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Societal changes were taking place before the global health crisis became a reality. And, today’s current talent shortage is no fluke, it had been bubbling beneath the surface and got exacerbated by the pandemic.

Hiring employees is part science, part art and companies and their recruiters, should follow the Golden Rule, treat candidates the way they would like to be treated. Sometimes, the recruiting process is less than stellar. It only takes some planning and effort to make it warm and personal — while, being sensitive to prospective candidate’s needs and anxieties, whether there’s a labour shortage or not. Prospective candidates talk to others and the stories they tell can either help build up, or destroy, your brand. Don’t lose the opportunity to make sure the story they tell about your company is a positive one, even if you do not hire them.

Here are 5 tips you can use to help you overcome the current talent shortage:

1.There are no Perfect Candidates
Some companies hold out for that ‘perfect’ candidate who has the right skills, experiences and degrees. While some companies persist in looking for that one perfect candidate, (that does not exist) don’t be surprised, if the one you just rejected, got hired by your biggest competitor— and now, their new hire, is targeting your customers. A lot of companies are labouring under the misconception that we’re in the midst of the 2007/2008 recession and that people are clamoring to get a job. It’s 2022 and there are a lot of companies vying for the same candidates you are considering.

2. Diversity of Talent
Some of the most successful companies have diverse workforces. In a broader sense, diversity encompasses; employees with different life experiences, backgrounds, education level, age, social status, race and gender. Organizations should take into account the highly competitive labour market, relax some of their assessment criteria and be ever-more vigilant about their hiring practices. Today’s candidates, place a greater emphasis on the type of employees that are within a company before agreeing to a second or third interview. Why? Because a majority of candidates will evaluate the make-up of your workforce (including the C-Suite) before they apply.

3. Re-evaluate Recruiting Practices
Not every prospective candidate will have their resume uploaded to LinkedIn and that’s ok. You should not hold it against a candidate if their resume can’t be found on the latest online job platform or they don’t have a website that houses their CV. Hiring is not just about ticking boxes or following a step-by-step guide. At its core, it is about publishing a job ad, screening resumes and providing a shortlist of good candidates – but overall, hiring is closer to a business function that is critical for the entire organization’s success and health. In other words, think a little outside the AI-driven HR recruitment software.

4.Pay and Rewards
Within the first 5 minutes of an interview, ATS recruiters will take time to go over a candidate’s salary expectations versus what the company offers. Compensation is important to prospective candidates so don’t gloss over it. Candidates will no longer appreciate a recruiter who says “The salary will be discussed at the second round of interviews or with the CEO”. Be upfront about what your company is willing to pay for the role. No company wants to hire a candidate who accepts the salary that’s being offered, only to quit a couple of months later because they found a company who’s willing to pay their desired salary.

5.Hybrid and Work-from-Home Options are Here to Stay
Hybrid work and work-from-home (WFH) are “well-accepted business practices”, with many companies accepting ‘work from anywhere’ as the wave of the future. And, while not every job is conducive to work-from-home (WFH), increasingly —employees are expressing their interest in such arrangements. And, although some leaders still prefer their teams back in the office— Companies will have to weigh ‘The old idea that working at home is synonymous with goofing off’ versus embracing the future of work. In the end, it will come down to trust.

Apex Time Solutions (ATS) is the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. Thousands of organizations that spans Canada, South America, US and Europe— including Fortune 500® — companies use ATS TimeWork OnDemand to control payroll costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve productivity.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce. ATS cloud services offer rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.

Sometimes a frustrating online application process can scare off good talent. For example, if it is too difficult or confusing, jobseekers will simply not apply. Even worse, they may develop a negative view of your company and share their bad impression with others. While a statement like, ‘we are an equal opportunity employer’ sends out a positive message, asking prospective candidates to list their ancestry, (in an online application) is tantamount— to landing your company in, proverbial hot-water. 

The job descriptions you post are, in all likelihood, the first point of contact you’ll have with potential candidates. Use this opportunity to inform, intrigue, and entice candidates to submit an application—but also make sure candidates really want to work for your company.

Top 10 Mistakes Employers Make in Job Applications, is an article by Jennifer R. Cotner, for SHRM. Here are some excerpts from that article below:

  1. Asking for a photograph. Guidance from the EEOC prohibits employers from asking applicants for photographs. If needed for identification purposes, an employer may obtain a photograph of an applicant after the applicant accepts an offer of employment.
  2. Including any disability-related or medical questions. Employers should steer clear of questions related to whether an employee is disabled or has a medical condition. Any such inquiry would violate guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and possibly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws. If an employer asks an applicant such a question, the EEOC or a court may presume prohibited information was a factor in hiring.
  3. Not including a non-discrimination statement. Employers may want to inform applicants that the company is an equal opportunity employer (i.e., through an EEO statement) and does not discriminate in hiring based on federally-protected classifications (i.e., race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, disability, veteran status, age [40 or over], or genetic information). Employers may want to add any additional protected classifications under state or local law (e.g., sexual orientations or marital status).
  4. Including any disability-related or medical questions. Employers should steer clear of questions related to whether an employee is disabled or has a medical condition. Any such inquiry would violate guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and possibly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws. If an employer asks an applicant such a question, the EEOC or a court may presume prohibited information was a factor in hiring.
  5. Asking about marital or familial status. Asking questions about an applicant’s marital status, the number of kids he or she has, the ages of his or her children or dependents, or provisions for childcare could be construed as discrimination on the basis of sex. Furthermore, in many states, marital or familial status is a protected classification about which employers may not inquire during the application process—similar to the federally-protected classifications listed above.

Bottomline: Employment standards and Human rights laws across Canada and the United States are in place to prevent many of the issues mentioned above. Employers should take time to create an appealing job application process that invites, rather that chases away, top talent.

To learn about ATS and our Cloud HCM application go to our website. And, to reach us by phone; call 866.294.2467

There is nothing typical about an HR managers’ work day. And, depending on the size of the company, an HR managers’ job could encompass; resume screening, recruitment, interviews, retention and that’s just to name a few of the activities that can take up their day. Today’s HR managers are making use of HCM, Talent Management and Time and Attendance Solutions to align their employees with common HR processes and promote a culture of compliance.

Andrew Ly of HRMorning captures a day in the life of the HR manager, with an insightful article titled, 7 ways HRMS can transform your HR department. Below are some excerpts from the article.

     

1.Manage the hiring process more efficiently

An HRMS solution won’t have as many specialized features as a dedicated ATS software, but it will have the benefit of retaining applicant information if they are hired and onboarded. You’ll also be able to analyze this data and generate reports on the types of candidates that ultimately become successful employees.

2.Engage employees with onboarding and training

Once you’ve hired the right candidate, it will be important for you to keep them engaged from the beginning. Employees that go through a structured onboarding program are 58% more likely to stay with an organization after three years.

With HRMS, onboarding can start even before the new employee reaches the office. Employees can sign administrative documents electronically, catch up on company news and business goals, and join virtual social networks of colleagues. On their first day, they’ll have more time to tour the facility, set up their equipment and hit the ground running.

3. Save time with a self-service portal

Employees often have specific questions about their salaries, benefits and time off. Answering these vital yet routine questions, however, can take up a huge chunk of your day. With a self-service portal, employees can access their information any time, from a remote site or on their mobile phone.

4. Reduce business errors with automated processes and a central database

You know how important it is to maintain accurate payroll and compliance records. Any mistake is not just a headache but also a potential lawsuit. HRMS automates these processes, so that you can worry less about costly errors. It can calculate wages and salaries, deduct the correct amount of taxes and benefits, and print checks or execute direct deposits.

5. Accelerate employee performance

Employees are more productive when they feel that business objectives are aligned with their skill sets and accomplishments are properly rewarded. Yet it may not be clear to you how employees are doing in their roles and whether or not they are succeeding.

6. Understand why employees leave

When an employee leaves, you conduct an exit interview to understand why. The information you get, however, may not always be accurate. Perhaps there are strong emotions surrounding the departure or the employee doesn’t feel comfortable being honest in person.

7. Support your decisions with evidence

Businesses are increasingly looking to HR for more data-driven initiatives and strategies. Whether its recruiting more efficiently, increasing engagement or reducing turnover, senior management wants your decisions to be backed up with quantifiable metrics.

Bottomline: Today’s HR practitioners are acutely aware of the benefits of deploying an cloud-based application like, ATSTimeWorkOnDemand and how it can help increase team efficiency and productivity, by boosting revenue through automation.

So, whether you have 50 or 500 employees in one province, state or country, or 7,000 in several regions, ATSTimeWorkOnDemand HCM cloud will boost engagement and create a great workforce experience for your HR department and company, as a whole.

To learn about ATS Workforce Management Solutions for HR go to our website, where you can download a demo or register for one of our bi-monthly webinars. To reach an account representative by phone, call: 866.294.2467.

     

Google Is On The Verge Of Shaking Up The Recruitment Industry

July 20th, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Google | Machine Learning | Recruitment Software - (Comments Off on Google Is On The Verge Of Shaking Up The Recruitment Industry)

When Google announced it was entering the recruitment space, some wondered why? A behemoth like Google would have done its due diligence before deciding to use its power to offer job seekers and employers alike a difference choice.

 

Google Is On The Verge Of Shaking Up The Recruitment Industry

In her article,  for HR Dive, titled Google for Jobs now open to site owners and job seekers Valerie Bolden-Barrett writes in part;

“Google for Jobs is a potential game-changer for employers and job seekers that stands to revolutionize recruiting. Right now, the new search largely pulls from major recruiting websites to formulate search results — but this new behavior could change how the big job boards work. They were already keeping an eye on changing behaviors from applicants that opted for mobile capabilities. Google could further disrupt the marketplace.

Much like LinkedIn and Glassdoor, which forced employers to reconsider external channels of input, Google for Jobs could herald changes in recruitment strategy. Google’s use of AI and machine-learning in the process is nothing less than what’s expected of an innovative high-tech company, and is largely in-line with what experts predicted for online recruiting going forward.”

It has also been reported that the new job search engine will have filters to narrow down jobs. For example, a candidate can sort by full-time or part-time, the job titles, category and posting date. And, that Google will also add a filter for commute times, so candidates do not have to apply for dream positions that require sitting in traffic for two hours.

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