Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire
The SMB HR Tech Stack

The SMB HR Tech Stack

As a talent acquisition suite predominantly servicing the human resources industry, we hear a lot about the HR tech our customers consider implementing.

From those conversations, we’ve compiled a list of what we believe to be some of the best options for small and medium-sized business hiring. These tools are great for managing not only your interview process, but also applications, hiring, and continuing to engage employees. 

The top tools we’ve come across in our 10+ years in the HR tech space include tools for connecting, interviewing, communicating, verifying, onboarding, and engaging current employees.

Connecting

The most common tools used for connecting with candidates are LinkedIn Recruiter and Indeed. Most organizations use these two tools to scope out potential talent and market their employer branding. An up-and-coming tool to consider, especially if your organization is a startup, is BuiltIn. BuiltIn is a city-by-city website where organizations can create profiles that show off their company culture, and its efforts, and also post open positions. The bonus of BuiltIn is that they select companies on the site to feature in articles, further promoting your company culture to potential candidates.

Another type of “connector” we’ve found common in HR tech stacks is the automation tool, Zapier. It allows HR teams to automate tasks between tools in their tech stack without a ready-made integration. Their suite of tools includes over 1,000 applications with both “triggers” and “actions”. Using Zapier, an application can signal something else to happen in another application using its trigger. This means HR teams can automatically send notifications to their most commonly used communication tool, even if it’s not their email! 

Interviewing

With over 6,000 customers in over 100 countries, Spark Hire is of course top of the list for those we talk to. They’re looking to streamline the hiring process and improve their insights on candidates. To best manage those applicants’ pre and post-video interviews, many of the HR pros we talk to use an applicant tracking system.

For the most seamless experience, and allow your whole team to stay in the loop about an applicant’s status. It is most effective to use an applicant tracking system that directly integrates with other elements of your HR tech stack. It’s best to look for a platform that allows you to post open positions to multiple job boards, easily move candidates through every stage of the hiring process, and notify the team members responsible for each stage.

Communicating

To make sure the hiring process moves fast and efficiently, many organizations use not only the notification system built in to their ATS but also their preferred email vendor and even an instant messaging service, like Slack. One use of the automatic “connector” above, Zapier, is between Spark Hire and Slack. When a candidate’s one-way interview is completed, Zapier can notify the hiring manager via a direct message in Slack. That way, there is no delay or excuse when it comes to reviewing a candidate’s video interview!

Verifying

Verifying a candidate’s interview answers and general persona can be done with reference checks. The reference check can provide incredibly valuable insights into whether a candidate is right for the position, and your organization. Ensure you’re reaching out to references in a consistent and timely manner using automated reference check software. For a more low-tech option, you can use email or a phone call, but be sure to ask the same questions of every reference, for each candidate.

Onboarding

Once a candidate has signed an offer, they should be added to an employee management system. These systems allow HR pros and managers to assign and have required paperwork completed, record when trainings are completed, manage an employee’s benefits and provide a way for employees to request time off. BambooHR and Namely are often mentioned as two of the best employee management tools for small and medium businesses.

Engagement

Last to cover is employee engagement. To keep up a positive company culture, some organizations measure their employees’ satisfaction with work through check-ins with a tool like 15Five. 15Five also encourages one-on-one meetings between employees, or with employees and their managers. It’s a good way of getting a checkup on your whole organization’s well-being in a short amount of time.

For organizations that are sales-focused, another tool that can be used is Hoopla. It is used around an office as sales and customer success “boards”. When an employee makes progress towards a KPI, Hoopla lets everyone know with a notification and by playing a portion of a song personalized to the employee. This helps the atmosphere on the sales floor to remain positive, especially when a new employee gets “on the board” for the first time.

Every piece of this HR tech stack can be used to improve your organization’s processes, making them more enjoyable for candidates and employees alike. With these tools, you can fill your organization with great employees, and keep them happy. Use HR technology to ensure the continuation and growth of your organization, culture, and employees.

Spark Hire