Staffing At Short Notice

In recent years, to protect profit margins, organizations have become increasingly knee-jerk when matching resources to business requirements. It is typical of employers in the hospitality, retail, and light industrial sectors – where fluctuations in demand require a flexible approach to staffing.

Even the most proactive, agile, and responsive recruiters can become overwhelmed when clients require staff at short notice, so what can be done to ensure that job orders are completed on time?

Applicant Tracking Systems

Technology is a recruiter’s best friend, especially in time-sensitive situations. Applicant tracking systems automate laborious tasks while providing comprehensive access to filterable candidate information in a single platform. It really is the best way to ensure that job orders are completed at speed without sacrificing candidate quality.

Mindscope’s applicant tracking software has been designed with temporary staffing specialists in mind. Whether a recruiter is hiring event catering staff, seasonal retail workers, or warehouse operatives, Mindscope can provide them with all the tools they need in order to source and place candidates quickly.

Automation of repetitive tasks

Identifying parts of the recruitment process where time-to-fill can be reduced  is essential to succeeding in short notice situations.

Nearly all recruiters would agree that repetitive administrative and candidate engagement tasks consume a large portion of their working day. Not only does this limit the amount of relationship building they can partake in, but it also restricts the volume of candidates that they can process within the specified timeline.

Sourcing

High volume, short notice staffing allows little or no time for recruiters to physically read through individual resumes in detail. The Mindscope applicant tracking system combats this by providing resume parsing and advanced search tools that make it easy to gather and assess candidate information.

Applicant resumes can be parsed from email messages using Mindscope’s Outlook Plug-in. By linking their email account to the applicant tracking system, recruiters can automatically create and update candidate records based on the information received . Color-coding helps identify whether a sender already exists in your database, either as a candidate or client contact.

This add-on feature also lets recruiters attach candidates to job orders and/or hotlists, as well as schedule follow-up tasks, update records and much more – all without having to leave their Outlook account.

Parsing isn’t just limited to email either. Mindscope also features Shazaam  – this Google Chrome extension empowers users to parse candidate info from anywhere on the web, including Facebook and Indeed.  The Mindscope system then summarizes resume content to highlight candidate skills and experience.

A comprehensive candidate database is only helpful if it is up-to-date, searchable, and user-friendly. Mindscope includes market-leading search functionality that empowers recruiters to pinpoint suitable candidates at speed without scrolling through hundreds of profiles.

The Boolean advanced search feature allows users to specify multiple criteria when filtering their lists in order to match candidates to the requirements of the role. It is also possible to run detailed searches within each individual column of a candidate list – including job title, availability, candidate rating, and more.

Another way to speed up the candidate search is to revisit previous job orders. Mindscope’s Placements Module is a powerful tool that provides granular access to candidate and job order information. Recruiters can search through previous activities – filtering by date, job order, job type, job title, start date, end date, and number of candidates placed.

This makes it easy to find unplaced prospects from previous job orders and place them in current ones. It is a quick and simple way to ensure that top candidates already in the system are being considered for positions.

Candidate engagement

Communication is another bottleneck for recruiters during the recruitment process. A lot of time can be spent approaching potential candidates over the phone and via email without much reward. It is estimated that only around 30% of emails actually get opened by the recipient. By comparison, SMS text messages have an open rate of 97%.

Having a mobile-friendly recruitment strategy has the potential to increase hiring rates by 12%, and the responsive nature of SMS makes it a favorable communication channel when sourcing staff at short notice.

Mindscope integrates Nexmo mobile technology to give recruiters the ability to send up to 500 text messages at once. It is the fastest way to simultaneously gauge the interest of a wide candidate pool and requires minimal effort from a recruiter’s perspective.

VoIP Calls are another way to improve candidate relationships with ease. All Mindscope users get a unique phone number that is incorporated into the system – this means that they can click on a candidate profile and call the individual immediately without dialing. When recruiters receive a call from a candidate, the corresponding profile is automatically pulled up on the screen for reference. All calls are tracked in the system with a note on the appropriate record.

To take automated communication even further, Mindscope also offers the Kaptivate candidate engagement tool. Kaptivate is an ATS integration that enables users to set up automated conversations via email, text, or WhatsApp.

This instant engagement method can reach hundreds of recipients at once, while achieving superior response rates. Conversations are fully customizable, allowing recruiters to obtain the exact information they need – whether they are checking candidate availability, screening applicants, or requesting onboarding documents.

Onboarding

Once candidates have been selected, the admin burden can become even more apparent. Licenses, certifications, and identification documents are among the items a recruiter must obtain in order to complete the hiring process. The pressure is on to onboard multiple placements at the same time, so manually chasing documentation is not an option.

Mindscope has an onboarding software integration that streamlines the process. Recruiters are able to create a list of required documents and notify candidates as to what is needed – alerts can then be sent to remind individuals if certain items are missing.

This mobile-friendly platform makes it easy for candidates to submit completed forms and documentation online. Once received, everything is automatically uploaded to the relevant profile within the applicant tracking system, where it is stored for future reference.

Staying on track

Agencies can use Mindscope software to ensure that client expectations are met every time. The Customer Notification Timer feature holds recruitment personnel accountable to the agency’s service level agreements. By having clear timescales to work to, job orders will be filled sooner. Monitoring progress and deadline response rates also allows managers to understand workload capacity when responding to customer job order requests.

For more information on how Mindscope’s recruiting software can transform your approach to staffing, get in touch.