How to build the ultimate recruitment stack

If you’re looking for a great example of a tech stack, there’s probably one in your pocket right now.  

Back in the early days of mobile phones (think mid-2000s Motorola, Nokia or Sony-Ericsson), every app was built upon a single operating system.  

Fast-forward to the present day. Part of what makes modern iOS and Android smartphones so successful is that Apple and Google do not try to build everything themselves. Instead, they’ve focused on creating platforms that enable users to put together their own ecosystem of apps built by third-party developers, all accessible through an integrated interface. 

A tech stack is a combination of technologies used to run a process. Call it what you will: a “tech stack” if you’re short on syllables or a “connected technology ecosystem” if you want to impress. The point is that this is the direction technology is trending in across nearly every function … including recruitment.  

ERPs vs recruitment tech stacks 

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) refers to the monolithic, cross-functional systems that do everything from Finance to Payroll, Procurement, Marketing and HR. However, the purchasing and implementation costs involved have historically been a big hurdle for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leading to a situation where only the largest organisations can afford ERPs. Even if they could afford them, ERPs are generally not designed to cater to the needs of SMEs.  

An ERP will certainly come with the modules needed to support HR and recruitment activities. The trouble is that users can find themselves stuck with underperforming modules that are part of the wider package and fail to meet the team’s specific needs. This is where the tech stack comes in.  

There has been an explosion of niche developers who focus on one specialised area of recruitment (such as marketing, interviewing or onboarding) and do it very well. This enables talent acquisition teams to take a best-of-breed approach, handpicking specialised parts that integrate with each other or with their existing Applicant Tracking System (ATS).  

Other benefits of the recruitment tech stack approach include: 

• Staged transformation: While an ERP represents the “big bang” approach to digital transformation, tech stacks are more iterative by nature. Organisations can begin with business-critical modules and build upon their tech stack piece-by-piece, spreading out the cost and change management involved and testing as they go.  
• Control: Tech stacks are about customisation. This approach enables recruiters to create a solution that suits their business, with tools built for specific needs. 
• Flexibility: A best-in-breed approach means organisations can avoid vendor lock-in, swapping out parts of the tech stack if they are not performing to expectations or if the organisation’s needs change.  
• Support: Smaller vendors may not have giant call centres like established ERP providers but will usually be able to offer more personalised service.  

Integration and juggling multiple apps  

Integration has long been the number-one concern for organisations considering the tech stack approach, and for very good reason. If different elements of a tech stack fail to communicate and share data with each other, users will end up with an increased workload as they must export data to spreadsheets and manually transfer it from one app to another.  

The good news, however, is that app developers today know that integration must be a top priority if they hope to sell their products. Be sure to ask about integration (with legacy systems and with other elements of your existing tech stack) when researching products and speaking with vendors.  

The other concern with a tech stack is the hassle involved in managing multiple apps rather than a single system – in practice, this means having over a dozen tabs open on your web browser and constantly jumping between them. Gartner warns that organisations risk ending up with “a jigsaw puzzle of hundreds of applications” unless this is managed carefully.  

The answer is to take a hub-and-spoke approach. This involves having a core software platform which acts as the hub while the rest of the stack acts as the spokes, seamlessly integrating with the core platform and eliminating the need to juggle between tabs. Indeed, for example, integrates with a huge variety of Applicant Tracking Systems and other HR stack tools to streamline the hiring process. 

Which part of your recruitment tech stack should act as the hub? It is up to you, although the ATS is a popular choice. Most developers offer users the option to make their app either a hub or a spoke.  

Six elements of a best-in-breed recruitment tech stack

One of the greatest things about the tech stack approach is that there is no “right” combination of apps that every organisation should aspire to. Every stack is unique, and their customised nature can make your tech stack a key source of advantage in an increasingly competitive market. 

Keeping that in mind, here are some elements of a best-of-breed tech recruitment stack: 

1. ATS: Often positioned as the “hub” of a recruitment tech stack, the ATS is used to track, sort and screen candidates as they move through the hiring process. Most ATS solutions include resumé screening and candidate communication capabilities.  
2. Recruitment marketing platforms/job boards: Job boards such as Indeed can be integrated with your ATS and other parts of your tech stack to ensure the smooth flow of candidate data. Many organisations are also taking advantage of automated job posting technology to save time and effort.  
3. Video interviewing: Any video conferencing software can be used to conduct remote interviewees, but there are plenty of offerings on the market with dedicated solutions for video-based recruitment.  
4. Onboarding software: Modern onboarding solutions are moving away from paper-based compliance and offer a highly engaging, streamlined UX that helps new hires hit the ground running.  
5. Candidate feedback: Use quick, targeted surveys to capture candidate feedback to drive continuous improvement and identify weak points in your hiring process. 

Focus on integration and candidate experience 

There are so many things to keep in mind when designing and building a tech stack: usability, cost, complexity, fit-for-purpose and more. But you cannot go wrong if you prioritise integration and UX for candidate-facing parts of the stack.  

And remember, one of the benefits of a tech stack is that if something is not working or if business needs change, you can simply swap it out for a different solution. The key is scalability and flexibility. Your recruitment stack should be able to scale up or down as per your needs, and should make the whole recruitment process simpler, easier and more efficient.