to move away from manual recruiting and streamline their hiring.

JazzHR recognized as leading ATS software for small and medium-sized business

JazzHR won a coveted Brandon Hall Group Silver award for excellence in the Best Advance in Talent Acquisition Technology for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses category. This is the fourth time JazzHR has received recognition from Brandon Hall Group, receiving a Silver award last year.

The 2023 Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Awards™ are given for work in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Sales Enablement, Future of Work, and Education Technology.

“In our 30th year, the Excellence in Technology Awards continue to showcase the best innovations in Learning, Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, HR, Workforce Management and Sales Enablement technologies,” said Brandon Hall Group COO Rachel Cooke. “We are proud to receive applications from a diverse range of organizations globally, reflecting the ever-evolving landscape of technology solutions.”

Entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts, and executives based upon these criteria: fit the need, program design, functionality, innovation, and overall measurable benefits. The complete list of winners can be found at: https://excellenceawards.brandonhall.com/winners/.

As SMBs embark on their hiring journey for 2024, they need a central recruiting solution that allows them to easily post to job boards, source candidates, schedule interviews, and automate workflows. The recognition from Brandon Hall Group reinforces that JazzHR empowers SMBs to replace time-consuming, repetitive recruiting activities with automated recruiting software.

G2 reports name JazzHR a leading small business recruitment software provider

In addition to the recognition from Brandon Hall Group, JazzHR was also featured in the four G2 reports throughout 2023 that highlight the top applicant tracking systems for growing companies.

And most recently, JazzHR has been spotlighted as one of the best ATS solutions in the G2 Winter 2024 Reports. The JazzHR SMB hiring platform was named a leader in the small business applicant tracking system and recruitment marketing categories, with more than two dozen badges awarded.

JazzHR recruitment software has helped streamline hiring for thousands of growing companies and many hiring team members have shared their positive experiences on G2:

• “I haven’t found a better ATS for such a competitive price. It’s great for prescreening, pipeline management, collaboration, assessments, sending job offers, in addition to an easy to set up career page and seamless job syndication.”
• “I like how JazzHR simplifies the whole recruitment process. It’s user-friendly, especially for setting up job posts and tracking applicants. Plus, the collaboration tools are great for getting the whole team involved in the hiring decisions.”
• “As an HR department of one, I love the collaboration features! It makes working with hiring teams so much easier without extra training and hassle. I also appreciate the extra hands of the workflows to create a seamless experience for candidates.”

Streamline your small business recruiting process in 2024 with JazzHR. Book a demo today to learn how our SMB hiring technology can help you make great hires smarter and faster.

And yet, small businesses must fill critical roles with qualified candidates to improve their daily operations and grow their companies long term. This means addressing their recruitment challenges head on and with the right technology and processes to improve their hiring outcomes.

3 recruiting and hiring challenges small businesses face today

The U.S. Jobs & Hiring Trends Report from Indeed makes the case for cautious optimism in the labor market for employers, based on a stronger economic outlook for the year ahead.

Yet, even with the potential for better hiring conditions in 2024 and beyond, there are recruiting challenges SMBs must contend with near term to hire workers that will drive business results.

Here are three specific hiring challenges many SMBs are dealing with today and solutions that can help them address the issues so they can better attract, engage, and hire top talent.

1) Competing with bigger companies for top talent

The 2023 Employ Recruiter Nation Report found 63% of small businesses cited a lack of qualified candidates in their talent pool as one of their main recruiting and hiring challenges today.

Talent scarcity even requires that some SMBs look abroad for employees.

• Recent Gusto research found 58% of small business owners are “turning to international talent because they’re facing a shortage of available U.S. employees, or because they need additional skills they can’t find in the U.S.”

One reason many small businesses don’t have enough high-quality candidates they can engage for open roles is larger companies are competing for the same talent.

These bigger businesses often win more qualified candidates over SMBs because they have:

• More money to spend on recruitment marketing activities, like targeted job ads
• More recruiters and hiring managers who can tackle recruiting tasks
• More hiring team members who can spend most or all their time reporting on hiring challenges, strengths, and opportunities and help improve the company’s recruiting process

Mineral’s 2023 State of HR report found 57% of small business HR teams said attracting new employees was one of their top business priorities today. That makes it critical for SMBs to find a way to connect with potential candidates and show why their company is worth joining over a larger employer.

Solution: Create a strong company culture that appeals to candidates.

Pay, benefits, time off, and work flexibility matter to many job seekers today. But, many people also want to work for companies with company cultures that foster a sense of purpose and community.

“Creating a sense of connection is crucial for small businesses that want to attract competitive talent,” LaunchCode Interim Executive Director Sarah Mayer wrote for Entrepreneur.

• Learn what your current employees love about your company culture and what they’d improve.

Then, use their feedback to enhance your culture and feature messaging around your improvements in your job descriptions, career site copy, candidate outreach, and social media posts.

2) Lacking time and resources to build a strong employer brand

Another top recruitment challenge small businesses face is having enough bandwidth and resources for creating a memorable and compelling employer brand.

• Remember: Employer branding is basically storytelling.

The better you tell your small business’s story on your website and in other promotions, the better your chances are of getting more customers to buy from you and candidates to apply for open roles.

Your dedicated human resource professional or team has a lot to manage daily. From overseeing payroll and HR-related issues to onboarding new employees to ensuring compliance with workplace laws, investing in employer brand initiatives often can seem like the lowest priority.

That said, showing why your business is a great place to work is one of the most effective ways that your business can attract higher potential candidates and driving hiring efficiencies for your company.

Solution: Get insights and ideas from employees and other SMBs.

While talking to your employees about what makes your company culture unique, ask them how they perceive your small business and what makes them want to stay at the company long term.

Survey employees to reveal what makes working at your company great, get their thoughts on your company mission and values, and discover areas of the business where they think there is room for improvement.

• “If you create exceptional employee experiences first and lean into that, that will allow the employee voice to sing and influence successful recruiting,” Glassdoor Head Strategist, Employer Brand & Voice Taylor Meadows noted at an Indeed FutureWorks event.

At the same time as speaking with employees, research what other small businesses with similar products and/or services as yours are doing to position their companies as the best in your space.

Let’s say a competitor does an excellent job explaining their progress with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and spotlighting their volunteer and charity work on their website in a compelling manner.

Consider featuring your community outreach and DEI initiatives on your site and asking some employees who take part in your volunteer work and DEI programs to share their experiences for testimonials.

3) Relying on too many HR tools to recruit and hire candidates

One of the toughest hiring challenges for SMBs today isn’t related to personnel or processes. Rather, it has to do with the assortment of tools they are forced to use to track and engage candidates.

The most common hiring technology stack for small businesses today is built around their spreadsheets and email. This kind of disjointed setup leads to inefficient recruiting and slow hiring processes.

Solution: Use an applicant tracking system to streamline hiring.

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are “morphing from archaic resume repositories into intuitive, end-to-end recruitment management tools that are more friend than foe in helping recruiters achieve their goals,” HR technology expert Dave Zielinski wrote for SHRM.

An ATS built for SMBs can help your hiring team:

• More quickly and efficiently publish your job postings
• Connect with qualified candidates in your talent pool
• Manage all active and passive job seekers from one location
• Get rid of unconscious biases in candidate evaluation
• Send and evaluate scores of pre-employment assessments
• Improve collaboration across the recruiting life cycle
• Report on your talent sourcing and candidate engagement
• Gather feedback from candidates and interviewers
• Organize and streamline your entire hiring process

With the right ATS for small businesses, you can stop relying on disconnected tools and your inbox to execute your recruiting strategy and more efficiently connect with and hire top talent.

Get more active job seekers to apply and better engage passive candidates with JazzHR’s small business recruitment software. Schedule a demo of our SMB applicant tracking system today.

• Resolving issues with their recruiting and hiring processes
• Revisiting brand messaging and language in job descriptions
• Revamping their approach to building a diverse workforce
• Reconsidering what the ideal candidate profile looks like
• Reassessing their sourcing and recruitment marketing efforts

Creating a concrete action plan to improve your recruiting process and hiring results is a big, end-of-year priority. But, it’s just as vital for your business to stay on top of the latest talent acquisition trends that will impact your recruitment approach in the year ahead.

Here are five talent acquisition trends you and your leaders should know for 2024.

1) Heightened focus on data-driven recruiting and hiring strategies

• Embracing real-time analytics will empower hiring teams to work smarter and faster.

Today’s top HR leaders ensure their recruiters and hiring managers embrace a data-driven approach with technology that enables them to execute results-focused recruiting strategies.

The Employ 2023 Recruiter Nation Report found more HR decision-makers intend to follow suit in 2024. Roughly one-quarter (24%) of HR leaders will invest in analytics and reporting for their hiring teams to help them act on data tied to their recruiting speed and efficiency.

• Using best-in-class recruitment software with built-in talent analytics, and leveraging data in their decision-making, helps hiring teams more effectively recruit open roles — from contract and seasonal workers, to full-time employees — in a scalable, repeatable, efficient way.

Real-time data that shows candidate status and reveals progress on core recruiting metrics, including time to fill, sourcing effectiveness, and offer acceptance, provides hiring teams with actionable insights they can use to improve their work.

Aptitude Research Founder Madeline Laurano recently noted employers must “harness the power of data and insights to chart the right course forward” for their hiring strategies.

Bottom line: Employers that don’t develop data-driven recruiting strategies in 2024 will struggle with hiring top talent, compared to companies that take advantage of analytics.

2) Optimized approach to candidate engagement and conversion

• Building relationships with candidates will be a competitive differentiator for employers.

Whether you’re emailing active job seekers who recently applied for open roles or messaging passive candidates through cold outreach on LinkedIn, you must communicate with these potential hires in a personalized manner to provide a stellar candidate experience.

In 2024, hiring teams will evaluate their talent engagement tactics and overall candidate relationship management strategy to ensure they interact with job seekers in a truly human way, even if they use recruiting automation to send some of their nurture messages to candidates.

• Leveraging recruitment marketing automation can help hiring teams nurture both active and passive candidates at scale.

The Employ Recruiter Nation Report found 32% of talent teams will also adopt new candidate engagement scoring frameworks that use artificial intelligence. This is intended to help them better learn which nurture messaging resonates with job seekers.

Emailing and texting candidates to update them on their status within the hiring process is essential. Leading recruiting platforms offer automation capabilities that enable hiring teams to put most of these manual tasks on auto-pilot.

• Top-rated recruitment technology also provides hiring teams with rules-based workflows that ensure they can send the right message to the right candidates at the right time.

It is up to human resources leaders, however, to ensure their teams are empowered to use purpose-built recruitment software, investing in technology that addresses their hiring complexity and eliminates inefficiencies tied to manual recruiting tasks.

Just remember: The best candidate engagement strategies balance creativity and persistence. Test and optimize your approach regularly using analytics to continually improve key nurture-related metrics, like the open and reply rates for your emails and text messages.

3) Greater emphasis on internal mobility and employee retention

• Businesses that prioritize career mobility will better retain top talent in the coming year.

The Recruiter Nation Report found 39% of employers will focus heavily on internal mobility in 2024.

This finding shows HR decision-makers recognize that, in a highly competitive job market, it is difficult to hire highly qualified candidates, so they must focus on retaining their existing employees.

• And that means helping them advance in their careers internally.

Look for more organizations to offer career pathing for employees to prevent them from leaving the company and allow them to move into roles that challenge them and provide new learning opportunities.

This approach not only helps retain employees long term, but also alleviates the pressure on hiring teams. “Businesses need new skills at a rate faster than I’ve ever seen before, which means they need to help their employees evolve via upskilling and internal mobility,” LinkedIn VP of Talent Jennifer Shappley said in the company’s latest Global Talent Trends report.

Whether it’s providing stipends for certifications, offering mentorship programs or conducting career development training, leaders must offer employees the chance to grow their skill sets and realize their career paths within the organization to boost retention.

While sourcing external talent on job boards, social media, and other channels will be critical to the success of any talent acquisition strategy, prioritizing internal mobility must be a major focus area in 2024, too.

4) Increased reliance on engagement programs to improve culture

• Human resources will develop more dedicated employee engagement initiatives.

Many companies shifted to a hybrid workforce or entirely remote-work model in recent years. During this transition, many business leaders have evaluated the level of employee engagement for in-office and remote employees.

In 2024, creating a strong culture will be less about making the office a fun environment and more about ensuring employees — whether remote, hybrid, or in-office — feel seen and heard by colleagues and managers, know the value of their work to the business, and are set up to succeed.

• Companies with clearly defined values, create a plan to keep employees engaged, and improve their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts will win top talent in a competitive market.

To improve their diversity hiring, the Employ Recruiter Nation Report found employers plan to:

• Showcase their DEI commitment on their career site (44%)
• Write more inclusive job descriptions for job postings (38%)
• Use more diverse interview panels in their hiring efforts (27%)

Along with other recruiting and hiring process changes, these efforts by HR decision-makers and their hiring teams are intended better attract and hire more individuals from underrepresented groups and build a diverse workforce and culture in 2024 and beyond.

5) More efforts to improve employee well-being and work-life balance

• Employee wellness will be a big focus for organizations in 2024, driven by HR leaders.

Workforce burnout and fatigue are prevalent within companies of all sizes today.

To make matters worse, employee well-being was a top area business leaders struggled with most amid the pandemic. In 2024, this must be addressed head-on to improve recruitment and retention.

Recruiters have become especially weary. The Employ Recruiter Nation Report found 23% of talent specialists experienced high levels of burnout and concerns over their mental health in 2023.

• On top of trying to meet hiring goals, recruiters have had to adjust to big changes like fully remote interview cycles and staying in sync with team members.

It’s no surprise a focus on mental health and wellness — and being flexible to employees’ needs regarding well-being — is now vital for all companies to thrive today.

“Encourage open communication, active listening, and a non-judgmental atmosphere where employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns, both personal and professional [in 2024],” HR expert Kara Dennison wrote for Forbes. “When employees have psychological safety within work relationships, it can reduce psychological distress and enhance attitude toward work.”

Schedule a JazzHR demo today. Our team will explain how our advanced, yet easy-to-use small business recruitment software can help you hire smarter and faster in 2024 and beyond.

Today’s top human resources leaders have lots of knowledge and expertise. They know how to:

• Streamline their employee onboarding processes
• Drive and optimize workforce training initiatives
• Routinely optimize talent acquisition approaches
• Execute successful internal mobility programs
• Positively and consistently impact business growth

You might be an HR specialist solely focused on analyzing employee experience insights. Or perhaps you are a talent acquisition manager who oversees the recruiting function in your organization. Or maybe you are a sourcer who mainly handles candidate sourcing.

Whatever your human resources job title is, reading articles, listening to podcasts, watching webinars, and attending events that feature today’s top HR experts can help you grow your career.

While there are an incredible number of HR experts and talent authorities to learn from, let’s take a look at 10 well-known influencers you should consider following in the coming year.

Start learning from these 10 HR experts in 2024

Listed in no particular order, and in no way exhaustive, here are 10 human resources experts with years of experience in HR and human capital management (HCM) who can provide inspiration for your employee experience efforts and recruiting strategies.

1) Josh Bersin

• Founder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company
• Founder and Dean, The Josh Bersin Academy

Josh started Bersin & Associates, his first HR advisory firm, back in 2001. After selling the venture to Deloitte in 2012 and leaving the firm in 2018, Josh founded a new professional development academy in 2019 and consulting business with other leading industry analysts in 2020.

In addition to providing guidance to CEOs and CHROs at companies worldwide, Josh’s new firm also regularly releases HR-centric and talent research. These reports cover the latest trends and best practices that can help organizations transform their human resources and talent functions for the better.

• HR Expert Insight: “The new model of talent mobility is centered around agility, opening up the system to give people time to work on other projects, to change roles and participate in developmental assignments.“

2) Madeline Laurano

• Founder, Aptitude Research

Madeline runs a Boston-based human capital management research and advisory firm that specializes in technology investment recommendations for HR leaders.

Strategic guidance provided by Madeline and her team helps business leaders discover which human resources and talent acquisition solutions, including applicant tracking systems (ATS), will help them improve their talent management, employee engagement, and hiring strategies.

• HR Expert Insight: “Success in talent acquisition … hinges on the ability to link recruitment and retention — making informed, equitable, and intelligent decisions using accurate data.”

3) D.K. Bartley

• Global Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer, Hill+Knowlton Strategies

D.K. currently owns and executes DEI programs, including those centered around diversity recruiting and hiring, for Hill+Knowlton Strategies, a global public relations consulting firm.

This work follows tenures in similar roles at Moody’s, where D.K. won several awards for internal and external DEI initiatives, and Dentsu International, where he advised the diversity hiring efforts for Microsoft, Facebook, and other Fortune 500 companies.

• HR Expert Insight: “Evidence-based research is especially relevant as companies look to shift their approach to DEI during a time of heightened awareness on gender, racial and social inequities.”

4) Ben Eubanks

• Chief Research Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory
• Founder, HR Tech Awards
• Host, We’re Only Human Podcast

Ben educates HR professionals on best practices for improving the workplace experience. He also helps technology vendors learn how to provide valuable products for HR teams.

Ben’s popular podcast and speaking engagements at industry events have positioned him as a go-to HR expert. He is well-known among his peers and is sought after for workforce management advice and software insights into solutions that help HR and talent functions thrive.

• HR Expert Insight: “HR departments have a lot on their plates. Systems that allow them to easily prioritize incoming requests are very valuable, enabling them to work on the most important things first.”

5/6) Trish Steed & Steve Boese

• Co-founders, H3 HR Advisors and HR Happy Hour Media Network

Trish and Steve have built a renowned human capital management research and consulting agency that helps CHROs make savvy, data-driven decisions regarding various business needs.

The HR experts’ advisory firm offers advice on strategic working planning, talent management, compliance, and technology investment decisions. The pair also provides actionable reports and insights with human resources leaders via their consultative work and podcast.

• HR Expert Insight: “If you can create a sense where your people feel like they are accepted, respected, and appreciated at work, they’re seven times more likely to go out there telling others about your company and helping you fill those jobs instead of you having to do it all by yourself.”

7) Vernā Myers

• Founder & President, The Vernā Myers Company
• Former VP, Inclusion Strategy, Netflix

Vernā is a thought leader in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space, with two decades of experience. She spent five years as head of Netflix’s DEI strategy, where she created and curated culture-centric initiatives that positively impacted the company’s international operations.

Add on a TED Talk on how to overcome biases, two best-selling books on improving workplace culture and diversity, and a LinkedIn Learning course on allyship that has been viewed and syndicated widely, and it’s evident Vernā is an HR expert worth following.

• HR Expert Insight: “In order for leaders to make true progress on diversity and inclusion, they need to work through not only the personal, but the interpersonal, organizational, and ultimately cultural level. If they do not work on all four levels, it’s really hard to see a shift.”

8) Meghan M. Biro

• Founder and CEO, TalentCulture
• Host, #WorkTrends Podcast

Empowering recruiters at hundreds of prominent organizations, including big-name brands like Microsoft and Google, has been at the heart of Meghan’s human resources and talent acquisition services at TalentCulture since 2008.

Meghan’s work centers on establishing strong, human connections with top talent.

On her podcast, Meghan regularly shares her take on the latest news and trends in the HR space and engages with other industry experts in lively conversations. Recent topics covered include planning for business resiliency, building workplace trust, and leveraging people analytics.

• HR Expert Insight: “Whatever [HR] technology you’re leveraging, make sure you focus on transparency, communication, relationships, and data-driven reporting when it comes to your talent strategies.”

9) Tim Sackett

• President, HRU Technical Resources
• Author, “The Talent Fix: A Leader’s Guide to Recruiting Great Talent“

Tim runs a successful IT and engineering contract staffing firm and has more than 20 years of experience working in various recruiting and human resources roles.

Insights from Tim’s tenure in the HR industry can be found in his best-selling book and widely read blog, where he shares what it takes for employers of all sizes — from SMBs to enterprises — to reinforce their organizations with top talent and future-proof their businesses.

• HR Expert Insight: “Too many of us break our ATSs by trying to customize the software to our bad hiring processes, and then we say the ATS doesn’t work! But it’s not the ATS’ fault.”

10) Sarah White

• Founder and Head of Strategy & Insights, Aspect 43
• Advisory Board, Future of Talent, HR.com

As SHRM noted, Sarah is “dedicated to revolutionizing the way we work” by helping business leaders discover the technologies that can help them attract, hire, and retain top talent.

Sarah and her team at Aspect 43 polls employers to unearth their recruiting challenges and hiring needs, then plans bespoke strategies and recommends strong-fit software solutions to empower clients to transform their talent acquisition and human resources approaches.

• HR Expert Insight: “Our individuals at work are so much more than just their skills, and where the actual gap is is understanding what that person not just has those direct skills, but also where their desires and passions of where they want to go and grow are as well.”

Learn how you can improve your recruiting speed, quality, and efficiency with JazzHR. Book a demo today to take the tour of our recruitment software for small businesses.