How to automate onboarding with Applicant Tracking Software

Transcript

Welcome to Kaizen Time, part of the Blood, Sweat, and Business Podcast, where we provide constant improvement to businesses through timely, actionable financial solutions. Do you want answers to your financial questions? Email us at, bsb@kaizincpas.com. I'm your host, Mark Waleski. Now, let's get started. Welcome to another episode of Kaizen Time. I'm joined by Brian Bride, Director of Payroll Operations. Brian, how long have you worked at Kaizen? I've worked at Kaizen for a year and three months. Okay. And, uh, do you remember what it was like when you applied here? Yeah. Well, I, uh, have a little higher level, so, um, I just submitted an application through LinkedIn. Mm-hmm. And, uh, one of the partners called me back, uh, pretty quickly, uh, so I didn't really go through some of the- What I heard is you just took the back door and cheated. No, I didn't. That's not what... I'm just giving you a hard time. But it, it's, it's... I always find it interesting how people, uh, end up in a position. You know, some go through the normal channels. Um, you know, they'll apply on a website, they'll do the LinkedIn, they'll know the person in advance. Yeah. Um, so I, I always just find it interesting. Um, but the experience of how that works, uh, it kinda does matter, 'cause that's, like, the first step in being employed or being, uh, rejected- Yeah. ... from a place, right? Right. That's important too. Yeah. So, uh, tell me about that, 'cause that's all part of the payroll component, right? It, it sure is. Part of, uh, payroll and HR is something called ATS, Applicant Tracking System. Okay. Um, and so that, that's where, you know, you might apply through a website, you can apply through LinkedIn. And then it goes, uh, your resume will go into a portal, where somebody will review it and then kinda make a decision off there. It does get a bad rap, right? Because sometimes you're like, "Oh, the algorithm kicked me out." Um, I'm, I'm here to tell you that somebody has to say no to your resume. Now, maybe they looked at it for a very short amount of time, but there's not, like, any kind of thing that says, "Hey, we can't hire this person." Well, I, I think what it is, is, uh, you know, some of the big box, uh, employing websites, they have an algorithm, and then it says, "These are your top tier ones, here's your mid-tiers." And just like on Google, if you're not on the front page of the website- Sure. ... you're not gonna get seen. Y- yeah. So j- generally, those are n- They have knockout questions? as. well. Mm-hmm. So, those are the questions, maybe you submit your resume and then they ask you, like, five questions. Mm-hmm. If you don't answer the answer they're looking for, those ones are the one generally where you get the denial, like, within a day or so. Yep. But almost all the ones, like, somebody's, like, looking through it. So, there is an algorithm, right? So, you know, I'm sure Google has a huge one. Mm-hmm. Right? But, um, yeah, m- most of the time, especially in the space that we're in, somebody's looking at that resume a- and they're saying yes or no to it. Um- Okay. So, so what's, uh, what's going on, and should people be using this kinda system? Yeah. Especially if you're a business owner, maybe you're a HR department of one, right? That, that's a big thing, where you're the only person, you know, trying to find or, or source candidates. Um, it's really good to have. Because if you have a manual process where maybe people are submitting job applications as they're walking in or their buddies are calling, things like that, it can get really unorganized very quickly, especially if, you know, maybe you're in a high turnover business, right? You're a restaurant. Uh, previous episode, we talked about, like, th- the recreation center, right? Where there's a lot of younger people working there. Um, so having an applicant tracking system that's automated can really make your, your, your process smoother and make sure that you don't lose out on those candidates. Um, the only thing about it is that if you have a manual process and maybe, you know, you interview somebody and then you don't call them again because you get busy 'cause you're wearing 17 hats and you kinda ghost them, it wasn't what you were expecting to do or wanted to do, uh, you know, you can get a bad rap, right? They're going on Glassdoor or they're going on TikTok or they're going on LinkedIn and they're saying, "Hey, you know what? I' applied here and it was not a great experience." So, having an ATS where, like, even the email is not what the candidate wants to hear, but having a customized email where it's like, "Hey, you know, you didn't fit our requirements for this position. We're gonna have to pass on you," having it a little bit more personalized, right? Some of the more modern ones will have, you know, more of the names, you can put more of, like, the reasons why, things like that. Um, so it's, it's really important to have a system that you customize, so it makes it more like your brand. Yeah. Instead of just, you know, your copy-pasted, "Hey, you know, we found someone whose qualifications match something, something, something." Right. Yeah. Yeah. Because a lot of times, like, oh, you know, I, I, I've had many jobs where I, I've had the final interview in and I. didn't get it, right? It's down to three or four people, and somebody's just a better fit, right? And it happens. And so, the, the better you can smooth it over and keep contact with the candidate, then the better it is for everybody. Well, and it's just, uh, uh, also from the person employing's perspective, they would like to just know. And it's not something personal, but if it's something that they need to work on or if there's an error in their ways, like, it, it can- Right. ... better the experience for everyone and, you know, again, everyone is left with a, uh, a smile on their face, you could say. Right. For sure. So, um, that, that kinda leads to having a, a clearer hiring cycle, right? So, when applications come in, you can even, like, you know, fi- fix the buckets that they come in, right? So, they come in and they're in, like, the review. You can send the email response, right? And, and make it a little bit more, you know, your brand, right? Like, "Hey, we... You know, we're, we're ski- we're screening candidates this week and, uh, we just... We'll make decisions by end of this week. So, if you don't hear from us, you know, we'll let' you know early next week where you are in the... in, in the process." Right? 'Cause a lot of times, like you said, they just use the canned response. They're like, "Oh, you don't match the qualifications." That gives you nothing, right? Mm-hmm. You don't know what's going on. So, even if it's not something you can go and move forward with, if you say, "Hey, you'll know by, you know, two weeks from now where we're going," at least somebody knows, right? That they know what the process is gonna look like. They know what their expectations are. They know to wait for a phone call, right? And so, I, I-... customizing that email is really, really important. So, just like, you know, taking it out of the box, right, and turning it on, and throwing resumes in isn't gonna make you successful. Uh, doing customizations an- and actually working on an applicant track is really, really important. Um, so, you know, sometimes you do get maybe like, uh, you know, a thousand job applications, especially, uh, you know, maybe you're a bigger franchise story, own a bunch of franchises, and you're probably getting, you know, 10, 15, you know, per store, per week, right? So, having maybe that, that second bucket where it's like, "Hey, unfortunately, you don't meet the qualifications," might be something that you need. Uh, but a lot of times if, if you have 10 or 20 employees, I, I really highly suggest a more, a more customized experience for that email to be like, "Hey, you know, we're, we're not gonna go forward with you this time, but, you know, w- we think you might fit the culture. We're gonna keep your resume on file." Um- A- and, again, that's huge too. Let's say you're a business that is really busy during the summer, right? But you find, you know, an applicant that was really good during the winter, not the best- Right. ... candidate, right? But still, you know, better than your, I guess, average, you could say? Yeah. Um, for them to know, like, "Hey, you know, you do fit a lot of our qualifications, you know, if you're interested in the summer," that's really good to know. Yeah. That's, it's a really good point, um, because maybe you're a seasonal employer, right? Like, like you said. And you might even leave it open 'cause you know, like, "Hey, I'm a seasonal employer. I, I might get some job applications," but if I have a thing like, "Hey, our hiring cycle starts in April, so thanks for your resume. We'll review them, you know, starting in April." Uh, a- and then with the modern ones, especially like the one that iSolved has, you can set up other emails, right? So, it would be, "Hey, you're a seasonal employer," maybe in December say, "Hey, your resume's on file with us. We're still gonna hire in April. Are you still looking for a job? Do you know?" And then you can kinda keep that candidate in there so you kinda keep them warm. Um- Well, let me, let me ask you something, Brian. Yeah. So, in iSolved you got, like, these buckets, right? Like, so you could say, "This group of people were qualified. We didn't end up hiring them." They go into the, "Let's reach out to them in-" Mm-hmm. ... "you know, spring-" Right. ... bucket." Right? 'Cause you're like, "We know, uh, business picks up." So, that could just be, "Hey, email all these people." Mm-hmm. Right. Absolutely. It sounds really simple. Yeah. A- and, and you don't wanna end date people the email, so that's why you can set the timing. So, you can, you know, every, every month you can send email. You can even send texts if that's what they prefer, right? So, you can say, "Hey, you know, we're still gonna hire in April. You know, if you're interested in, you know, in the job, let us know in April and we'll be happy to set you up for an interview." Uh, and it really makes the, uh, the person working in HR/payroll's job that much, uh, easier. Yeah. One less thing to work, worry about. "Hey, I already have all these candidates in a bucket saved for when I know I'm gonna have to do the work in-" Yeah. "... a few months." Yeah. Uh, uh, same with, uh, maybe you're hiring a more permanent position and you have so many. Maybe you had two candidates, but you went with one 'cause you like, you like their experience a little bit better. But you have a second one that really fits your company culture, and then you can keep them around in another, you know, your other pool, right? And say, "Hey, uh, send them an email about a month later." Like, "Hey, you know, we really liked you. Um, sorry it didn't work out, but are, are you interested in applying for a different job?" Or, um, "Are you still in the job hunt?" Right? Maybe they found one that you can take them out. But having an email and then when you can s- set it where it's, like, every 30 days get an email, right? And then when they respond you can say, "Okay, they're already looking for somebody, you know, or they're still looking or maybe they have a position, they won't be reaching out anymore." You can turn that off and, and then, then you know they're not a c- candidate anymore. So, y- y- you know, a lot of times clients will, will get this, they add it, they pick the people they, you know, they, they want. They come in for an interview, they hire them, and then others they send the mass email out to them like, "Uh, we're not moving forward." Um, that's not the best way to, you know, to use the system, uh, is going through the steps that we kind of talked about. To be like, "Hey, you know, we liked you, but it didn't work out this time. We'll keep your resume around." And then you're really keeping their resume around 'cause you can access it at any time. Okay. Uh, is there anything else that you wanna add about these, uh, applicant tracking systems? Um, yeah. I mean, I, I, again, I just wanna say, like, don't, don't blame the algorithm, right? I mean, you know, unless it's a really big company. But, you know, you, you apply for a job, well, like one of our clients they're using this system, I guarantee someone's gonna look at it. Um, so just, you know, keep your head up and, and keep swimming if you're, like, out there looking for a job. And one other thing I wanna add. What is your favorite thing about applicant tracking systems? So, I, I like the fact that it goes from applicant track, especially on iSolved, right into onboarding. So, if you hire, if you wanna hire somebody, you have a lot of their information, like, you'll have their email, you'll have their resume. You can click a button and say, "Oh, this person, you know, we wanna hire them." And it goes straight into iSolved, and then it will send them the onboarding packet, and they fill it out, and then when they, when they report for the first day, you look in their I-9 and then you're moving on. You don't have to spend any time. doing anything else. So, it's, it's a very straightforward process? Very straightforward. And, and most people expect it, that, like, "Hey, I' got hired. I don't wanna fill out any paperwork ahead of time." But this even helps you with that. You don't need to collect anything 'cause you already have all the data that you need, and they just have to fill it out themselves. So, it's great. Perfect. Well, thank you very much, Brian. Thanks, Mark. You've been listening to Kaizen? Time, part of the Blood, Sweat, and Business Podcast. If you liked what you heard, subscribe and leave a five-star review. This podcast has been brought to you by Kaizen CPAs Plus Advisors, providing advisory and accounting services to help you grow your business. Learn more at kaizencpas.com or email us at bsb@kaizencpas.com.