Landscape Contractors and Outdoor Living Pros Need Application Tracking Systems (ATS) To Automate and Streamline Recruiting Efforts
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The Content Team,
HALSTEAD x CrewRecruiter.
The incredible COVID-inspired surge in demand the landscape and outdoor living industries are facing is only one element of a larger combination that has exacerbated the labor crisis currently wrangling the industry. An overall lack of interest in, and prioritization of, skilled trades as viable career choices in the US, the lack of emphasis historically placed on consistent, effective talent acquisition strategies, the lack of clear career path communication and training opportunities for top talent, and changes to the H-2B visa program in which many organizations have so heavily relied on in the past have come together to create the perfect storm.
No matter which of the potential causes you believe to be the most devastating, the fact remains that landscape, pool, and outdoor living companies urgently need qualified labor. The industry must come together to compete for top talent in an exceptionally tight market if it is to overcome the crisis and continue on its path of growth.
With owners and managers busier than ever trying to keep up with the demand, recruiting processes need to be streamlined and effective. In short, employers must work harder to compete for talent while they have more client demands to fill than before.
When staff is low and workload is high, technology can provide some relief by streamlining processes. This is surely the cause with recruiting efforts for the landscaping industry. In addition to the organizational benefits of an Application Tracking System like CrewRecruiter by HALSTEAD, those that adopt new tech get a leg-up over the competition by building a stronger brand, better employer reputation, and faster, more consistent candidate communication. Essentially, they can source and hire top talent before other companies even connect on the phone with potential candidates.
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Benefits of an Application Tracking System (ATS) for the Landscaping Industry
Without an ATS system, recruiting fast becomes an overwhelming task. Since most managers have loads to do every day, making the process more efficient in identifying qualified, viable, and interested candidates quicker is crucial.
CrewRecruiter by HALSTEAD—a recruiting framework that includes the CrewRecruiter ATS at its core— provides key advantages for industry pros.
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CrewRecruiter Posts Jobs on 100+ Job Boards Small and Large (and landscape specific job boards)
Finding the right candidates—not just those who are currently unemployed looking for entry level positions, but also the kind of top talent that powers leading organizations to do amazing things— requires both a laser-targeted AND omnipresent approach. Landscape, hardscape, pool, and green industry companies need a deep pool of potential new hires in order to fill all sides of the talent spectrum. Creating a large enough list of bona fide candidates is a key precursor to successful selection. Attempting to create this list manually, one job board at a time, or one targeted ad at a time, consumes far more resources, making it nearly impossible to post across 100 different sources efficiently.
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Create an Efficient Application Process for Landscaping Job Applicants with an ATS
ATS systems provide the tools your organization needs to create a thorough but quick application process. A job application should efficiently elicit the information needed to determine if the candidate has the requisite skills, experience, and knowledge. The subsequent interview process then demonstrates if they are the best person for your company.
CrewRecruiter includes the tools for creating an application process that provides all you need to know with a minimum of the job seeker’s time. It’s a great candidate experience right from the first. And in a tight, competitive labor market, wowing applicants is a necessary goal if you are hoping to get the best talent.
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Manage Landscape Job Candidates All In One Place with an ATS
Get ready for loads of data when you post your available jobs. Without an ATS, your team can look forward to hours of drudgery as you sort candidate information in a collection of email folders, spreadsheets, and other data silos. Numerous applications from all different places on the internet. Wouldn’t it be great if you could manage all candidate data on one simple to use platform?
The CrewRecruiter ATS integrates all applicant data onto one dedicated platform—the landscapers recruiting headquarters if you will—allowing you to compare, review as a team, contrast, and filter through deep candidate pools and make selections with all the data at your fingertips.
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Identify the Best People for the Job—Early in the Hiring Process
Recruiting is more difficult than ever, demanding more time and attention just when owners and managers have little of either to spare.
Because of busy schedules and thin teams, avoiding time wasted on unqualified or unaligned job candidates is more important than ever. The CrewRecruiter ATS uses precise and proven applications to hone in on qualified candidates and compile priority lists. Include “smart” questions right from the first application and filter and tag candidates based on their answers. Hiring for an experienced-only lawn care technician position? Great—include the question, “Do you have five or more years experience?” in the application. If they answer no, they go into a separate bucket that takes no time from your team. In fact, go ahead and let the CrewRecruiter ATS send out an automated thanks but no thanks email. As the hiring process advances, CrewRecruiter integrates interviewer feedback to create scoring models that assist in the selection process.
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Pre-screen Landscaping Job Candidates Automatically via Text-Message Driven ATS.
There are a lot of ATS systems on the market. But few if any hit the mark for the specific needs of landscapers. Halstead decided to change all that. With a feature unique to the text-message driven CrewRecruiter ATS, landscape owners and managers can pre-screen candidates with automated text and email messages. As we know, most candidates that apply to jobs are not a good fit. In fact, many have no actual plans of taking the job. They are just fulfilling requirements of their current arrangements. CrewRecruiter sends automated text messages to every applicant, asking them a simple question. If that applicant doesn’t reply, they get tagged “unresponsive” and you never spend time on them. This means all your team’s time is spent on the best candidates, all the time.
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Automate Routine Recruiting and Hiring Tasks for your Landscaping Company
When it comes to time efficiency, the automation of routine tasks represents one of the most important innovations of the digital age. Before ATS technology, hiring managers spent countless hours on administration, such as sending notifications to candidates, scheduling interviews, and filing resumes. ATS technology automates rote tasks, freeing managers to focus on wise selection rather than routine admin.
The CrewRecruiter ATS automates all the routine tasks needed to manage a job candidate funnel, so you can put your time and energy into choosing your next superstar employee.
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Improved Communication with Text-Messaging
While other landscaping companies are calling and emailing applicants to try to set up interviews, those pros using the CrewRecruiter ATS are communicating to candidates the way they want to communicate. See, the best employees for your company are already employees of another company. Not sitting around on job boards all day, waiting to see your opening. They are working. And the way they work means they are on their phones, texting. Manage the complete hiring process via text messages, schedule interviews faster, and onboard seamlessly. That’s the CrewRecruiter ATS.
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The Complete Recruiting Strategy for Landscape & Outdoor Living Firms: Moving Beyond Application Tracking Systems
While some of the above features serve as core functionalities of the many ATSs on the market today, with some others like text-messaging and automated workflows to pre-screen candidates being specific to the CrewRecruiter ATS, there is more goes into an effective recruitment strategy for landscape companies than just an ATS. Posting on job boards and waiting for candidates to show themselves is a recipe for finding less qualified, less reliable, and less dedicated employees. To reach and inspire the top talent needed to grow leading companies, you need to dial-in on passive recruiting.
In addition, finding top talent and hiring top talent are not synonymous, especially in an employees’ market. Selling applicants on your company’s values and culture is a component of recruiting that cannot be ignored. Branding your company as an excellent employer takes a coherent strategy that delivers a powerful message through attractive content, engaging social media, targeted search ads, and engrossing job descriptions.
It’s also key to show that your company is an excellent place to work through the interview process and build a referral base through your current staff. This ensures that word travels about your company being a great choice for those serious about a career in landscaping.
Finding and hiring top talent requires going beyond the capabilities of a basic ATS. Beating the competition in this job market takes an industry-specific recruiting strategy that builds your employer brand, attracts top talent, and demonstrates the professionalism of your organization.
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CrewRecruiter Builds Your Employer Brand
Most of the employees you’d love to hire in this tight labor market are busy working other jobs and may be engaged in “passive” job searching. Passive job searchers have little free time and are only interested in changing employers if a new opportunity offers a substantial improvement in their employment situation. For a move to make sense, it needs to offer higher compensation, advancement, long-term growth opportunities, flexibility, and be with a company that is highly profitable and going places in the industry. Great talent chooses great companies.
CrewRecruiter builds your organization’s employer brand through unique presentation tools that allow you to showcase how great it is to work at your company. These include analytics tools that define how your opportunity differs from the competition, a website builder program that differentiates your company from other employers and videography tools that allow you to express your workplace culture.
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Attracting Top Employees for your Landscape, Hardscape, or Green Industry Business using targeted ads and videography
The CrewRecruiter ATS automates the process of posting your jobs to 100 job boards, but this wide net is only the start. Attracting the candidates you need also requires a full suite of recruiting services.
Landscape companies benefit from CrewRecruiter job descriptions written by professional writers and targeted social media recruiting ads composed by professionals with landscape industry experience. They connect digitally with top talent by using videography that tells the story of their company and culture. They have leading employer brands and they explain why a candidate should choose them. These enhancements and more are part of the larger CrewRecruiter framework and they make the difference between finding excellent versus mediocre or low-quality candidates. Leave the job board-only approach to your competitors.
