Key Takeaways
- A vendor management system (VMS) recruitment communication platform transforms chaotic staffing practices, freeing hiring managers from email overload and wasted time.
- A centralized communication platform organizes feedback and eliminates redundant questions, creating a recruitment communication hub for hiring teams.
- By structuring communication, a VMS recruiting system builds stronger recruiter relationships and enhances transparency throughout the hiring process.
- While preserving the human element, Aquent Scout VMS empowers hiring managers with control and efficiency, leading to faster and more confident hiring decisions.
For years, traditional staffing relied on old-school communication methods. Spontaneous phone calls and one-off emails were the norm for job description updates, candidate feedback, and follow-up questions. It's not hard to envision the overwhelmed hiring manager drowning in calls and emails.
While there's a time and a place for a phone call, centralized communication platforms are essential for talent acquisition specialists to regain control of their time and resources. Centralized communication platforms standardize and organize these communications within a central hub. This eliminates the onrush of calls and emails, giving hiring managers breathing room to communicate on their schedule. The efficiency and time-management gains can result in quicker, more confident hiring decisions.
The pitfalls of decentralized recruitment communication plans
Traditional recruitment communication methods include intake calls and emails, which often lack a standardized schedule or platform. Talent acquisition specialists often engage multiple professional recruiters simultaneously. They may even post their needs to a marketplace of hundreds of recruiting firms.
Managing these partnerships isn't easy. Different contracts, fee structures, and a lack of visibility into each firm's performance can overwhelm hiring managers. This not only slows decision-making but also increases overall hiring costs.
Wasting time repeating the same answers about the same roles to multiple recruiters? All those redundant calls and scattered emails can lead to information overload and burnout.
Staying on top of candidate feedback can seem impossible with all the back-and-forth communication between multiple staffing firms. On top of that, it can be difficult to form a strong relationship with recruiting firms when you're always chasing down the last email or being interrupted by phone calls.
The result is a communication free-for-all that creates distractions, inefficiencies, and decreased productivity.
How a centralized communication platform solves the problem
Stanch the surging flow of calls and emails by adopting a VMS with a centralized communication platform. A VMS is designed to optimize your recruiting process from start to finish, with communications features to help problem-solve for an overwhelmed talent acquisition specialist:
- Public Q&A for general job inquiries: Think of this as a mini-FAQ for hiring managers. This can eliminate one-off questions that often clog hiring managers' inboxes.
- Announcement boards for one-way updates: When referencing job descriptions, the same questions usually come up repeatedly from different recruiters. Hiring managers can share public announcements with a VMS that all recruiters can see.
- Private recruiter Q&A: A private thread makes the most sense for sensitive communications about candidate-specific questions. It helps to have these conversations hosted on a central hub in the VMS so talent acquisition specialists can choose when to respond and stay in control of their schedules.
Features like these streamline communication and eliminate redundancies. Centralized communication makes the hiring process more efficient, putting all the important information out there for recruiters without extra legwork for the talent acquisition specialist. Overall, it gives them more control over their time and inbox.
Why companies need a centralized communication platform
Without a centralized, structured approach to communication, it's easy for hiring managers to get overwhelmed. Here's how a centralized communication platform helps:
- Increased efficiency and time savings.
- Improved control over the staffing process.
- Reduced distractions and information overload.
- Enhanced collaboration and transparency.
If companies are reluctant to use the VMS communication platform, it's likely because they fear a shift in the human element of hiring. Yet, the goal of the VMS is to enhance, rather than replace, the human relationship. The VMS helps create guardrails around communications to prevent repetitive work, respect everyone's time, and find the best match for the open position.
A VMS may actually create a more successful hiring relationship. In one example, a one-person recruiting firm that signed on with Scout VMS instantly had visibility into open roles with a large financial company. The recruiter submitted candidates, got immediate feedback through the communication platform, and learned precisely what the firm needed for future open roles. The recruiter took the time to refine his candidate proposals and has now filled 30 roles with that company.
Scout VMS offers a solution for modern hiring
Aquent Scout is a smart VMS that creates a simple, effective way to streamline and organize recruitment communications. Scout simplifies multi-vendor recruitment challenges with a straightforward recruiting communication hub. This eliminates redundancies and improves time management. Plus, Aquent Scout is committed to maintaining recruiter relationships while making the process more manageable for talent acquisition leaders. Learn more about overcoming traditional staffing communication challenges with Aquent Scout VMS.
