“Words, Words, Words – I’m so sick of words – say one more word and I’ll scream!”. This is what a frustrated Eliza Doolittle told her very wordy but “little action”, would be lover. It was a great line in the famous Musical Comedy “My Fair Lady”. OK it was a few years ago but the description of the frustration is evergreen!
I would like to say the same about all the acronyms in the above title. I am ready to scream too. Each acronym there represents some stand-alone software, but if you do not have all of these acronyms, and more, in your current staffing software you have the wrong software. So, “enough already” with the redundant acronyms. Just say “Staffing Software” or Staffing “Agency Software”, or “Staffing Industry software” or any of their numerous combinations and you are going to be saying the same thing. If it is good staffing software it will also be a CRM, a CMS, an ATS, and an HR software, plus a lot more.
Let’s take a quick look at them starting with CRM or Client Relationship Management. What does that mean? First of all, it means creating and maintaining a file of every client, past and present, and also prospective clients. Files are updated at every change and contact from your sales department. to placement and accounting. Want to see what clients have not been contacted in the last 30, 60 or 90 days just specify the criteria and pull the report.
Does your sales or placement department have a new hire to match with some of your client’s needs? Just pull up the list of possibilities. Need to send a newsletter, email, or other communication to your prospects? Done. Active Clients? Ditto, Inactive clients? Ditto. Any good staffing software will give your company the means to interact with your client and prospect databases right from your screen
What about CMS or Content Management System. Staffing companies accumulate huge amounts of data (even small firms) and especially over time. With any good staffing software, all this data is stored and processed in the Cloud for greater security and performance. The processing allows data to be instantly retrieved by any combination of criteria. Good staffing software is always a Content Management System and an excellent one.
ATS or Applicant Tracking System is another “no-brainer”. ATS is exactly what staffing software was created for from the very beginning. With input from industry professionals communicating their needs and desires over many years, staffing software has developed into the comprehensive “Front and Back Office” software system that it is today.
Other software development companies, outside the staffing industry, aided this development by introducing new and transformative utilities. These were created initially for other industries but had a significant application for the staffing industry.
So, the deals were made and these “outside” software developments were seamlessly integrated into staffing software products making them an even more comprehensive yet single product.
Examples of seamless integrations are: The Money Network, a company that enabled staffing companies to instantly issue and fund debit cards for more efficient, safer, and less expensive payment for their contract workers who, often enough, had no bank account of their own.
Efficient Hire, a company that automated the onboarding process, contributing much greater efficiency and completeness to that increasingly detailed and essential database. Its completeness and documentation make it also a guarantor of compliance with a host of government and client requirements.
Essential Staff Care another great company that automated the management of extremely complex health care programs and other benefits like 401k’s.
There is also the seamless integration with the US Dept of Homeland Security called E-Verify that allows a staffing company to search hundreds of millions of government records and, within minutes, issue a documented clearance for an applicant’s eligibility to work in the USA. It is delivered right to your applicant’s file within your software.
So, Applicant Tracking System? Or just a “good staffing software”? It delivers ATS and a whole lot more.
And, what about the acronym HR, as in HR or Human Resource software? Your staffing software’s ATS not only accepts and processes online applications but tracks these applicants through the onboarding and new hire process. It then also tracks core staff, contract employees, former employees, employee benefit programs, work histories, and just about everything a good HR department needs to function with excellence.
A good staffing company needs its own HR department software as much or more than any other type of business. Staffing companies are constantly accepting and processing applications, hiring, placing, training, paying, managing benefits, and securely storing mountains of employee information that it can access on a moment’s notice by a host of criteria.
So, please call it CRM, CMS, ATS, or HR if you need to or just call it GSS. That is a new acronym for “Good Staffing Software” and includes. all the other acronyms listed.
Did I mention PS? That is also new and stands for “Payroll System” which is always included with any GSS. Sorry for the rant. Stay safe.