5 questions to ask enterprise recruiting software vendors

October 21, 2021

 

iCIMS Staff

4 min read

When it comes to recruiting, enterprise companies have unique needs. They need to process high volumes of candidates, find quality hires quickly, maintain compliance, and support diversity efforts (just to name a few).

These unique challenges call for a unique solution: enterprise recruiting software.

When I say “recruiting software,” you may think of an applicant tracking system (ATS), which over 98% of Fortune 500 companies use. An ATS is a beneficial tool to screen and hire candidates. But, there is so much more to your talent lifecycle than just screening resumes.

Enterprise recruiting software can help you to:

• Attract job seekers through career sites, job advertising, or text campaigns.
• Engage active and passive candidates through a candidate relationship management system (CRM).
• Hire and onboard candidates with an applicant tracking system (ATS), offer management, and onboarding solutions.
• Advance top-performing employees with internal career sites and AI-powered job recommendations.

As you search for recruiting software, keep the needs of your entire talent lifecycle in mind. To kick-off conversations, here are five questions to ask enterprise recruiting software vendors.

For a more comprehensive guide, check out our Executive Guide for Evaluating New Technology.

Five questions to ask enterprise recruiting software vendors

1. How do you support candidate engagement at scale?

If your company receives hundreds or thousands of applications each year, it can feel especially challenging to communicate effectively with candidates. On one hand, you want to send consistent, personalized communications to every candidate to support a positive experience. On the other hand, that amount of work would be nearly impossible for your recruiters to sustain.

Enterprise recruiting software can help. Just ask the vendor about their candidate relationship management software.

With a CRM, you can:

• Send mass text and email campaigns
• Use a digital assistant to field FAQs, recommend jobs, and schedule interviews
• Keep passive candidates warm through virtual career fairs

Ultimately, a CRM enables recruiters to deliver communications at scale without adding significant manual effort to their workload.

2. How will you support security and keep my data safe?

Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report recorded 3,950 breaches. 72% involved large business victims, and 43% involved web applications. If your recruiting software vendor is not proactive about their cybersecurity, they could open your company to attacks and data breaches.

Look for a vendor with strict data encryption procedures, up-to-date certifications, and detailed security policies to help keep your candidates and employees safe. A prepared vendor will have documentation ready that details how they collect, use, and store your confidential information. They should also confirm that they have a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plan to ensure your critical data is available in the event of a disaster. These plans are often confidential so many companies typically won’t share the details of their plan but should be willing to confirm it exists.

3. Can enterprise recruiting software support DEI efforts?

Traditional software can help with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by providing relevant data. Internal stakeholders then need to interpret that data to make strategic decisions. Modern, more sophisticated software can go beyond standard reports to actively surface diverse talent.

Ask your vendors if they offer or plan to offer:

• Chatbots that can speak in multiple languages
• Standardized talent assessments
• Resume redaction
• AI-powered talent matching

These tools can help to mitigate bias, provide a more equitable hiring process, and help create accessible and inclusive experiences for candidates.

4. How often do you plan to release new software?

Enterprise hiring needs are likely to adapt over time. Consider the drastic changes in the talent industry as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It seemed like, overnight, the world moved to a life behind a computer screen.

Talent acquisition also shifted to a virtual experience. While smaller businesses may be able to adapt slowly over time, enterprise businesses don’t typically have that luxury.

This is why it’s so important to ask your software vendors how they plan for innovation. Companies that truly understand the needs of an enterprise business will have their eye on the future — for example, iCIMS works all year round to develop product roadmaps and release innovations quarterly.

5. How do you communicate best practices and facilitate knowledge sharing?

After implementing new software, you’ll need to get the users up to speed. Look for a vendor that can onboard your users quickly and provide support over time.

Additionally, look for a software company that encourages peer-to-peer community. For example, iCIMS’ Customer Community connects industry leaders from all over the globe. Participants can ask questions, share ideas, and even vote on proposals to enhance the iCIMS Talent Cloud.

These five questions may help you begin conversations with enterprise recruiting software vendors. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive guide to help you in your software search, check out our Executive Guide for Evaluating New Technology.