HR Recruitment Management Software: Making Employee Headhunting Easy

What has HR recruitment management software got to do with employee headhunting? What advantages and disadvantages can arise from the use of headhunting software? Well, you will find the answers you seek below.

Recruitment takes a lot of time and cost a lot while the process is being carried out. Not only just the process but the strategy making behind it also has to be taken care of. No one knows how much the process will cost, but the fact that it is the most time taking and resource-utilizing concept. So as a smart entrepreneur and manager, you know deep down in you that the cost and the time have to be saved.

While many companies still work with manual recruitment processes, and some work with the help of headhunters, the many wise companies left use the recruitment software technology.

What is the HR recruitment management software?

Recruitment management software is a kind of an application made for a company tailored to the needs of recruiting different candidates for different jobs. The criteria for the vacancy advertised is defined in the software databases along with the standards of the job for which the process is turned on. Not only that, the recruitment software also helps in short listing the CV database it build up automatically when the CV’s start arriving in emails or on the website of the company.

Advantages of Using a HR Recruitment Management Software

The best thing about this software is that it saves the cost of manual screening process and the CV database can also be used again and again for different jobs of the same credentials and caliber later in future if the need arises.

Disadvantages of using HR recruitment management software

The worst thing however about this is that, the software is digital; and it does not have the brains to tell red from white apart. Some candidates may have designed their CV’s in such a format that may not be acceptable by the software because it has already been fed with requirements in a different format. The software may then make blunders and sometimes leave such CV’s behind that may be more competent than others it selects.

To avoid this, the best way is to use the facility of the software with the different recruiting agencies and the headhunters. That is how many companies save cost nowadays. They do not even have to get software made for this purpose. All they need to do is call in good and quality service providing headhunters and such service providers just charge up a fee for the recruitment services. No one has to take the tension of short listing at all which is a huge time taking activity even through software.

A word of caution when choosing Headhunting Firms

Online, many tips and tricks are available to get access to the job headhunters but always make sure that the headhunters are reliable. Many headhunting and recruitment agencies promise to provide best quality services for your company, but actually they have no intentions to do so. While looking for head hunting agencies, make sure that the company is very well known and the other companies have taken out their facility of services. This way, you will be able to hire a good and reliable company whatsoever. Find out the cost of services as well from many headhunters and by comparing, you can find out which one will be affordable in budget for your company.

About the Author: This guest post is written by Muhammad Azam. He is a professional having experience in human resource management, technology and IT industry. He has written several posts on recruitment agency software, HRM, recruitment and selection tips, etc. He also writes for http://recruitid.com.

HR Support Services for Small Businesses: Let’s talk about Stress

Stress is a word that probably most people use on a daily basis to describe a number of issues – ‘I can’t decide what car to buy’, ‘my flights have just been cancelled, ‘I don’t have enough hours in the day’, ‘I’m going to have to work all night to finish this work’, etc. But clearly, we will all have opinions on just how ‘stressful’ the above situations are. Likewise, everyone has a different capacity when dealing with stress and as a result the word itself is often used indiscriminately and not taken very seriously.

We are all guilty of overusing the word and in some cases it can become a competition – ‘who is the most stressed, who has the biggest workload and who copes the best’. This may just be perceived as workplace banter but for some employees the word stress will have a very different meaning.

According to studies, 1 in 6 people in the UK are suffering from depression, anxiety or stress, the cost to the UK for dealing with such conditions is £26 billion each year with an estimated loss of 70 million working days.

Despite these huge numbers, such conditions are often swept aside or ignored, often because employers are uncomfortable with dealing with them. Likewise, because of the overuse of the word stress, people often don’t take such complaints seriously. Ever heard or even used the phrase ‘oh stress is just the new back pain’?

Also consider if you have ever mentioned to a colleague or a friend that you are feeling stressed at work. Was their reaction ‘ok let’s talk about this’ or perhaps more likely they simply proceeded to tell you about ‘their stress’? Imagine for someone who is genuinely feeling overwhelmed, how this may affect them? It’s likely to make them feel worthless for not being able to cope and, more worryingly, to decide not to open up again.

Whilst stress can happen in any role in any workplace to anyone (it doesn’t discriminate) there is no doubt that sales environments can be highly stressful. With continual targets, competition, the need to be the best, continual improvements, changing markets etc. it’s not for the faint hearted.

And of course it’s important to remember that stress itself isn’t always a negative. For many people, the pressures provide a healthy level of stress that drives them forward. But for others, stress is far from positive.

HR Support Services for Small Businesses and How to Deal with Stress

It’s important we don’t assume that if people can’t deal with the stress of work, then they are just in the wrong job; after all stress can strike at any time, including after many previous successful years. This will often be due to other influences occurring in someone’s life, perhaps family or personal problems that just tips the balance and leaves them unable to cope where they may have previously thrived.

In these instances, employees can often feel embarrassed and they will try to cover up their issue and not discuss it with anyone, occasionally they may be successful in overcoming the problem on their own, but unfortunately this is often not the case.

If you have experienced such a bad experience of stress, either in the short or long term; then you will know that it can have terrible effects. It can result in loss of self-confidence, risks to your health, poor sleeping, relationship breakdowns and an inability to function effectively on a day to day basis. This is not the same as when you have a bad day, but rather a continual feeling of dread and worry that without help and treatment can lead to devastating outcomes.

So what can employees and employers do to avoid stress and manage it when it does occur?

Firstly, it’s important for employers to train their managers effectively in people management skills. They need to be able to manage their employee’s workloads, ensure they are adequately trained and that goals are realistic and achievable. This doesn’t mean employees cannot be stretched but they must have the tools and means to achieve success; as there is no benefit to either party for an outcome to be failure.

In addition to the above, employers must train managers to recognise the signs of stress and how best to manage it. Employees are often reluctant to seek help when stressed because they feel they will be treated differently or that their job will be at risk. Therefore, they must be reassured so that they can move forward. For some, this may be to consider workplace counselling, coaching and to review their workloads. Managers can then put in place changes to workload where required and support and training needed to help the employee back on track. Solutions don’t need to be expensive; often it’s a simple case of a manager providing hands on support.

HR support is equally essential to the success of managing stress. This will be to fully support managers and ensure appropriate policies are in place to deal with these issues. Likewise, where in some cases it isn’t possible for the employee to continue to work in their current role, HR can advise all parties of the options available to them.

For employees, it’s important that you look at how you are managing your time and if improvements can be made, take regular breaks and ask for support when needed.

Where things become of concern, you should talk to a trusted friend or colleague and confide in your manager or HR should things become too much. Of course for anyone that feels they are suffering from stress, depression or anxiety and they don’t feel able to talk to friends or colleagues; it is important that they speak to their GP, who can offer support and treatment options. It’s also important to remember you are not alone and help is available to help you manage this difficult time.

This is a guest post by Heidi Thompson, HR Consultant at Workplace Law. Visit for HR support and training in managing employment relations.

The ABC of Outsourcing: Business Process, HR, IT, Recruitment, Call Center

1. Introduction to Outsourcing

Outsourcing: Why and How to Outsource Your Business

The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Manpower Recruitment Process

In the business world, the term “outsourcing” could mean extra savings on manpower but for some, this new business strategy is a way to take away jobs from Americans. However, the truth about outsourcing is that it can help a business to simplify efficient operations. In one way or another, most business establishments today utilize outsourcing. Whether it’s for their factory, data processing or even maintenance; outsourcing is a practical option. The process of outsourcing is one of the most viable business models today. Business establishments that employ recruitment process outsourcing have reaped the benefits of savings while boosting the quality of their production and operations.

The main concept supporting the business model for the outsourcing process is very easy to understand. You just need to recruit a well-established firm that focuses on recruitment and monitoring applicants to deal with all your manpower needs. This type of outsourcing is not an entire alternative for your whole human resources department. This is another opportunity to boost the quality of your productions. Whereas your human resource department could deal on corporate rules compliance and developing the skills and knowledge of your staff, an outside company to handle your recruitment can focus on searching for qualified people to be part of your company according to your standards.

With the help of recruitment process outsourcing, you can tap a larger pool of talents for your manpower needs. You just need to specify your standards and requirements for the manpower you need; and leave the rest with the recruitment agency to search for those qualified people and make them a suitable choice for your company’s preferences. By getting the services of a recruitment outsourcing company, there is no need to deal with long queues of applicants, creating a database or file system for resumes and conducting hiring interviews. These significant stages of the recruitment process will be handled by the recruitment outsourcing company you have chosen.

A different perspective to view recruitment outsourcing is to consider it as a practical way to tap your company’s accessibility for a wider reach. Your business may need talents with special trainings and experience that could not be hired through usual hiring process. But with an extensive process from recruitment agencies, you can have an easy access to wider source of potential talents from varied backgrounds.

There are varied payment schemes to hire a recruitment outsourcing company that will be based on which kind of talents your business needs. There are recruitment firms that will charge you for every successful hire completed or you can pay for a package when you need a large pool of talents.

Searching for your manpower needs through recruitment process outsourcing will provide you the opportunity to work with competent people who can meet your business goals. This can help you to increase your sales profit and save on money that could be wasted by spending long hours performing extensive recruitment process. A recruitment agency can provide you with the manpower for your business to keep you strong and powerful in today’s stiff competition.

6 Disadvantages of HR Outsourcing for Small Businesses

Every experienced entrepreneur or business man knows that whenever a business gains something new, it loses something in exchange of that.

All entrepreneurs know that everything has its disadvantages and running a business is a matter of weighing the combination of all the advantages and disadvantages that every business strategy has; and HR outsourcing is of course not an exception to that. So it’s my aim to use this article to highlight the downsides of outsourcing HR. Below are disadvantages of HR outsourcing.

6 Disadvantages of HR Outsourcing for Small Businesses

1. One of the foremost possible disadvantages that can be brought about by HR outsourcing is that it can reduce the efficiency of a given division, at least for a while until the newly outsourced employees have successfully adapted to the work environment.

This isn’t to say that the only way to deal with this disadvantage by letting time pass by until the new employees have finally adapted. The management can provide support teams through the old employees of the company or by providing written instruction about the work environment in order to hasten the adaptation period of the employees.

2. HR outsourcing also requires the maintenance of a good standing between the business and the agency that provides the human resources. Although highly damaging conflicts between the businesses and providers seldom happen in reality, this isn’t really the issue.

3. HR outsourcing also requires additional tasks in maintaining external relations with other companies in order to get more favorable trades between the two entities.

4. HR outsourcing can also affect the aggregate learning curve of the employees; that is the sum of all the respective learning curves of each employee in a given sector of the business. Since, as it has been stated on the first disadvantage, that newly employed human resources aren’t familiar yet with how things work in the given business, more learning are still required, thus, the progress of efficiently improving each tasks has been held back.

5. The previous disadvantage also leads to another, which is the possibility of impairing the formation of a highly integrated and efficient working process. Since learning and practice come hand in hand in businesses, when the aggregate learning curve of the employees are being held back, the creation of an efficient integrated process will also be held back.

There are two possible ways to deal with this disadvantage. The entity may either provide additional training for the new employees through mentorship or written instruction, as provided earlier, or the business may also require the HR outsourcing agency that they provide a set of sufficiently experienced employees.

6. Lastly, because of the easy process of adjusting the level of employment through HR outsourcing, the morale of the employees are definitely impaired. This impairment in the morale will be manifested in the work performance of the employees, because humans undeniable require a moral booster in order to bring them at an optimal level of performance.

However, because of the insecurity in their jobs caused by the easy process of lay-off provided by HR outsourcing, the chances of damaging the employees’ morale are very high. This, so far, can only be dealt generally by the employee himself.

10 Procedures to follow in HR Outsourcing

In order to successfully choose from which agency your human resources will be outsourced, it is very important that you find out just the right amount of information to aid you in deciding this. In fact, after enough investigation, you could probably end up deciding that HR outsourcing is not necessary for your business.

The first thing that must be done in deciding whether to outsource your human resources or not; is to investigate the basic concept HR outsourcing. Simply put, HR outsourcing simply involves getting your human resources from a third party agency. After knowing what it is, the next step to do is to determine whether the outsourcing of human resources will actually help the objectives of your business or not. As for most businesses, the main objective is to make profit for its owners. Outsourcing human resources are very likely to contribute to this objective. However, it should still be noted that minimizing costs isn’t always the better end of the deal when compared to improving human resources, which could multiply the revenue twice or even thrice.

It is important to analyze the cost of HR outsourcing, the possible opportunity costs and the cost of any failure caused by the newly outsourced employees. Since the newly outsourced employees are not yet familiar with the work processes of the business, chances are likely that they would commit mistakes as they do the job. The cost and the losses that can be triggered by such mistakes should be carefully considered and the returns of outsourcing should always be greater than the losses it may cause. Also, instead of entering into an outsourcing contract, the business may just simply lay off some of its employees and keep the ones that performing well in order to cut costs.

After analyzing the costs and weighing the effects of HR outsourcing when compared to increasing the expenditure for human resources, the business may now then look for possible providers of human resources. When looking for potential partners in this business, there are three factors that must be examined aside from the cost of the contract.

The first factor to be considered is the decision rights regarding the employees between the business and the provider. The most important aspect of this factor is the degree of control that the business has over the level of employees. The business should be free to increase and decrease the level of employment, provided that it is not iniquitous. If the contract does not include this or a variation of this in the stipulation, it would be better to find another provider.

Next is the contract length between the HR outsourcing company and the entrepreneur/business owner. The favor of this factor would vary, depending on the requirement of the business itself. The length of the contract would of course be followed by the termination date and the possibility of the renewal of the contract. The renewal of the outsourcing contract should of course be determined by the discretion of the business, and not of the agency.

3 Critical Things to Avoid in HR Outsourcing for Small Businesses

While HR outsourcing really has its own undeniable benefits to any business that would want to employ it, there are still things that every business must be cautious about; if they were to adapt this way of using human resources.

1. Never outsource the human resources to be employed in the management.

Running a business is like running an army; having your men managed by someone from the outside is a risk. There are two major risks that you will face if you used HR outsourcing for your management division.

One is the possibility of that business management team leaking inside and confidential information into the agency or to other competitors which could spell disaster. This is very important if a business is on a tough competition where the deciding factor is innovativeness. Remember, if your management team came from an HR outsourcing agency, they could leak the information regarding your prototypes where your competitors would copy it and announce it to public before your company does which is bad for your reputation, as it will make your company the one that has copied the concept.

Another risk is the more common one and could be present in any business regardless of its size. When the management has been taken from a HR outsourcing company, chances are likely that the management isn’t familiar with how the business works; which could lead to very bad decisions – and there is no question to how risky this could be.

2. Though one of the greatest advantages of HR outsourcing is cost reduction, it is important to remember that cost reduction isn’t everything in a business. While it is true that by cutting your expenses, your business will bring you more profit, the effect of cost reduction in your business’ profitability is still much less when compared to the effect of improving your human resources which could increase the revenue itself.

Take for example the simple formula of Profit = Revenue – Human Resource Expenses – Other Operating Expenses. If you would decrease your Human Resource Expenses through HR outsourcing, your Profit would increase because there would be much more to remain from the revenue. However, if you increase the Human Resource Expenses by training your employees instead of outsourcing them, the quality of the performance of your human resources could multiply the revenue of even up to three times; which can make the business much more profitable compared to increase by HR outsourcing.

3. HR outsourcing is not even a band-aid solution to any problem. Cost reduction is the main advantage of HR outsourcing and cost reduction isn’t a problem after all, especially when it is necessary to multiply your revenue. But in cases where real problems for the business arise, such as when there is a lock-out of employees, don’t ever think that outsourcing for new human resources is the best solution. Because if you just let down your employees and hired new ones, it will make your business seem very inconsiderate to its employees thereby damaging the good reputation of your business.

As a final note, it’s important you note that every advantage has its corresponding disadvantage. So tread with caution when outsourcing your human resource management.

A Basic Guide to HR Outsourcing for Young Entrepreneurs

HR outsourcing can bring significant effects in increasing the flexibility of your human resources; thereby reducing the overall operating expenses of your business, which will of course lead to more profit and an increase in the overall profitability of your business. Before you dive right into the pool and go into HR outsourcing for your business, it is essential that you learn some basic guidelines to remember in order for you to utilize HR outsourcing to its fullest.

There are so many advantage that HR outsourcing can bring you. As mentioned earlier, it can increase the flexibility of your human resources. HR outsourcing does this by making the process of increasing or decreasing the level of employees that your business will need in the different phases of the business cycle. Instead of going through several phases before adjusting the level of your employees, a streamlined coordination with the agency that provided these employees will hasten the process.

The decrement of your business’ employment level can be streamlined by outsourcing your human resources, adjusting the level of your employment can also be increased by human resources outsourcing. Third party agencies that provide human resources can immediately bring you sufficiently trained employees for the different areas of you business.

However, it is not recommended that you always get your human resources outsourced, because the employees trained under human resource outsourcing agencies are mostly trained for jobs that can be generally found in almost all kinds of businesses, whether it be a manufacturing, merchandising, or service rendering business.

Always remember that every business, regardless of what kind of business it does, has its own uniqueness that makes a worthy part of the competitive market. This uniqueness lies in the kind of product that it manufactures; the variety of merchandise that it offers, or the way that it renders its services. This is the aspect of the business that must never be outsourced. Any business should not just outsource the human resources required in doing the main operation of that business. It is much more recommended that the employees to be hired for this job go through the HR department of the business for a closer scanning of all the applicants. This is to ensure the quality of the business that will make it stand out from the rest of the competition. HR outsourcing is only recommended for those jobs that serve a general purpose such as the accommodation of orders, the safeguarding of the stocks, or the maintenance group.

In case that you would still want to consider outsourcing the human resources for the main operation of your business, it is still then advised that these newly hired employees undergo the same training taken by those who were not outsourced, with the reduction of the basic skills of course. For example, an electronic repair business that has outsourced additional technician need not to let these new employees take the training for basic skills such as soldering, all that they have to be trained on is how those aspects of the repair business that makes it a unique repair business – if there is any. As a final note, these are the basic tips you need to know before outsourcing your human resources or man power.

An Overview of HR Outsourcing in Business (Human Resources Management)

The trend in the business world is now getting more and more into a more flexible way of dealing with the market. Instead of continuously producing products which lead to an additional expense because of the carrying costs of the surplus in their products, businesses are now beginning to shift their ways into producing more or producing less depending on the demand for their product.

The same principle is also now beginning to be applied on the service rendering sector. This shift in the trends can be clearly evidenced by the use of new inventory systems such as the Just-In-Time (JIT) system and the two-bin system. Both of these have led to a successful reduction in the costs incurred by the businesses employing them. Now, this trend in inventory has also made its way in the other areas of a business particularly in the area of human resources, and in the business, we call it “HR outsourcing.”

As its name implies, HR outsourcing involves the getting of human resources from outside third party sources. Whether your business is involved in manufacturing, merchandising, or service rendering, there would be agencies in your country that can provide your specified need for HR outsourcing.

By outsourcing your human resources, your business will now be able to focus more on the main line of business. Take for example when your business has the manufacturing of baskets as its main revenue-generating operation. However, this business not only requires the manufacturing of baskets and then selling them, your business may also require taking orders in bulk, custom-tailored baskets, and the distribution of these baskets on retailers and consignees.

This aspect of the business doesn’t require your training and HR management anymore; you can hire the employees needed for this job from an HR outsourcing agency. By doing that, the additional expenditures that you could have used in hiring new employees such as screening, training, and interviewing them, will now be used on improving the quality of your employees in the main operation which is the manufacturing of the baskets.

HR outsourcing, like the JIT system, can also be very beneficial in increasing the flexibility of your business against the constantly changing – whether projected or sudden – demand for your business. For example, your business is a catering service where function rooms could be involved and you accommodate un-booked arrival in the function rooms. This mode of business requires the preparation for waiters that are waiting in line to accommodate new guests. Based on the past records of the business, the demand for un-booked arrival of visitors have a huge decline during June to October so having many waiters waiting in line will only cost you more without having any returns. If you have employed these waiters through an HR outsourcing agency, you can temporarily lay them off back to the agency and have them back again by the time that the expected increase in demand has come. Such a flexibility in demand and reduction in costs can be obtained through HR outsourcing.

How to Start a Business with No Money

Your Hand Guide to Starting your Own Successful Business

Blog Archives

HR Recruitment Management Software: Making Employee Headhunting Easy

What is the HR recruitment management software?

Advantages of Using a HR Recruitment Management Software

Disadvantages of using HR recruitment management software

A word of caution when choosing Headhunting Firms

HR Support Services for Small Businesses: Let’s talk about Stress

HR Support Services for Small Businesses and How to Deal with Stress

So what can employees and employers do to avoid stress and manage it when it does occur?

The ABC of Outsourcing: Business Process, HR, IT, Recruitment, Call Center

1. Introduction to Outsourcing

2. Business Process Outsourcing

3. Offshore Outsourcing

4. Payroll Outsourcing

5. IT Outsourcing

6. HR Outsourcing

7. Call Center Outsourcing

8. Recruitment Process Outsourcing

9. Data Entry Outsourcing

10. Accounting/Bookkeeping Outsourcing

The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Manpower Recruitment Process

6 Disadvantages of HR Outsourcing for Small Businesses

6 Disadvantages of HR Outsourcing for Small Businesses

10 Procedures to follow in HR Outsourcing

3 Critical Things to Avoid in HR Outsourcing for Small Businesses

1. Never outsource the human resources to be employed in the management.

A Basic Guide to HR Outsourcing for Young Entrepreneurs

An Overview of HR Outsourcing in Business (Human Resources Management)