Software as a service (SaaS) companies are often some of the most innovative, fast-movers in the marketplace. With mottos like, "Move fast and break things..." SaaS companies are always trying to "up-the-ante" and provide the best, most efficient solutions for their clients. To integrate successfully into such a culture requires a unique individual who flourishes in a creative environment lacking the stability of larger, established corporations. As these "fast movers" gained market traction, the need for hiring software to support their unique needs became clear.

Traditional recruiting, often involving manual resume reviews, in-person interviews, and gut-based hiring decisions proved to be ineffective in the high-paced, unconventional world that companies like Google were building. Often choosing to hire key people after events like Burning Man rather than using traditional hiring methods (you can read more about this here) showed the lackluster environment traditional recruitment offered. This new generation of innovative companies needed equally innovative hiring techniques. And, the crazy thing- it worked.

Companies like Apple, Facebook (now Meta), and Google, who chose this new approach, outpaced every competitor in the market, becoming the fastest-growing, most profitable businesses on the planet- and they reshaped hiring. This shift created a new demand for tech-savvy, agile, lean, qualified candidates who could operate at the speed of innovation and match the company's unique culture.

To meet demand, SaaS recruiting software was born.

What is SaaS Recruiting Software?

SaaS recruiting software is a cloud-based solution designed to streamline hiring. Companies in fast-paced environments who want to make data-driven decisions instead of gut-based hiring decisions use SaaS recruitment tools to source and track candidates, interview them with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and onboard them in engaging ways- at their own speed.

Recruiting software and tools that rely on these technologies offer the velocity needed to keep up with dynamic, innovative businesses. Recruiting software tools also allow companies to automate and improve various aspects of the hiring process with just the click of a button. An example of this is Pillar's (our shameless plug) AI-generated interview guides- which create a comprehensive interview outline based on your job description in just three clicks. Here's the link if you'd like to try it out! This tool allows interviewers to shorten interview prep times to mere minutes while also delivering objective, structured, skills-based interviews.

SaaS recruitment tools offer a few basic functions. Filling the pipeline with candidates, applicant qualification and analytics, skills testing, and onboarding. Now, this is a hyper oversimplification of what these tools do, but in essence, you have 3 phases to your candidate funnel:

1. Acquisition: Filling the applicant pool
2. Qualification: Finding the right candidates
3. Onboarding: Turning applicants into productive employees

SaaS solutions like HireEz will fill your applicant tracking system (ATS) with qualified candidates to screen and interview, Paradox's Olivia will engage them and answer questions through the hiring process, Interview intelligence will help you gather better insights on candidates, and BambooHR or Greenhouse will get them started right.

Advantages Of SaaS Recruiting Software

Traditional recruiting methods often need to meet the unique needs of today's dynamic, fast-paced, and innovative companies. SaaS recruitment software was born to address these challenges. Top recruiting platforms offer agile, cloud-based solutions that provide a range of benefits for companies of all sizes. But it's not just about speed and agility.

As the workforce has "gone global," so has the need for fair, objective, and diverse hiring policies. These policies require a much heavier focus on data-driven decision-making and the elimination of unique identifiers that would allow bias to creep into interviews. Things like blind resume reviews and structured interviews based on skills rather than "gut feeling" have become the norm. Great examples of SaaS tools that are leveraging AI to increase fairness are Textio and Entelo. Both solutions offer AI-based analysis of job descriptions for gender bias, and Entelo's platform also leverages machine learning to recommend the best channels to source diverse candidates.

Fairness and objectivity are at the core of this new breed of hiring solution, but there are many advantages of SaaS Recruiting software in today's market.

The primary advantage of SaaS recruiting software is its efficiency. Tools like Pillar's interview intelligence automate nearly everything for the interviewer from interview scheduling and email introductions between candidates and interviewers to structured interview questions and comprehensive interview guides. Efficiencies in many of these tools come from automating repetitive tasks, like résumé screening, candidate scheduling and communications, and skills assessments. These functions don't require a "human touch" and ensure that recruiters spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on strategic activities such as engaging with top talent.

Cost is another core benefit of these tools. The best SaaS recruiting software eliminates the need for expensive infrastructure and travel. Video interview platforms backed by interview intelligence allow you to gather interview insights that even human eyes and ears will miss. This reduces operational costs associated with large-scale manual recruiting efforts and allows you to spend recruiting budgets on the most qualified, best-fit candidates.

Ease of use is also key to all of the top recruiting platforms. Modern Software-as-a-Service platforms are designed to be so simple a toddler could use them (although, after seeing my god-daughter use an iPad for the first time, that's actually quite a high bar). User-friendly SaaS tools are important for several reasons. First, they need to be accessible to cross-functional teams who may not use them regularly. An example of this may be in a panel interview or final interviews with executives and other stakeholders who aren't as technical or don't use them regularly. "Intuitiveness" is the term I'd say best applies to the top tools for recruitment.  Without much effort, these solutions can be quickly adopted and put to work at their full potential- and since they're cloud-based, they offer the flexibility of being accessible from anywhere, at any time. This factor alone makes them valuable and easier for companies operating on a global scale.

To recap, the primary advantages of SaaS recruiting software are efficiency, cost-savings, rapid adoption, and ease of use. This potent combination is made even more valuable when you consider the added benefits of increased fairness and objectivity in the hiring process.

Now that we've covered some of the benefits, mentioned some of the tools, and given you an overview of how they work, let's talk about the platforms themselves.

Recruiting Software Platforms

If you'd like to go straight to the meat of the article (or the vegetables depending on your preference), check out our free guide, "How to Build the Best Recruitment Tech Stack." It'll walk you through the entire "stack" and you'll discover how each tool is positioned to fit your unique needs.

Video recruiting software alone won't help you generate all of the results we've talked about in this article. In fact, the role of video recruiting software in the hiring process is limited to one step- interviews. There are several things to consider before the interview.

1. Candidate Sourcing
2. Building an applicant pool
3. Screening applicants

These 3 steps are best handled by solutions like HireEz, Lever, and Pillar (yup, another shameless plug! haha). Sourcing candidates has always been a challenge for the fastest-growing companies- luckily, HireEz has got you covered. As an AI-sourcing tool, HireEz helps you discover talent from a wide variety of channels and sources. The primary benefit, or what you could call HireEz's positioning statement, is that it provides reach into areas where your competitors probably aren't currently looking- allowing you to get there first and secure the best candidates.

Lever, on the other hand, specializes in building an applicant pool and screening applicants. As an applicant tracking system (ATS) Lever is your "source of truth" for all things related to the application process. It allows you to manage and track resumes, applications, and interviews and even has a built-in CRM functionality designed specifically with referrals in mind.

Lastly (but certainly not least), Pillar's interview intelligence does exactly what it sounds like- it provides insights into your candidates and interviews. This is critical when it comes to making data-driven hiring decisions and candidate skills assessments. Piggybacking on your interviews, Pillar delivers interview insights that include everything from interview bias mitigation to comprehensive structured interview planning- which makes interview prep a cinch!

In conclusion, the integration of modern recruiting software platforms like HireEz, Lever, and Pillar into your hiring strategy can revolutionize your recruitment process. These tools offer remarkable efficiency, cost-savings, and ease of use, enabling you to attract and secure top talent with minimal effort. These solutions partner human intelligence with AI-sourcing, applicant tracking, and interview intelligence to create a streamlined, highly effective, recruitment stack.

Ready to take your hiring process to the next level? Explore our free guide, "How to Build the Best Recruitment Tech Stack," or book a demo of Pillar to see how interview intelligence can save up to 14 hours per hire while driving meaningful change on your team. Happy Hiring!