With the turning of the seasons comes a new budget for many companies – nongovernment organizations receive their new budgets in October after the beginning of the fiscal year. With a rearranged or increased budget, there’s a good chance you’ll have the opportunity to create a new position. At the very least you’ll be able to reallocate money to a position you had to remove due to prior budget constraints. With the new job openings, hiring managers need to expect a potential avalanche of candidates. So with that said, winter is coming…

Preparing for the Candidate Storm with Automation

The news often advises the public to stock personal inventories with bottled water, canned goods, and snow emergency equipment. Warm fronts bring snowflakes that turn into snowstorms that turn into blizzards. Like the warm fronts of a post harvest moon, a well-developed employer brand turns a few pleased candidates into several more applicants. Unfortunately, how ever dedicated the HR team is to maintaining the brand, something always falls through the cracks without the proper equipment when the company experiences a barrage of hopeful candidates. A lengthy time to hire can occur during peak hiring seasons, as hiring managers are presented with an overabundance of resumes to review. This is where some of that new budget could come in handy.

In order to save time for the HR professionals in the office, something that can automatically send messages to candidates updating them on their application status would not only save time but also communicate with candidates. An Applicant Tracking System can do just that. It would be able to connect with candidates while simultaneously pre-screening them for job prerequisites and experience. Not so surprisingly, a vast majority of large organizations – 75% of them – have an ATS to help with such employment endeavors.

Weather the Worst by Eliminating Redundant Practices

The ATS will post to social media and job boards, removing one extra step during the hiring process. Think of it as asking a family member to go to the store before the storm amidst the masses of shoppers doing just the same, so you don’t have to. An ATS will perform several functions, such as postings among others, so you don’t have to. Summer – unlike its winter solstice counterpart – is a predominantly slow time for hiring. According to Jacquelyn Smith, a Forbes staff writer, says, “It may depend on your specific industry or job, but the summer and holidays tend to be slowest for hiring.” That means you can expect a deluge of jobseekers entering corporate doors with snow-covered shoes.

Survival of the Fittest Employer Brands

The fittest are those who are prepared before the storm hits. Because they are equipped before the blizzard, their candidates are happy even if they didn’t get the job. Why? The ATS keeps hiring managers’ workloads under manageable levels and contacts candidates with updates during the hiring process. It certainly doesn’t hurt the employer brand at all that 76% of candidates actually prefer to apply through a career site… little do they know it’s most likely through an ATS.

Ever wondered how massive organizations like Starbucks Corporation and Proctor & Gamble Incorporated get through hiring cycles? They use an ATS. They have to. With 7.6 million and one million applicants respectively, it would take a massive and extremely coordinated HR team without a system to help them along the way. 20% of companies that use an ATS experience a reduced hiring time. That’s good for employer branding, reducing stress for hiring managers, and keeping candidates happy.

As with any storm, actual or metaphorical, it’s best to prepare for them if there is warning. Consider this your news alert to the coming candidate storm. Plan for the heavy workload ahead with a system that can ease HR pains. The ATS reduces budget spending and time to hire; it can also automate tedious activities such as social and job board postings. Although we are based out of southern California, that doesn’t mean we are estranged to harsh weather. We know what it takes to keep your hiring managers and recruiters stress-free during a particularly stressing season.

Bio: Raj Sheth

Raj is the co-founder of Recruiterbox, an online recruitment software and applicant tracking system designed especially for growing companies. Prior to Recruiterbox, he founded two other web startups -- a classifieds portal and an ecommerce site. He is a graduate of Babson College and spent the first three years of his career as a financial analyst with EMC Corporation in Boston. Visit his website at recruiterbox.com.

photo credit: truu via photopin cc