Hiring can be complex and challenging, especially in a tough market. But what if you had a tool that could streamline the entire hiring process, cutting the time it takes to hire in half? This is where a candidate management system (CMS) comes in.
Below, we’ll explore what a CMS is and how businesses can use it to strengthen their hiring processes, improve the candidate experience, and hire more qualified candidates.
What is a candidate management system (CMS)?
A candidate management system, also known as candidate relationship management, assists recruiters and hiring managers in organizing and managing the recruitment process.
Providing a centralized location and a candidate database, a CMS helps track, evaluate, and communicate with candidates throughout the hiring cycle — from job posting and interview scheduling to getting offers accepted and onboarding new hires.
Benefits of using a candidate management system when hiring
There are various ways a CMS aligns the hiring process and greatly improves the candidate experience. Whether you need to optimize your screening process, foster easier communication, integrate with job boards, or enhance the overall candidate experience, a CMS allows you to do it all from one centralized place.
Centralized data management
Having quick access to organized data is essential for a seamless hiring process versus a chaotic one. From screening to assessments, having a centralized place to review in-depth candidate details will help you hire the best candidates at scale.
- In-depth applicant screening: Applicant screening ensures you only spend time on applicants who meet your specific requirements. Wizehire allows you to choose from our library of hand-picked screening questions or customize your own based on what you’re looking for.
Beyond education background, licenses, certifications, and work experience, you can also screen for job achievements, schedule availability, technical skills, and soft skills.
- DISC+ personality assessments: DISC+ and other personality assessments are a great way to determine if a candidate will be the right fit for your team and company culture. They allow you to quickly scan valuable personal insights that resumes simply can’t provide, filtering candidates more efficiently.
DISC is the industry’s number one personality assessment Wizehire uses to score people against four dimensions of behavior to know how decisive, interactive, stable, and cautious they are.
- Detailed candidate profiles: Centralized data management allows you to review each applicant’s resume, DISC profile, answers to screening questions, and more, all in one place. Without it, crucial candidate information could get lost or become difficult to locate, slowing down the recruitment process.
Wizehire provides in-depth reports and rankings on every candidate in your job dashboard to help you easily make better hiring decisions.
Easier communication and collaboration
A candidate management system facilitates seamless communication among hiring managers and potential candidates. At each stage of the talent acquisition process, each team member can leave notes, share feedback, or ask questions. With Wizehire’s secure messaging system, you can communicate with your candidates directly from your dashboard!
Better candidate experiences
First impressions matter, and the candidate’s experience is no exception. This applies to the initial application all the way to the final decision. All employers and hiring managers should look for ways to improve the candidate experience to boost their chances of getting their offers accepted — and to maintain a good business reputation.
Research finds that only 6% of employees feel their organization uses best-in-class recruitment processes and technology. A CMS with robust functionality like Wizehire allows hiring teams to enhance the candidate experience with personalized and timely messages regarding their application status.
Using automation also allows hiring teams to be more efficient. For instance, as soon as a candidate applies, the system can send them an immediate acknowledgement. You can also automatically schedule follow-ups, especially post-interview, ensuring candidates are never left hanging.
With 94.9% of job seekers valuing how an employer follows up on applications, a CMS’ automation capabilities can set your company up for success with a stellar candidate experience.
Enhanced candidate screening, tracking, and reporting
At the core of recruitment is understanding and evaluating candidate potential and ensuring a fit on both sides.
CMS automation features can automatically filter candidates by criteria you set, such as years of experience and education. With a CMS, you also have access to real-time tracking, letting you see exactly where a candidate is in the hiring process at any moment — whether it’s the initial screening, the interview stage, or offer negotiations.
A CMS also offers detailed metrics, providing in-depth insights into application sources, interview-to-hire ratios, and time to hire — which can help shape your recruitment strategies over time. This level of transparency empowers hiring teams to operate at a higher level and make better hiring decisions.
Integration with job boards
Being able to integrate with multiple job boards through your CMS is key for speed and efficiency. You no longer have to dedicate a team member to copy-pasting job ads into dozens of templates across individual platforms.
You can save hours of time and energy by creating one well-crafted job ad and sending it to multiple job boards at once. Not only does this save you time, but posting across a diverse range of boards puts your ad in front of a wider audience.
When you partner with Wizehire for all your hiring needs, you can upload your job ads to 100+ job boards with a single click, including Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, and many others.
Key features of candidate management systems
Now that we’ve covered their benefits, let’s take a look at some CMS features that hiring teams can leverage to bring in top talent.
Applicant tracking
A CMS paints a clear picture of where each candidate is in your recruitment pipeline. With applicant tracking system features like status updates, feedback, and categorization, you can effortlessly manage each candidate.
Wizehire offers additional features like unique candidate tags and filters that let you organize, sort, and prioritize candidates based on personality fit and screening question responses.
Interview scheduling
Interview scheduling just got a whole lot easier. With features like calendar integrations and automated notifications, a modern CMS helps you streamline this process, helping keep no-show rates low.
Wizehire offers three key features to ensure successful interviewing:
- Easy interview scheduling: Simply connect your calendar, set your timings, and let the system do the rest.
- Step-by-step interview guides: Ensure every crucial query is addressed at each phase.
- Secure messaging system: Send emails to your candidates and manage them from one secure, centralized dashboard.
Automated communication tools
Keeping candidates updated is more than a courtesy; it’s a recruitment best practice. Automated emails and personalized messages ensure consistent engagement. From acknowledging an application to initiating an interview, automation ensures timely and tailored communication throughout the hiring journey.
Reporting and analytics
Every candidate you recruit leaves behind a trail of data. Extracting and analyzing insights and trends from this can help you refine your recruitment strategies by telling you what works and what doesn’t.
Talent pool creation
Imagine having your own network of pre-vetted candidates at your fingertips every time you have a job opening. A CMS helps create exactly that: a talent pool of qualified job seekers who might not be right for your current open role, but could be great for a future opening! This drastically cuts down on the initial screening time when recruiting for future positions.
Choose Wizehire for an ideal candidate management system
In the world of recruitment software, it can feel overwhelming to decide which is best for your small business. And when running and growing a company, every minute counts.
Wizehire is built for busy small businesses. With user-friendly software and expert hiring coaches, you get the support you need every step of the way so you can focus on growing your business.
Find the right candidates with a faster, easier, more affordable way to hire: Get started with a Wizehire demo today.
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