Top 10 Recruitment Software and Tools for 2020

Last Updated: March 11, 2021

RecruitmentOpens a new window software platforms automate the hiring process, helping you to save time and improve candidate experience. And as the demand for cutting-edge recruitment technology rises, there are several software options to choose from. In this article, we look at the ten best recruitment software and tools and features to look out for.

Table of Contents

What Is Recruitment Software Technology?

Recruitment technology is defined as a set of tools used to automate the hiring process, connecting with a variety of data sources to access the best quality candidates. It performs key functions such as screening applicants, streamlining follow-ups, and providing data on the efficiency of your recruitment model.

Over the last few years, the demand for recruitment software and tools has shot up dramatically as the labor market becomes fiercer and more complicated. Companies are eager to hire highly skilled workers and drive business innovation, even as the average tenure per employee continues to dip. In fact, global market research company Fortune Business Insights finds that the recruitment software market will cross $3,000 million by 2025.

Interestingly, recruitment doesnt always need to be a technology-driven process. However, if youre looking for high-quality talent that makes an excellent culture fit, especially during a rapid growth phase, you will require recruitment software to achieve the right level of efficiency.

Recruitment software doesnt just help you complete the formalities around hiring a candidate. It automates the entire recruitment pipeline right from candidate sourcing and engagement to the final step of onboarding. Thats why it has become a staple for the modern HR toolkitOpens a new window .

Four Features of Recruitment Software That Should Be on Your Checklist

Given the highly crowded nature of the recruitment software marketplace, how do you go about choosing one best suited to your enterprise? Are you aware of all the must-have features in any recruitment platform, and future trends in this space?

Here are a few key features that your recruitment software and tools should be able to perform:

1. Plugging into a variety of data sources

The recruitment tool of your choice should be able to integrate with the highest possible number of data sources, including social media, email, job boards, third-party staffing platforms, and several other talent sourcingOpens a new window areas. It should also come with the requisite sort-and-filter capabilities to help find the right talent.

2. Deploying recruitment marketing initiatives

Today, attracting and retaining candidates closely resembles the process of attracting and retaining consumers. Thats why it is a recruitment best practice to approach the hiring process as a sales and marketing campaign.

Remember to check if a recruitment software supports email automation, job ads publishing, video communication, candidate relationship managementOpens a new window (CRM), and in-app messaging to engage with applicants across the entire hiring journey.

3. Shortlisting candidate profiles

With so many recommendations and leads flowing in from multiple sources, it could be challenging to arrive at an actionable list of candidates and this is particularly true for bulk-hiring campaigns.

Recruitment software should be able to build a searchable database of applicants, perform level-one resume screening, enable multi-channel communication within the platform, and aid your end-to-end selection process.

4. Revealing insights into recruitment efficiency

This is one of the most significant advantages of using an analytics-driven recruitment software versus legacy manual processes. The tool should be able to gather data across the recruitment pipeline to extract useful insights, such as which sourcing strategy is performing the best, whether your time/cost-to-hire is sustainable, and key pain points in the candidate experienceOpens a new window .

Over time, this feature will ensure your recruitment function becomes smarter, more effective, and ready to stand out in a competitive hiring arena.

Now that weve looked at the core features of recruitment software, let’s turn the spotlight on some of the most prominent players in this space and a few disruptors that are making game-changing strides in recruitment software technology.

Learn More: Candidate Screening and Selection Process: The Complete Guide for 2020Opens a new window

The Best Recruitment Software and Tools for 2020

As technology evolves in leaps and bounds, powerful software and cutting-edge innovation arent limited to large enterprises anymore. For example, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has made it possible to deploy recruitment tools on a pay-per-use model, scaling up or down as necessary. APIs also enable easier integrations without any complex back-end development.

The best recruitment software to set you up for 2020 and beyond
Fig 1. The best recruitment software to set you up for 2020 and beyond

1. Ascendify: With the power of predictive intelligence

Ascendify is a talent acquisition software that is powered by state-of-the-art predictive analytics, which lets you build deeper relationships with candidates. Further, the recruitment tools machine learning capabilities make it incrementally more useful with every hiring cycle. This is in addition to recruitment software staples such as career sites, employee referrals, an ATS, and easy employee onboarding.

Two features deserve special mention when it comes to Ascendify. First, the new Ascendify Aspire, which uses AI to chart a career progression path for internal talent management. Second, built-in diversity compliance at the talent sourcing stage, which can help you meet your diversity hiringOpens a new window goals. For hiring at the enterprise level, Ascendify may prove a suitable software to meet your needs.

2. ADP Workforce Now Recruitment: Enterprise-grade talent management

ADP is an HR technology giant, and the companys Workforce Now suite covers a host of task management features, including recruitment. This recruitment tool has a comprehensive job posting feature (career website, videos, emails, social media, etc.) in addition to an automated candidate review process. It also generates time-to-hire and cost-to-hire reports, so that youre always updated about the performance of the recruitment pipeline.

ADPs recruitment software is available as part of its 360-degree HR offering therefore, it is natively integrated with workforce management, performance reviews, and compensation planning platforms.

3. Freshteam: Blends into your business software suite

Freshteam is an HR and recruitment tool by Freshworks, a company that provides a range of business solutions to small and mid-sized enterprises. Freshteam includes hiring, onboarding, and employee data management all within a single platform.

Importantly, Freshteam is meant to be a one-stop answer to your everyday HR requirements. It comes with a centralized dashboard for employee time & attendance, a dedicated hiring module, and an organizational chart. Freshteams built-in ATS makes job posting, hiring team setup, and information gathering a breeze, with a set of powerful customizations. Also, its onboarding module automates key activities such as follow-ups and document sharing to speed up time-to-hire.

Freshteams website reveals that SMBs around the globe use its recruitment software in areas as diverse as pharmaceuticals, media, and technology.

4. happierHire by happierWork: Cloud-based recruitment for small businesses

The most impressive thing about the happierHire recruitment tool is probably its sheer simplicity. It plugs into social recruitment touchpoints to expand your applicant base, its auto-extraction algorithm helps to upload and sort resumes in bulk, and there is a happierBOT to keep track of the tasks involved in the recruitment process.

Like a lot of tools on this list, happierHire includes a built-in ATS to simplify the candidate experience and integrates with a variety of sourcing platforms.

What makes happierHire a suitable tool for SMBs is probably its attractive price point as well as a suite of optional add-ons like workflow automation, intranet, compensation, and compliance designed for greater flexibility for small businesses.

5. JazzHR: A recruitment software with seamless integrations

What jumps out at first glance with this recruitment software option is its endless list of integrations, supported by a robust network of partners. From internal systems like human resource information systems (HRIS)Opens a new window , time and attendance, and scheduling tools to third-party software for background checks, candidate assessment, and tax compliance, JazzHR appears to have it all.

This recruitment tool includes a built-in ATS, in-app collaboration to quickly gather ideas from your hiring team, as well as a dedicated offer management module. Finally, JazzHR enables custom reporting to help build a data-driven recruitmentOpens a new window function.

Learn More: Top 10 Employee Recruitment Strategies to Hire the Best TalentOpens a new window

6. Jobvite: A candidate-focused recruiting tool

Jobvite places the candidate experience squarely at the center of the recruitment process. You can expect a plethora of marketing capabilities, such as recruitment branding and mobile-optimized career websites. Theres also an easy-to-navigate applicant tracking system (ATS)Opens a new window , social media recruitingOpens a new window capabilities, an onboarding module, and integrations with other HR systems.

Thanks to the HR softwares integration capabilities, you can access detailed insights on hiring performance and how it is impacting your overall workforce management. Its no surprise then that leading companies such as Schneider Electric recruit using Jobvite.

7. Workday Recruiting: End-to-end recruitment and HR software

Workday is another industry leader when it comes to recruitment software and tool providers and is suitable for enterprise-level, large-scale hiring requirements. Workday Recruiting is implemented as part of its expansive HR solutions suite, delivering seamless experiences to every stakeholder involved. Workflow automation, analytics dashboards, branded career sites, social support, and in-app scheduling are only some of the features that make Workday a flagship recruitment software.

We are particularly drawn to the tools ability to manage referrals. With referrals and internal hiring taking center stage in the modern talent pipelineOpens a new window , features such as pan-organization endorsement, referral leaderboards, and recommendation gathering will be pretty useful for recruiters.

8. SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting and Onboarding: A top choice for mid-to-large-sized companies

When it comes to recruitment software tools, SAPs SuccessFactors has always been a standout offering. Gartner Peer insights named it a top customer choice in 2018, and SAP continues to rule the market as we move into 2020.

SuccessFactors is deployed entirely on the cloud, and its biggest USP is probably the overall capabilities of SAPs HR suite. The solution is designed for superior experience quality across the employee journey, including the recruitment stage. Candidates hired via SuccessFactors display a 32% lower turnover on average, claims the SAP website.

Learn More: The Rise of the Corporate Recruiter: Job Description, Salary Expectations, and Key Skills for 2020Opens a new window

9. SmartRecruiters: Recruitment powered by artificial intelligence (AI)

This recruitment software provider is responsible for what it calls the industrys first AI-powered recruiting service. Called SmartAssistant, the companys AI engine guides you across the hiring process, starting from applicant screening to selection and engagement.

For instance, the screening process is automatically based on AI-scored candidate matches. SmartRecruiters also recommends a new role if a particularly talented applicant comes your way. And in case theres no available vacancy for an applicant, the tool will automatically share other relevant positions that the applicant may be suited for.

In addition to the core AI engine, this recruitment software covers all the bases, including cloud-based hosting, recruitment analyticsOpens a new window , recruitment marketing, and mobile support.

10. Zoho Recruit: An excellent option for fast-growing businesses

Zoho offers a range of business solutions designed primarily for customer-facing companies. The companys recruitment software is ideal for fast-growing SMBs, as it can be deployed either as a standalone tool or integrated with the Zoho family of solutions.

Zoho Recruit lets you create customized career pages and employee referral portals, guiding the entire hiring process from screening and interviewing to the final offer and hiring stage. Nifty features such as prescreening assessments, resume management, and e-signature verification help Zoho to stand out as a premier choice in the SMB segment.

Importantly, you can consider Zoho for the full range of recruitment needs: whether youre recruiting permanent employees, temporary workers, or operating as a staffing agency.

Learn More: Top 10 Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Software for 2020Opens a new window

Need More Capabilities? Adopt These Cutting-edge Recruitment Software Innovations

We have just touched the tip of the iceberg. Apart from the big players and industry disruptors listed here, several recruitment software companies cater to specific opportunities and use cases. Here are a few examples of tools that might prove useful:

  • Bias-free and engagement-focused job posts: If youre looking to write a job post that resonates with a broad candidate pool, use Textio Hire it checks for gender tonality, predicts hiring outcomes, and writes posts faster using automation.
  • AI-enabled video interviews: HireVues AI technology makes it simpler to assess talent, schedule interviews, and extract from insights from video interviews. Leverage HireVue to gain AI-driven improvements in your recruitment pipeline.
  • A vast social job board: If youre looking to reach the maximum number of candidates with minimal investments, LinkedIn Talent should be your go-to option. Promote your job ads, find personalized recommendations, and manage your candidates using this social recruitment platform.
  • Advanced behavioral insights: Pymetrics brings a unique AI algorithm thats trained with data from best-performing talent, helping to find best-fit candidates for any role. Use Pymetrics ethical AI to prevent recruitment bias and collect accurate behavioral data.

Learn More: How to become a smart recruitment specialist in 2020Opens a new window

Choosing Wisely in a Crowded Digital Marketplace

This was our roundup of the most promising recruitment software and tools that should be on your radar for 2020. Remember, this is a dynamic, rapidly evolving landscape with new market entrants gaining ground every day.

So, do your research (what are the pros and cons?), assess your requirements (end-to-end suite, standalone recruitment, or a single pain point?), and always deploy a SaaS-powered trial software before investing to make sure the value you get is in- sync with your investment.

Is our 2020 roundup missing any important recruitment tools? Tell us on TwitterOpens a new window , FacebookOpens a new window , or LinkedInOpens a new window . We would love your contributions for our article!

Chiradeep BasuMallick
Chiradeep is a content marketing professional, a startup incubator, and a tech journalism specialist. He has over 11 years of experience in mainline advertising, marketing communications, corporate communications, and content marketing. He has worked with a number of global majors and Indian MNCs, and currently manages his content marketing startup based out of Kolkata, India. He writes extensively on areas such as IT, BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, and financial analysis & stock markets. He studied literature, has a degree in public relations and is an independent contributor for several leading publications.
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