Effectively Managing the Hiring Process with Integrated Onboarding Software

Originally posted March 10, 2015 

Why should you dedicate resources to improving onboarding?

The hiring process for hourly employees can be extremely time-consuming for staff and cost you a plethora of resources. In fact, according to research conducted by Talent Board, 57% of surveyed organizations are considering technology as a method to streamline hiring processes to better use resources efficiently.

If you are responsible for any part in the recruiting, hiring or onboarding process for your organization, you know all too well that tracking employment information and compliance data, and generating reports can be a huge consumer of time. By dedicating your resources to an end-to-end hiring and onboarding software, you can maximize results and simplify effort.

Hiring and onboarding is a multi-step (and often, complicated) process. The right resources help you:

• Manage applications
• Identify and compare the most responsive applicants for hire
• Seamlessly onboard them as a new employee

Pro tip: If your hiring and onboarding solution integrates with your workforce management solution in the way that TEAM Software solutions Kwantek and WinTeam do, you can seamlessly transfer new employee information into their Employee Master File. With this kind of data integrity, you reap the benefits of added accountability and compliance for all employment data and forms.

Benefits of End-to-End Application Management

When utilizing an end-to-end solution, you eliminate redundant data entry and paperwork with a secure and accurate new hire process. Having incorrect data creates more work for your staff and your new employees.

When you have a solution in place to manage your hiring data and process, you’re able to onboard new employees quickly and efficiently and spend time interviewing only quality applicants. Several years ago, this was a big benefit, as the number of job applicants per job opening was higher. Now, current labor shortages have reversed that ratio, with labor participation rates averaging 1.5% less than pre-pandemic levels. In either scenario, it’s important to have the right tools to fill your recruitment and hiring funnel, based on the openings you need to fill to meet contracted SLAs.

Some features that can help ensure end-to-end application management include:

• Quick apply options for candidates to enter the recruitment funnel, faster. (Think: text-to-apply, or minimum criteria application tools.)
• Optimized interviewing, with multiple methods to initiate an interview (including self scheduling options for the candidate to use).
• Job board integrations.
• Streamlined (and digitized) form collection for hiring documentation.
• Integrated background checks. background checks.
• Automated processes for faster, more reliable communications.
• Tools which support two-way communication (like two-way texting).

In some cases, the man-hour savings from this type of software can more than make up for the cost of investing in software, especially if the solution helps cut down on employee turnover down the line with improved quality of hires.

Pro tip: If you’re looking for ways to stretch your dollars further to justify a hiring and onboarding solution, look for a software that offers WOTC filing services. With tax credit savings, you can offset (or entirely cover) your monetary investment.

How software manages onboarding.

We’ve shown you the benefits of effective hiring and onboarding, but what does it actually look like in practice? Here’s a quick step-by-step:

1. Candidates apply for open positions at your company. This can happen in a variety of ways. If you’re using Kwantek, they can apply through your company-branded website, sponsored job postings, via quick-apply forms, and more. Note: these positions can be posted in real-time.
2. Candidates follow a simple step-by-step process in an easy-to-use interface, walking them through job descriptions, screening questions and more to determine if they are a match for the job. This type of screening is configurable based on your company’s needs.
3. The applicant moves into the active hiring portion of the interview. Your software supports the process with reporting tools that track how long applicants are in each stage of the interview, plus the average time an applicant is in the “evaluation” stage. This is where they can be contacted by your HR staff, connected with managers, or undergo background checks to ensure they are a good match. This information helps you understand your process (and know when to make improvements based on reporting findings).
4. When it’s time to hire and onboard new employees, applicants go through an online question-and-answer process to ensure all required paperwork and forms are completed.
5. All forms are collected, including company policies, driver information, W-4s, I-9s and even Work Opportunity Tax Credit eligibility, in a built-in workflow/approval process that everyone on your team can manage and access. If your company uses a workforce management solution like WinTeam, you can select the new hire and create Employee Master Files directly from the data collected in this step.

For your business to truly have optimized performance, you need to start at the very beginning — before your employees become your employees. Effective onboarding is a major contributor to achieving this goal, so hiring and onboarding can’t be overlooked.

If you’re interested in improving the effectiveness of your hiring and onboarding, we’d love to chat. Submit your request today.