Choosing recruitment software for an uncertain future

May 9th, 2017 | Industry News

The announcement of the UK snap election has taken almost everyone by surprise – and the recruitment industry has been rapid to respond. The claim that the election is designed to reduce uncertainty and instability is one that recruiters will take to heart. As Brexit negotiations continue, the focus on goods rather than services and service provision can’t be ignored. The UK labour market is a major contributor to the national economy to the tune of £35 billion and its role can’t be underestimated.

Recruitment software is crucial to the effective management of employment services and to a large extent the scope and sophistication of the chosen recruiting platform will impact the success of any recruitment strategy, whether an in-house process or a recruitment agency one.

When choosing a recruitment software system, a key question must be to ensure that it will meet the needs of the organisation now, and in the future. Staffing software cannot stand still, any more than society can and yet the counterbalancing consideration has to be the certainty that any chosen system can be easily introduced and utilised by any team member without requiring complex and time-consuming training.

Staffing software for sophisticated recruitment processes

As an example, the current regulatory update in the Malaysian banking and financial service sectors has led to a substantial increase in demand for candidates with key expertise in data and analytics – an area in which the sector has been found to be weaker than other Asian financial markets. As a result, finding key candidates to fill functions in compliance, digital marketing, procurement and legal services has caused intensive recruitment activities in the country. The roll-over impact is that recruitment ‘churn’ across the region has increased, in an already frantic quarter for the financial services industry.

For those seeking to manage recruitment services in this turbulent situation, a cloud recruitment software solution would offer 24 hour access – vital when potential candidates may be working in any area of the globe. In addition, an applicant tracking system that drills down to focus tightly on  specific features of a financial services curriculum vitae will be essential if timely assessment of candidate profiles is to be undertaken cost-effectively.

Like many other financial sectors, Malaysia is diversifying rapidly to included construction and property alongside traditional investment portfolios. Finding candidates with strong management skills requires pinpoint accuracy of any recruitment database, whilst well-developed online recruitment software will permit comparison of candidates with geographic or educationally diverse backgrounds. In such circumstances, the requirements placed on any recruitment system have to balance ease of use and power of function.

The UK, Brexit and recruitment

There is little doubt that over the next couple of years – whoever leads the Brexit negotiations – the UK’s financial services sector, along with many others, will see a similar degree of regulatory change. As a result, those working in the recruitment industry in the UK will require staffing software that keeps pace with the rapid changes we can expect in every area of employment.