How organisations use recruitment software depends on a huge variety of factors. From location, to organisation size and structure, to the makeup and headcount of the central recruitment team- we firmly believe each organisation’s requirements are unique.
That is not to say, however, that organisations operating within the same sector won’t face common hiring issues. Broadly speaking, engineering firms will likely have issues with a scarcity of qualified candidates and attracting females; whilst hospitality may struggle to manage volume campaigns, and so on.
By looking at the challenges that each vertical faces, we can assess which recruitment software features might be most useful to in-house recruiters in the industry. In this ‘Recruitment Software For:’ blog series, we will do exactly that. We’re going to identify some of the main hiring issues in some key sectors, and how flexible, enterprise class recruitment software can help to solve some of those issues.
We’ll kick the series off by focusing on the retail sector.
Recruitment Software for the Retail Sector
The retail sector in the UK is one of the largest and most important. It was worth a huge £358 bn in 2016 and employs around 3 million people. While the sector ranges from national brands, to smaller enterprises, there are some common issues that recruiters in this sector face.
Key Recruitment Challenges:
Screening
A lot of people work in retail. Which means a lot more applied to work in retail. In fact one of the main challenges for recruiters and hiring managers in retail is dealing with the sheer volume of applications. Using screening questions is one way to do an initial sift of candidates, and identify applicants with the necessary characteristics to succeed. Custom scoring and grading further enables hiring managers to quickly identify front running candidates and rank them accordingly. A flexible e-forms solution like Eploy Discover can help support screening questions for retail.
After that, a fully relational CRM database can help you to keep track of candidates, manage applications and ensure that all candidates are treated with respect, irrespective of their suitability for the role.
Accessibility
The retail sector is known as a champion of equal opportunities in the UK, often offering opportunities to candidates who would otherwise be out in the cold. Ensuring that careers sites comply with accessibility guidelines for disabled applicants is therefore essential.
Ease of application is also important to ensure candidate experience standards. A well designed careers site is a must, as are features like cloud CV upload and apply with social.
Hiring Manager Happiness
Hiring managers often have a significant role to play in the attraction and recruitment of new hires in retail. More so, in fact, than many other sectors. Almost 40% of retail hiring managers have a role in sourcing candidates, compared with an average of 28% (Candidate Attraction Report 2016). So it is important to ensure that hiring managers are catered for. A dedicated hiring manager portal is one way to ensure HMs can easily manage their recruitment tasks. A fully mobile responsive portal means that HMs can manage recruitment on the go.
Recruitment Analytics
Recruitment campaigns on such large scale means that report and analytics is a must. The ability for central recruitment teams to tweak and adjust recruitment tactics based on real-time and predictive data can help to meet traditional seasonal trends, as well as any unexpected peaks and troughs in recruitment.
For a full list of features- Go to eploy.co.uk/features