If you’re currently researching a new ATS for social housing recruitment, here’s a good place to start. These are the 8 priorities that we reckon should top housing associations’ shopping lists, to power an effective, efficient, and sustainable hiring function.
- Another 100 applications from nobody worth interviewing.
- Another great candidate accepting an offer somewhere else.
- Another spreadsheet snafu or missed email causing havoc.
- Another complaint from managers, or your CEO, or your team.
- Another high-priority role going unfilled.
Whatever the straw that finally broke the camel’s back, you’re sick to the back teeth with your current recruitment set-up. Whether you’re using add-on ATS functionality within your HR system, a basic legacy ATS, or still stuck on spreadsheets – it’s time to level-up.
But now what?
Here’s what we reckon social housing recruiters should prioritise when you’re hunting for a new ATS:
- Ease-of-use
- Speed and efficiency
- Candidate experience
- Employer branding
- Onboarding (not just compliance)
- Good reporting
- Strong integrations
- ED&I-focussed
Let’s unpick those…
8 priorities for social housing recruitment software
#1 – Is the ATS easy-to-use?
Around 80% of average software features are never actually used. One big reason for that is usability.
(This issue also speaks to how software is developed. One of our biggest priorities at Tribepad is working hand-in-hand with customers to shape a product that’s tightly aligned to your biggest challenges. Useful software gets used.)
Many recruitment platforms offer plenty of bells and whistles, but the product is bloated, clunky, confusing, and hard-to-learn. So getting your team to adopt the system is a major battle.
Especially for the social housing sector, where you’re often relying on a network of spread-out managers who already have too much to do and too little time.
The right recruitment software provides a single, seamless hub for everyone involved with hiring to collaborate more efficiently and effectively. In theory:
- No more lost candidates.
- No more crossed wires or forgotten deadlines.
- No more email threads or spreadsheets.
- No more endless troubleshooting (or grumbling).
But that’s only possible when your applicant tracking system is super simple to use. Even for field-based managers with limited recruitment expertise, tech know-how, or access to desktop. Even if you onboard new managers onto the system regularly. And without weeks of complicated training that nobody has time for.
We used to have a horrible system that nobody would use. It was slow and messy, and the candidate experience was poor.
With Tribepad, we’ve been able to modernise our processes and give recruiters the tools they need at the touch of a button. It’s much more engaging for everyone. It’s completely transformed our recruitment process.
#2 – Is the ATS fast?
One of the biggest advantages to upgrading recruitment software is speed. That’s critical for social housing recruitment, which is besieged by enormous skills shortages. In a competitive hiring market, the early bird really does catch the worm.
The right social housing ATS should slash your time-to-hire – often from weeks (and weeks) to days.
Discover how Staffordshire County Council reduced time-to-hire by 30% with Tribepad – and doubled their fill rate.
To get there, look for recruitment software with functionality like:
- Templates for everything
- Bulk actions
- Drag-and-drop builders (workflows; jobs; contracts; campaigns)
- Comprehensive automation
- Back-end ownership so you can make changes yourself
- Candidate import from social media and boards
- Low-click workflows
- Multi-board posting
- Automated reminders and prompts
- Candidate self-booking for interviews
- Sensible integrations
- Agency portals
- Manager and candidate self-service
- Configurable permissions and authorisation workflows
You don’t necessarily need everything on that list. But the more you have, the more efficient your process will become – and the less time everyone wastes on repetitive, unnecessary admin.
#3 – Is the ATS great for candidates?
A fast, modern, engaging candidate experience is critical to compete for social housing talent. But old-hat, limited recruitment software has meant many housing associations fall short.
A new talent acquisition system can change all that. Look for recruitment software that can support CX that helps your organisation stand out.
Ideally, your new social housing ATS should be:
- Responsive for any device
- Fresh and engaging
- Super flexible around your processes
- Fully brandable
- Multi-media compatible
- Super speedy and low-click
Tribepad packs a punch when it comes to candidate experience. We consistently hear from customers – who hear from their candidates – that using Tribepad is a breath of fresh air. Think fast, friction-free, and totally intuitive. It’s CX that does your housing association justice.
#4 – Does the ATS enable employer branding?
Social housing sector perception is often an enormous challenge for recruiters in the space. If you can’t mitigate negative stereotypes and showcase your brilliant brand, you’ll struggle to attract top candidates. And you’ll feel the impact all through your funnel.
If you’re upgrading recruitment software, prioritise future-ready tech that enables all the snazzy employer branding activity that’s a pipedream right now. Like:
- Build and engage ready-to-go talent pools
- Run modern recruitment marketing campaigns
- Create stand-out rich job adverts
- Craft a careers site that does you justice
Employer branding isn’t a luxury. It’s where great workplaces start.
Using Tribepad, Well Pharmacy was recognised by a leading industry publication for their standout branding. 💪🏻 The team achieved an 150% increase in applications for hard-to-fill roles and 92% increase in total application volume.
#5 – Does the ATS include onboarding?
Turnover is increasing across the social housing sector, sending recruitment costs soaring. For example, last year more than a third of housing associations reported churn had increased from the year before.
Organisations need to reach an equilibrium. There’s no point having a great attraction strategy if you’re haemorrhaging staff and leaning too heavily on agencies
Getting a handle on churn can feel like a herculean task. But taking control over onboarding is a manageable place housing associations can start. Look for an ATS with in-built onboarding functionality that goes beyond basic compliance. To onboard, engage, and delight your newest tribe members.
We have shortened our in-person onboarding process from an average of 2 hours to 20 minutes using Tribepad. Tribepad is the definition of a true partner. We look forward to continuing this relationship well into the future.
#6 – Does the ATS empower great recruitment reporting?
To build a great hiring function, housing associations need great visibility across the whole recruitment ecosystem. (Yes, even for SMEs). Good recruitment reporting can answer questions like:
- What are your best sources of hire?
- What’s your application volume for different roles?
- Where are your bottlenecks throughout the funnel?
- Where could you reroute resources to improve outcomes?
- How does manager behaviour impact hiring?
- What are your big wins?
And it’s also important that this data’s within your control. Not gatekept by providers, so you have to submit requests and wait weeks for outdated data that’s useless before you even read it.
#7 – Does the ATS have a strong integration ecosystem?
Today’s recruitment landscape evolves fast, with new challenges and opportunities popping up constantly. The days of relying on one single piece of HR software are over (or should be).
Forward-thinking teams today mix-and-match plug-in pieces of software that play well together, to build a tech stack that matches their vision for recruitment.
That’s not just about integrating to job boards, although that’s important. The ATS you choose should integrate with best-in-class partners throughout the recruitment funnel, so your processes can evolve with your needs.
#8 – Does the ATS support your ED&I goals?
We’ve yet to meet a social housing provider who doesn’t care about improving diversity, to build workforces that better represent the community.
But to move beyond talk into action, you need recruitment software that does its part. The sort of functionality that moves the needle on ED&I includes:
- Anonymous applications and in-built bias checkers to mitigate bias
- Flexible processes to operationalise ED&I strategy
- Great diversity reporting and candidate surveys to power progress
- Accessible, inclusive interface and design
- Robust integrations to ED&I and accessibility solutions
- Commitment to continually developing ED&I functionality
Look for an ATS that’s aligned to where you want to go. Not just where you are.
Read how recruiters are using Tribepad to deliver on diversity.
Discover how Coventry City Council increased B.A.M.E. applications by 122% using Tribepad.
Listen to Sam Griffin, Recruitment Manager at Coventry City Council, sharing his team’s journey improving their ED&I strategy and increasing B.A.M.E. candidates from 18% to 40%. 👇
Meet your biggest recruitment allies
Tribepad is the trusted tech ally to smart(er) recruiters everywhere. Our talent acquisition software is a springboard for fairer, faster, better recruitment for everyone.
As an official NHF supplier, we’re trusted by major UK housing groups including Gleeson, Notting Hill Genesis, Yorkshire Housing, and the Wrekin Housing Group.
