Most in-house recruiters have to worry about one thing — finding the right fit for their company. When you’re running a recruiting agency, your concerns are tenfold.
You're constantly balancing client acquisition and communication with candidate sourcing and placement.
The right staffing software can simplify your operations, automate tasks, and help you build stronger relationships with clients and candidates.
But with so many options out there, how do you choose? In this article, we will:
- Evaluate the top 10 staffing software solutions built specifically for recruiting agencies based on the criteria that matter most to you, like candidate sourcing, client management, and reporting.
- Look at whether each tool has the specific features and functionality that staffing agencies need to succeed.
By the end of this article, you'll have a clear picture of which staffing software best fits your agency.
Get started with this Free Recruitment Software
To manage your clients and candidates faster
10 Best Staffing Software for Recruiting Agencies (scoring table)
Our Methodology for Ranking Recruiting Software
At RecruitingCRM, we have developed an all-inclusive scoring system that rates software solutions based on ten vital categories.
We take into account factors that are integral for staffing companies. The weightings assigned to each category are determined by their importance in recruitment:
Candidate sourcing (20%): We gauge how effectively the software can be connected with various job boards and social media platforms to simplify candidate sourcing activities
Applicant tracking (15%): We assess how well the software identifies keywords in resumes, handles requisitions, and communicates with candidates smoothly.
Client management (15%): We check to see if the software offers tools for creating client proposals, tracking job status, generating client reports, and managing overall customer relationships.
Relationship and schedule management (10%): We see how the software manages profiles of both clients and candidates, keeps records of communication with them, and facilitates cooperation among team members
Reporting and analytics (10%): We estimate the program’s ability to produce unique reports and insights to help you hire better, and faster.
Hiring pipeline management (10%): We look at whether it visualizes the entire hiring pipeline at once, and helps you track applicants easily throughout all stages.
Usability (5%): We look at how simple it is to navigate the tool, user-friendliness, and whether the tool has a short learning curve.
Customization and flexibility (5%): We look at whether you can modify workflows easily, and change templates and the interface.
Integrations (5%): We look at what kind of integrations are offered, and whether it can connect to other job boards and import data easily.
Cost (5%): We look at the program's pricing structure and if it can be considered as value for money.
By scoring every software solution against these weighted categories, we arrive at an overall score that reflects its potential benefits to your staffing agency.
However, we understand that every company is different and has unique needs. Although we strive to maintain accurate and up-to-date information, our rankings should be used as a starting point.
Learn more about our methodology in the evaluation of the best staffing software for recruiting agencies.
10 Best Staffing Software for Recruiting Agencies
RecruitingCRM
Summary
Recruiting CRM from TalentRoom is built for recruitment agencies and freelance recruiters looking to centralize their recruitment processes. With RecruitingCRM, you can handle their clients, jobs, and candidates efficiently on the same platform.
RecruitingCRM also goes beyond what a normal ATS or CRM would do for an agency, by considering the needs for client management — helping you with tasks like proposal creation and sharing candidate shortlists and feedback with clients. At absolutely no cost at all, it can help you position yourself as a polished, experienced agency, even if you’re just starting.
Pros
- Helps manage clients, jobs, and candidates in one place
- Enables the creation and sending of client proposals
- Allows direct import of candidate profiles from LinkedIn
- Provides advanced search functionality to find and shortlist candidates
- Offers a consolidated view of the hiring pipeline
- Includes a collaboration suite for communication with clients and candidates
Cons
- There are no cons that stand out.
Features
Client management: You can add and manage clients on the platform. You can also add the job name, company, account manager, number of candidates, and job status. This centralizes all the information you need to manage clients.
Proposal creation: You can create personalized offers for potential customers and manage your contract terms more effectively — without verbal negotiations. The proposal feature has fields like placement fee percentage, warranty period, and payment terms.
Candidate data entry: With Recruiting CRM’s Chrome extension, you can import candidate profiles directly from LinkedIn. This feature helps centralize talents in one place, making it easier to build a comprehensive recruitment candidate database for your agency. The import process is simple and requires just a few clicks.
Advanced search: This system offers powerful advanced search options enabling recruiters to find and select candidates that best suit their customer requirements. You can filter applicants based on location, willingness to move or stay, country, skills set required or salary expectations. You can quickly allocate suitable candidates to the appropriate vacancies.
Candidate submission: Once you’ve selected potential employees, you can forward their profiles directly from the recruitment database to clients. To submit, you must tick the desired candidates and click on the “submit” button — a two-step process. You can also track the client's feedback on the submitted candidates.
All-in-one view: Recruiting CRM offers a consolidated view of the hiring pipeline so you can track candidates through various stages in the recruitment process.
Collaboration: There is a collaboration suite that allows you to exchange notes with clients as well as candidates on the platform. You can view all messages associated with a specific candidate or client in one place, so it’s easy to track conversations.
Integration capabilities
Recruiting CRM offers a Chrome Extension that allows users to import candidate profiles directly from LinkedIn.
Pricing
The tool is completely free. You can access the talent marketplace that comes with this tool, to look at potential candidates and also partner with other companies. In this case, you are charged a placement fee if you successfully hire a candidate for the desired role.
Customer Reviews
Users have reported that scaling is very easy with RecruitingCRM, especially for agencies. Since the tool is built with agencies in mind, it is well-equipped to handle both clients and candidates.
Ceipal
Summary
Ceipal offers a comprehensive suite of tools to manage the entire recruitment lifecycle, from job requisition to candidate sourcing, applicant tracking, interviewing, and onboarding. Through automation and AI, it can save you a lot of time and money, without compromising on the candidate experience.
Pros
- Advanced AI features like keyword matching to quickly identify top candidates
- Offers free migration from existing systems and free training for users
- Flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing model that scales with usage
- Robust onboarding and reporting capabilities
Cons:
- It may have a learning curve, especially for users not familiar with AI tools
Features
Artificial intelligence recruitment and sourcing: By automatically matching job requirements with the skills, profiles, and experience of candidates, Ceipal's AI immediately identifies the most suitable applicants. This reduces the time needed to find qualified candidates, making the sourcing stage easier for you.
Integrations with major job boards including Dice, ZipRecruiter, and Monster: You can post an opening on various popular job platforms in a single go. Thai increases your visibility and attracts applications from a wider pool of candidates.
Applicant tracking system for all processes in recruitment: You can easily monitor candidate statuses, advance them through the pipeline, as well as interact with hiring managers. There’s no need for manual check-ins throughout the day, and you can enjoy a bird’s eye view of the whole pipeline at a glance.
Customized email notifications and templates: You can create automated messages customized for every hiring stage. If you need inspiration, Ceipal offers customizable email templates to kickstart communication between you and the candidates that much faster.
Digitization of onboarding materials plus acceptance or rejection tracking: Besides transforming paperwork into digital formats for easier management of documents during the employee orientation processes, Ceipal has offered tracking features that show the status of the hiring process.
Detailed analytical reporting: Get easy access to metrics such as time-to-hire, source of hire, and candidate pipeline. This helps you make data-driven decisions and optimize your hiring process.
Integrations
Ceipal integrates with popular job boards like Monster, Dice, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Glassdoor.
Pricing
Ceipal's pricing starts at $24/month, but it requires a minimum of five users, which may not be suitable for smaller teams.
Reviews
Overall, Ceipal ATS received very positive reviews with an average rating of 4.6/5 from 1,186 reviews. Reviewers praised its ease of use, and helpful features like job posting, applicant sourcing, and integration with job boards. The main complaints were about occasional technical issues like profile problems, slow performance, and incomplete candidate data.
Bullhorn
Summary
Bullhorn offers many tools to manage the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle. It offers scalability and an open ecosystem of integration partners. With Bullhorn, you can automate processes, make data-driven decisions, and improve client and candidate engagement.
Pros
- Extensive workflow automation capabilities
- Dedicated mobile app for recruiters on the go
Cons
- Some users report a need for more customization options
Key Features
Applicant tracking: Bullhorn offers drag-and-drop functionality so you can manage candidates through a visual pipeline. This makes it easy to track candidate progress and move them through the hiring stages.
Customer relationship management: The CRM built into the application will allow you to monitor client activities, keep tabs on opportunities, and maintain a customer database.
Onboarding portal for document collection: This is designed to simplify the process of gathering and verifying documents from new hires. Candidates can easily upload necessary information onto the platform, reducing paperwork and manual effort.
Time and expense management, invoicing, and billing: Bullhorn includes time tracking, expense management tools, invoice generation, and billing capabilities. This helps streamline financial workflows for you while ensuring accurate invoicing.
Reporting and analytics: Bullhorn offers built-in functions for standard reporting and custom reporting capabilities. This flexibility empowers you to quickly analyze their recruitment data, whether you want to set the system up to derive custom insights or not.
Integrations
Bullhorn boasts an open ecosystem of over 100 pre-integrated software partners, allowing agencies to customize their tech stack. Key integrations include Calendly, Checkr, DocuSign, Daxtra, LinkedIn, Google Suite, and Kyloe.
Pricing
Bullhorn has a relatively straightforward pricing structure, with plans starting at $99/month.
Reviews
Bullhorn ATS & CRM had an average rating of 4.0/5 from 546 reviews. Reviewers liked its ease of use, integration capabilities, and candidate tracking features. However, some criticized it for lacking functionality, having poor customer support, crashing issues, and limitations in candidate management.
Recruiterflow
Summary
Recruiterflow is a modern, intuitive applicant tracking system and CRM built for recruitment agencies. It aims to provide a user-friendly system to streamline operations, automate tasks, and improve collaboration. Recruiterflow's standout features include its visual pipeline interface, customizable workflows, and productivity tools like a Chrome extension and email sequences.
Pros
- Modern, user-friendly interface praised by many reviewers
- Strong automation capabilities, especially around communication like email sequences
- Chrome extension allows recruiters to work productively from anywhere
- Open API enables custom integrations and workflow automation
Cons
- Some limitations in reporting and analytics capabilities reported by users
- Smaller integration ecosystem than some competitors
Features
Drag and drop visual pipelines to track easily: Like Bullhorn, you can track candidate progress by dragging and dropping them in different stages using an innovative pipeline interface.
Board job posting and AI-driven candidate sourcing: You can use their AI features to find the right candidates, and enjoy a much bigger candidate pool by posting on multiple job boards without manual work.
Customizable communication: You can easily tailor email sequences to maintain a healthy relationship between candidates and clients. This saves time while keeping communication consistent.
Easy sourcing on the go: Collect resumes easily without having to manually visit the candidate’s file. You can contact directly into your ATS without opening yet another tab to view social media profiles.
Team collaboration tools: You can collaborate with team members through shared inboxes. You can also assign tasks, share candidate information, and communicate without the email back and forth.
Forecasting and analytics: You can also decide whether you need to hire additional people or not based on the numbers estimated by Recruiterflow's forecasting tool. You can also keep tabs on important metrics, generate custom reports, and garner important analytical insights to improve business performance.
Integrations
Recruiterflow offers an open API that allows agencies to build custom apps and integrations. It also offers a Zapier integration for connecting to 1000+ apps, as well as direct integrations with several job boards.
Pricing
Similar to Bullhorn, Recruiterflow's pricing begins at $99/month, making it an affordable option for mid-sized businesses.
Reviews
Recruiterflow received very positive reviews with an average of 4.3/5 from 41 reviews. Reviewers praised its automation capabilities, customer support, ease of use, and tracking features. The main criticisms were about missing some features, limitations in candidate management, the learning curve for new users, and mobile app limitations.
Zoho Recruit
Summary
Zoho Recruit is a cloud-based applicant tracking system and recruitment CRM that's part of the larger suite of Zoho business applications. It's designed to help staffing agencies source, track, and hire candidates more efficiently. Zoho Recruit is known for its user-friendly interface, customizability, and seamless integration with other Zoho apps, making it a good choice for agencies already using Zoho tools.
Pros
- Part of the comprehensive Zoho software suite, enabling easy data sharing
- Customizable careers page and candidate portal
- Robust resume management and parsing capabilities
Cons
- Less advanced AI and automation capabilities compared to some platforms
- Limited built-in candidate sourcing and engagement tools (e.g., email sequences)
- Smaller ecosystem of third-party integrations compared to competitors
Features
Easy job posting: Zoho Recruit provides customizable job posting templates to ensure brand consistency is maintained, as well as one-click posting for many job boards.
Candidate screening: Resumes are automatically parsed by the system to extract relevant information. You can also customize fields to capture specific details and facilitate easy resume database management.
It’s also easy to set up pre-screening assessments to evaluate candidate skills and qualifications.
Collaborative hiring: You can set up task delegation, note sharing, and communication management from a centralized inbox to ensure collaborative hiring on this platform. Zoho also simplifies interview scheduling by integrating with recruiter and hiring manager calendars and sending automated reminders, thereby keeping everyone on the same page.
Offer management: You can expedite the onboarding process with the customizable offer letter templates in Zoho Recruit. You can also set up a workflow for documentation so stakeholders can easily sign off on offer letters and terms of employment.
Standard and customized reporting: You can find regular reports about metrics like time-to-fill, source of hire, or candidate pipeline that are built-in, you won’t have to spend time creating them. You can additionally create custom reports for more specific insights tracking your progress towards goals.
Integration
As part of the Zoho suite, Zoho Recruit integrates seamlessly with other Zoho apps like CRM, Projects, Books, and People. It also offers integrations with popular third-party tools like Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Pricing
Zoho Recruit offers a flexible pricing model based on the number of users, starting at $15/user/month.
Reviews
With an average of 4.4/5 from 1,705 reviews, Zoho Recruit got largely positive feedback. Reviewers appreciated its ease of use, customizability, comprehensive features, and efficiency. However, some felt it had a learning curve, struggled with integration issues, had poor customer support at times, and was expensive for smaller businesses.
Get started with this Free Recruitment Software
To manage your clients and candidates faster
Loxo
Summary
Loxo combines ATS, CRM, outbound recruitment, data, and sourcing tools into one AI-powered solution. The platform is designed to ensure data accuracy and visibility across all stages of the hiring process. By consolidating multiple tools into one, Loxo aims to save recruiters time, money, and effort compared to using separate solutions for each function.
Ideal for
Recruiting agencies looking to simplify their workflow and improve overall performance
Pros
- An all-in-one platform eliminates the need for multiple recruitment tools, saving time and money
- AI-powered features automate manual tasks and save significant time in sourcing, outreach, and data management
- Access to a large database of over 1.2 billion professional profiles for more effective sourcing
Cons
- Higher pricing compared to some point solutions, though cost-effective when replacing multiple tools
- A steeper learning curve due to the breadth of features and capabilities
- Some advanced features may require additional training or support to fully utilize
Features
Loxo Source: This is a candidate sourcing software that draws from an extensive database of over 1.2 billion professional profiles to help recruiters find the best possible employees quickly.
Loxo Connect: Loxo Connect enables data automation and enrichment. It adds contact details, social media profile links, and work histories to all candidate profiles so you can start resume parsing sooner.
AI-powered outreach: Loxo’s AI-powered outreach and engagement features can help with targeted campaign creation. These include custom email sequences, follow-ups, and other nurturing strategies to build relationships with candidates.
Automated reporting and analytics: Loxo produces automated reports that provide detailed analysis of key recruitment metrics. Agencies can monitor performance levels as well as establish areas for improvement with a clear “why” for curious stakeholders.
Integrations
Loxo offers native integrations with over 100 popular software tools, including job boards, email platforms, calendars, and more. Key integrations include LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder, Outlook, Gmail, and Zoom.
Pricing
Loxo's paid plans start at $119 per month, positioning it as a more premium offering compared to some other options.
Reviews
Loxo received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/5 from 101 reviews. Reviewers appreciated its ease of use, excellent customer support, efficient sourcing capabilities, intuitive user interface, and AI features. The main criticisms were related to integration issues, inaccurate contact information, lack of clarity in some areas, and limitations with the LinkedIn integration.
Gem
Overview
Gem is a scalable, all-in-one recruiting platform that features native sourcing, CRM, ATS, analytics, scheduling, and e-signature.
Ideal for
Recruiters seeking a user-friendly platform to simplify workflows and boost productivity
Pros
- Consolidates multiple recruiting tools into one platform, reducing costs and simplifying workflows
- Offers a comprehensive suite of native features, eliminating the need for multiple-point solutions
- Provides powerful analytics and reporting capabilities to optimize recruiting strategies and processes
- Integrates with existing calendars and video conferencing tools for seamless scheduling and collaboration
Cons
- Higher pricing compared to some standalone solutions, though cost-effective when replacing multiple tools
- Some users report occasional glitches or slowdowns, though overall performance is highly rated
- Certain advanced features may require additional setup or customization to fully align with existing workflows
Features
Expose jobs to over 25,000 job boards: With Gem, you can post job positions on a vast network of 25,000+ job boards and attract a diverse mix of applicants.
Screening tools: You can access advanced searches and screening options which make it easier for you to identify qualified candidates. This includes Boolean searches, filtering options, and resume highlighting.
Common candidate pipeline dashboard: The interactive dashboard provides an overview of a candidate pipeline you can navigate easily. At a glance, you can see how far each individual has gone or where there might be some delays.
Integrated interview scheduling: Taking advantage of its integration with popular calendar tools, the platform makes scheduling interviews simple. You can check availability, send invites, and manage logistics from the platform.
Offer management: Gem provides customizable templates for offer letters with e-signature to shorten the hiring process.
Tailor-made analytics dashboards: You can generate custom-built analytics reports and personalized dashboards to track various metrics/KPIs. You can measure performance levels and detect new trends based on insights.
Integrations
Gem integrates with popular tools and platforms, including job boards, email providers, calendars, and video conferencing solutions. Key integrations include LinkedIn, GitHub, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, Outlook, Gmail, Zoom, and Google Meet.
Pricing
You’d have to get on a call with a representative to get a quote for your agency.
Reviews
Gem received very positive ratings, averaging 4.8/5 from 204 reviews. Users praised its ease of use, integration capabilities, efficient candidate tracking, sourcing features, and candidate management tools. However, some reviewers criticized limitations with email functionality, missing features, inaccurate contact information, issues with LinkedIn integration, and areas for improvement in candidate management.
Unnanu
Summary
Unnanu is an AI-powered recruitment platform that uses patented contextual analysis technology to screen resumes, identify qualified candidates faster, and remove resume bias. It aims to streamline the hiring process by understanding the context of a candidate's skills, experience, and education.
Pros
- Patented contextual analysis technology for advanced resume understanding
- Significantly reduces time-to-fill by instantly identifying qualified candidates
- Removes resume bias, promoting diversity and better cultural fit
Cons
- As a newer platform, it may have a smaller user base and fewer customer testimonials
Features
Context analysis: Unnanu goes beyond traditional keyword matching to apply advanced contextual analysis techniques to process resumes. It therefore maps the skills and experiences mentioned in a resume to the skills required for the job, resulting in a more comprehensive and accurate evaluation of candidates.
AI-assisted screening: Unnanu reviews job descriptions to generate weighted keywords and map them onto potential top resumes. AI-enabled screening helps identify suitable candidates quickly and effectively.
Eliminating bias: Unnanu does not look at factors like age, sex, race, or even physical appearance to identify who would be the best possible candidate for a given position. It strictly looks at employees who would suit the organizational culture and values.
Recommendation and invitation: Following the context analysis and AI screening, Unnanu suggests the most qualified applicants and displays contact information within seconds.
Offer management: Unnanu offers Zoom integration that you can use to schedule interviews that sync with your calendars. You can also send offers with onboarding material to kickstart the new hire’s journey.
Integrations
Unnanu's resume evaluator can be added to existing systems through API integration or used independently alongside its other features.
Pricing
Unnanu's pricing is relatively high, starting at $208/month for just two users, which may be more suitable for larger organizations.
Reviews
Unnanu Hire received a positive 5-star rating. According to this single review, some of the pros of Unnanu Hire include:
- Simple and easy-to-use interface
- Helps streamline the hiring process
- Appreciated functionality despite not enjoying having to pay for the service
However, with just this one concise review, there is very limited scope to fully understand how well-liked or disliked Unnanu Hire is among a broader audience of users.
JobAdder
Summary
JobAdder is a software that operates as an ATS and Recruitment CRM to facilitate the recruitment process in recruitment agencies. It can automate tasks for administrative work, expand candidate sourcing, manage candidate relationships, and provide insights through analytics.
Pros
- Automates repetitive tasks like job posting, interview scheduling, and follow-ups
- Posts to 200+ job boards natively, including LinkedIn and SEEK integrations
- Provides a user-friendly mobile app for on-the-go recruitment management
- Offers custom templates to maintain a consistent brand experience
- Includes AI-powered database search for efficient candidate matching
Cons
- Some advanced features may require additional training or support
Features
Workflow automation: JobAdder’s ATS automates job posting, interview scheduling, candidate assessments, and follow-ups, so you can focus on cultivating relationships with candidates instead of grunt work.
Native job posting: You can expand your candidate sourcing efforts and post job openings simultaneously across multiple platforms as JobAdder integrates with over 200 job boards.
Candidate communication: You’ll find that talent nurturing and database management are centralized in a talent management dashboard on JobAdder. All the candidate information can be maintained in a single easily accessible place.
Mobile app: You can manage your recruitment process from anywhere through JobAdder’s mobile app. You can view open positions, browse candidate profiles, view messages, and use voice-to-text functionality.
Custom templates: Build a consistent brand experience with custom templates. You also ask shortlisted candidates to add video cover letters to their applications.
Insights and analytics: JobAdder offers more than 60 pre-built recruitment analytics reports while enabling custom report creation so you can make data-driven decisions.
AI database search: JobAdder pairs skill matching for passive candidates with advanced searching capabilities. With these features, you can find the best talent within your existing pool of candidates quickly.
Integration
JobAdder has many types of integrations that allow for background checks, video interviewing, productivity tools, and billing in their marketplace.
Pricing
You would need to get on a discovery call with them to determine the pricing for your needs.
Reviews
JobAdder had an average rating of 4.4/5 from 143 reviews. Positive feedback highlighted its ease of use, user interface, customer support, and simple functionality. Criticism included missing features desired by users, issues with candidate management, data management problems, perceived high pricing, and a learning curve for some.
TargetRecruit
Summary
TargetRecruit is an all-in-one software solution designed specifically for professional staffing and recruitment agencies. Built on the Salesforce platform, it offers a comprehensive suite of tools to optimize the recruitment process, from candidate sourcing and applicant tracking to onboarding and performance management.
With its customizable and flexible features, TargetRecruit caters to the unique needs of agencies across various professional sectors, including marketing, IT, finance, and life sciences.
Pros
- Built on the robust and secure Salesforce platform
- Customizable and flexible to cater to specific industry needs
- 360-degree view of candidate relationships for improved sales and marketing efforts
Cons
- Being built on Salesforce, it may require some familiarity with the platform for optimal use
- The wide range of features and customization options may be overwhelming for smaller agencies with simpler needs
Features
CRM: Tailored specifically for professional staffing services, offering a 360-degree view of candidate relationships and streamlined workflows on a unified database.
Job Management: Accelerates time-to-fill with seamless VMS integration, Auto Match functionality, and automated Pay Package distribution.
Recruiter Workflows: Provides a complete overview of clients and account partners, with access to sales opportunities, contracts, jobs, applicants, interviews, and placements from one place.
Application Tracking: Offers advanced search and filtering capabilities, mass actions on search results, and the ability to compare multiple resumes simultaneously.
Credentialing: Enables digital gathering of candidate background, qualifications, and certifications, reducing time and cost associated with the onboarding process.
Middle Office: Automates and streamlines back-end processes, including time capture, invoicing, and exports to payroll and GL solutions.
Portals: Provides secure, mobile-friendly portals for candidates and clients to manage their information, submit vacancies, view shortlists, and approve timecards.
Reporting and Dashboards: Utilizes powerful native Salesforce reporting tools, enabling managers to create reports and dashboards without specialized knowledge.
Integrations
TargetRecruit offers seamless integrations with various third-party tools and systems to enhance its functionality and streamline processes. Some of the notable integrations include Cloudcall, Disa Crimcheck, DataTrim, Essium, Groove, JobRobotix, Mogli, PipeLaunch, Sense, WorkLLama, Slack, and Salesforce Pardot.
Pricing
TargetRecruit also does not provide pricing details on its website
Reviews
Users appreciate TargetRecruit's flexibility stemming from the Salesforce platform but note that support quality is inconsistent. The ability to customize is a major advantage, but the trade-off is that the out-of-the-box experience requires more manual configuration.
Get started with this Free Recruitment Software
To manage your clients and candidates faster
How to Choose the Best Recruiting Software
To do this, you need to consider specific requirements, platform features, integration capabilities, and the growth of your business.
Features to Look For in Recruiting Software
There are so many features out there. Some are necessary, and some are merely ornamental. How can you tell? And how do you prioritize what your business needs in the middle of all the marketing gimmicks?
When reviewing recruiting software, consider the following features:
Candidate sourcing: Sophisticated sourcing tools should include job board integration and AI-supported candidate searches to find top talent quickly, even in passive candidates.
Resume parsing and screening: These features save time by extracting relevant information from resumes and identifying the most suitable candidates based on predetermined criteria.
Interview management: Look for tools that simplify interview scheduling, facilitate feedback collection during interviews, and boost collaboration among hiring team members.
Candidate engagement: Look for tools with built-in automated email sequences, email templates, and SMS messages so that engaging with candidates becomes easy.
Reporting and analytics: Good reporting mechanisms provide insights on how effective your recruitment campaigns are, and how efficient you are being with your money and time. As a business owner, you need to be more mindful of this than an in-house recruiter.
Software Integrations
How much of your software you can utilize depends on how well it integrates with your other tools. Here are some things to consider:
ATS integration: Ensure that the recruiting software integrates with your current ATS (if you already have one) to enable smooth data transfer.
HRIS integration: Find solutions that integrate with your HRIS for an easier onboarding process and consistent data records across all HR functions.
Email & calendar integration: Find tools that integrate with popular email clients like Gmail, Google Calendars, and Outlook to simplify client communications and interview scheduling tasks.
Job board integration: Your recruitment software must be able to integrate with job boards that are frequently used in your company for posting job openings and finding candidates.
Social media integration: Integrating with social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook will help you expand your reach and attract a wider pool of applicants.
Business Size Considerations
The size of your company heavily influences what is the best recruiting software for your needs:
Small businesses: If you have a small hiring team and limited resources, look for user-friendly and affordable solutions that include basic features like job posting, applicant tracking, and reporting.
Mid-sized companies: As you grow, consider recruitment software with advanced features such as candidate sourcing, interview management, and analytics to support your expanding hiring needs.
Enterprise organizations: Large organizations need robust scalable systems that can handle high-volume hiring, support multiple users/locations, and offer advanced compliance management capabilities.
When choosing a recruitment system, pick one that is easy to scale as you grow.
Our Methodology
To help you quickly and fairly understand the potential value of different recruitment agency software solutions, we have developed an all-encompassing scoring system. It was formulated after reviewing dozens of software products and considering what staffing firms look out for.
How We Calculate Overall Scores
We score each tool on 10 categories. These categories were selected based on their relevance to recruiting agencies. The total of all these factors will give a general view of whether or not the program is appropriate for your company’s needs.
Let’s get started.
Methodology for Each Factor
Candidate sourcing (20%): In this case, we evaluate how well the tool sources candidates through job boards or social media platforms. This factor is crucial because effective candidate sourcing is the foundation of a successful recruitment process. For instance, Loxo Source has access to over 1.2 billion professional profiles from where users can draw prospective candidates. RecruitingCRM lets you import candidate profiles easily with a LinkedIn integration.
Applicant tracking (15%): We assess the software's capability to scan resumes for keywords, manage job requisitions, and facilitate communication with candidates. A robust applicant tracking system is essential for organizing the recruitment process and saving time and resources. Tools like Bullhorn provide drag-and-drop functionality for easy candidate management, making it simple to track and progress candidates through the hiring pipeline.
Client management (15%): A good tool has to come with features like proposal generation, job status tracking and client reports for overall client relationship management. For a staffing firm to succeed in its business, it must be able to manage its clients diligently.
Relationship and schedule management (10%): We look at whether the tool is good for managing candidate profiles, communication tracking, and team collaboration. An integrated recruitment CRM helps agencies maintain organized, up-to-date records and facilitates seamless internal and external communication.
Reporting and analytics (10%): In this case, we consider whether the system is capable of generating custom reports or can monitor key recruitment metrics crucial to optimizing your hiring process. Comprehensive reporting and analytics will enable you to track their performance, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions.
Hiring pipeline management (10%): We look at whether the tool lets you look at the entire hiring pipeline and track candidates across each stage. Efficient pipeline management will help you eliminate bottlenecks by ensuring a smooth flow of candidates and reducing time-to-hire.
Usability (5%): We consider factors such as ease of navigation, user-friendliness, and the overall learning curve for adopting the software. A user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation can significantly impact how quickly you get used to the software and start utilizing it to its fullest extent.
Customization and flexibility (5%): We assess the adaptability of the software to your specific needs such as workflow alteration, template customization, and rebranding of interface. Customization options will allow you to tailor the software to your unique processes and branding requirements, enhancing overall user experience and efficiency.
Integrations (5%): This evaluation is to know if the software is compatible with other necessary tools like job boards and email providers so that it smoothly fits into your current systems. With seamless integrations, time can be saved as manual data entry, generally improving overall productivity. For example, Recruiterflow has an open API for custom integrations which enables agencies to link the software with their existing platforms.
Cost (5%): We consider the software's pricing structure and determine whether it provides value for money based on the features and benefits it offers. Cost is an important factor for you to consider, as it directly impacts your bottom line and return on investment.
By weighing each solution with these weighted categories in mind, we give you a total score that reflects its potential value for your recruitment agency. We use a holistic approach that makes sure that you can make an informed decision when selecting the best recruitment agency software for your busines.
Choose the Right Staffing Software for Your Recruiting Agency
When you’re choosing a software for your recruiting agency, you need to:
- Prioritize features aligned with your needs like client management, AI sourcing, and reporting.
- Ensure integration capabilities with your existing tech stack.
- Consider scalability as your agency grows.
Here are our recommendations for what you should be choosing according to what kind of staffing firm you run.
- For small firms or solo recruiters: RecruitingCRM is a great free option providing core features like client/candidate management, proposals, and basic reporting.
- For mid-sized agencies focused on client relationship management: Ceipal and Bullhorn offer robust client management along with AI sourcing and onboarding tools. Ceipal is more affordable.
- For high-volume hiring agencies: Loxo and Gem are powerful all-in-one solutions with advanced AI sourcing, automation, and analytics - but they come at a premium price.
- For Salesforce users or those needing heavy customization: TargetRecruit built on Salesforce allows extensive customization tailored to processes, though Salesforce familiarity helps.
- For budget-constrained agencies: Zoho Recruit's simple per-user pricing provides good value for core recruitment functions.
RecruitingCRM stands out by offering a full-featured, end-to-end recruitment platform tailored for staffing agencies — at absolutely no cost. You can, among other things:
- Manage clients, jobs, and candidates with robust capabilities like customized proposals, advanced filters, visual pipeline tracking, and team collaboration tools.
- Use the built-in LinkedIn integration aids for quick candidate sourcing and database building.
Despite being free, RecruitingCRM doesn't compromise on core functionality making it an ideal choice for startups and smaller agencies.
Get started with this Free Recruitment Software
To manage your clients and candidates faster
Book a Demo NowB2B SaaS Content Writer with 7+ years of experience, specializing in ghostwriting and creating authentic, captivating narratives that set clients apart.
- Skilled in SEO copywriting, content marketing content strategy, and content distribution & development
- Deliver impactful content for SaaS tech companies, boosting client engagement and online presence
- Build strong client relationships through dedication to capturing their unique voice and message