Enhancing Charity Recruitment: The Role of ATS Workflows in HR Processes
Recruiting top talent for the charity sector is about so much more than filling positions – it’s about finding people who share your organisations cultural beliefs and values, who are driven by your mission and vision for the world.
Boosting Recruitment Efficiency with an ATS – a Guide for the Charity Sector.
Recruiting top talent for the charity sector is about so much more than filling positions – it’s about finding people who share your organisations cultural beliefs and values, who are driven by your mission and vision for the world.
But finding those people takes time and skill. Add to that the complexity of managing the recruitment of both paid and voluntary positions, and limited resources, and you’ve got quite the juggle on your hands.
ATS (Applicant Tracking Software) enables charities to work smarter and hire faster. It automates and streamlines the entire recruitment process, from request to hire through to onboarding. It handles high volumes of applications with ease, saving you valuable time (and money) and letting your team focus on finding the very best people for your organisation.
Want to know more? Let’s dive into some detail:
How can a Recruitment ATS help charities align their hiring process with their mission and values?
Every hire is an opportunity to strengthen your team and move closer to your organisation’s goals and objectives. By using an ATS to support your recruitment you can automate your hiring workflows and focus on building a passionate, aligned team.
Use an ATS for:
- Effortless filtering of applications
- Reducing unconscious bias and promoting diversity and inclusion
- Sharing documents and information about your mission and values
- Automated communications to keep candidates engaged in the process
- Comprehensive integration with all your pre-employment checks (DBS, Right to Work etc.,)
- Speedy automatic reference collection
- Professional onboarding programmes, ensuring successful applicants and volunteers are on message and ready to work the moment they step through the door.
How does a Recruitment ATS enhance the recruitment process for both paid staff and volunteers in a charity?
A fully customisable ATS is a multitasking master. Flexible ATS software will let you build multiple bespoke recruitment workflows, tailored to your exact requirements – allowing you to manage the recruitment of both paid employees and volunteers with ease.
You can also build workable talent pools as you go, gathering a host of available talent for future projects, fundraising drives or campaigns at the click of a button. Saving you time and money when it comes to advertising for new roles.
The smart, customisable applicant tracking system workflows handle the distinct needs of both groups with ease. Whether it’s short-term volunteers or key long-term staff, an ATS ensures every role is filled efficiently, maintaining momentum without overburdening your team.
In what ways can a Recruitment ATS improve the onboarding experience for new charity staff and volunteers?
The beauty of a Recruitment ATS really lies in its consistency. A dedicated candidate portal allows applicants to:
- Make speculative enquiries
- Apply for roles (voluntary or paid)
- Book self-serve interview slots
- Attend online interviews
The same portal can also then be used for onboarding, providing a seamless and consistent journey from candidate to employee.
The approved candidate can:
- Complete pre-employment checks
- Submit references and upload documentation
- Download relevant onboarding materials
- Take part in onboarding sessions online
- Engage with other departments (IT, Uniform etc)
- Submit employee details for transfer to payroll/HRIS system
Your new hire gets to hit the ground running, and you get a new team member who’s well versed on your mission, values and role expectations before they’ve even learnt where the nearest coffee shop is!
How can a Recruitment ATS assist charities in managing high-volume recruitment during peak seasons or large-scale campaigns?
High-volume recruitment campaigns can take their toll on what might normally be a small core HR team. Using a Recruitment ATS takes the stress out of these peak periods by:
- Filtering ineligible applications before submission
- Automating regular communications
- Centralising all hiring documentation
- Empowering hiring managers through their dedicated portal
- Using data insights to improve and refine hiring processes
ATS was designed to help organisations recruit at volume by automating and streamlining the huge admin burden involved in the hiring process. The hiring software removes recruitment bottlenecks, helps organise large volumes of data and offers real-time analytics to keep you ahead of the curve. Making sure you have an efficient and responsive hiring process, no matter how intense the pressure is.
What role does a Recruitment ATS play in maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements in the charity sector?
In a sector governed by strict regulations, from data protection to fair hiring practices, compliance is imperative. A Recruitment ATS helps charities stay on top of all these requirements, automating data management, generating compliance reports, and ensuring every step of the recruitment process is documented and secure.
Allowing the software to perform the first sift of applications also ensures there’s an equal and fair application process. One that’s completely objective and based on skills, qualifications and experience. It’s peace of mind without the paperwork.
How can a Recruitment ATS improve communication and engagement with potential candidates and volunteers?
A speedy and engaging candidate journey is the best way to avoid drop off and find the right people for your organisation.
Whilst automated communication sounds like it might be the most impersonal way of interacting with your customers, using personalised automated messaging via an ATS is a brilliant way to keep applicants engaged. Regular scheduled emails acknowledge applications, keep candidates abreast of their progress and ensure no one accidentally slips through the cracks.
A dedicated candidate portal allows applicants to set up a profile, log in via their socials and make speculative applications. They can also upload CVs and references or ask to be added to a volunteer talent pool for future events.
How does a Recruitment ATS support the scaling of recruitment efforts as a charity grows?
Growth brings opportunities — and recruitment challenges. An ATS will grow with your organisation, adapting to your changing hiring needs, whether that’s a one-off campaign or slow but steady employee growth.
Choose an ATS that’s not just scalable, but updateable. Software that doesn’t grow with you will quickly become redundant if it can’t integrate with the latest pre-employment checks or send data to your new HRIS. Futureproofing is key.
Reach for a better ATS.
Whether you’re a small regional charity or a huge global organisation, recruitment is a vital part of the work that you do. And an ATS really is your greatest ally when it comes to doing that work.
By investing in good quality applicant tracking software, you can free up your staff to use their time and skills to build a team that really aligns with your core mission and values.
Reach ATS is a bespoke, fully customisable system that integrates seamlessly with your existing HR software. Whether you’re a small local charity or a huge multi-national organisation our system really is the best way to support your recruitment process.
Reach ATS supports your entire hiring process for both paid and voluntary staff, from job boards to onboarding. It will encourage collaboration across your hiring teams and help you scrutinise and optimise your recruitment strategy with real-time data. All whilst providing a streamlined, fair and equitable hiring process.
Want to find out just how cost-effective Recruitment ATS can be? Reach for a better ATS today.