Payroll and people
Hiring
Do you need hiring software, and what should it do from job post to first day?
Six short steps. No email or account.
- Who needs it
- Any business adding people, particularly in trades where hiring is continuous.
- When it matters
- Before the first posting, if only to have somewhere for applications to land.
- Compare first
- Where postings syndicate
- Matters most when
- growing, mature
Is this the right tool for you?
Hiring by posting a job and reading replies in your inbox loses good candidates to slow responses and leaves you comparing people from memory. Once someone says yes, the first-day paperwork, equipment and training often happen in a rush, and new hires leave before they are productive.
Signs you need it now
- Applications arrive in several inboxes and some never get a reply.
- You lose candidates because it takes too long to schedule an interview.
- New hires start without their paperwork done, their tools ready or anyone to train them.
- You hire for the same roles repeatedly, especially seasonally, and start from scratch each time.
When another area fits better
- Your main issue is managing records, policies and benefits for people you already employ. Read the hr and benefits guide
Recognise two or more of these? Sort out hiring next.
Tell us how your business runs and get a plan that puts hiring in order with everything else: what to set up first, your must-haves and what to compare.
What matters at your size
Working alone
For a first hire, a job board posting, a simple set of consistent interview questions and a checklist for the first day are enough.
A small team
One place to post to several job boards, keep applicants moving through stages and collect new-hire paperwork electronically, ideally connected to payroll.
Several teams or locations
Hiring stages shared between managers, interview scheduling, templated offers and onboarding checklists per role, with reporting on where candidates come from.
How the way you work changes the choice
- Hourly and seasonal crews
- Speed wins. Look for mobile-friendly applications, text messaging with candidates and fast onboarding so people can start working within days.
- Shops, restaurants and clinics
- Steady turnover in a few roles. Reusable job posts and a standard onboarding flow for each role save the most time.
- Professional and skilled roles
- Fewer, higher-stakes hires. Structured interviews, shared feedback and a considered offer process matter more than volume.
What to compare
Where postings syndicate
Reach matters more than features for most trades roles.
Mobile application
Trades candidates apply from a phone. A desktop-only form loses applicants.
Onboarding handoff
Moving a hire into payroll without re-entering everything.
Cost and setup effort
- Hiring tools may charge per open job, per month or per employee, and job board promotion is often extra. Estimate how many roles you fill in a year before comparing.
- Background checks, drug screens and other checks are usually charged per candidate, and the rules on when and how you can use them vary by state and city. Check before you add them.
- Setup is writing good job posts, interview questions and a first-week checklist once, then reusing them.
Trade-offs to weigh
- Standalone or part of HR and payroll
- A hiring tool inside your HR or payroll system hands new hires straight to payroll. A standalone tool may reach more candidates but needs a handover.
- Tools or a recruiter
- Software helps you run hiring yourself. A recruiter or staffing agency costs more per hire but finds candidates for hard-to-fill roles.
When to sort it out
Before the first posting, if only to have somewhere for applications to land.
Your next step
Answer six short questions about how your business runs. You get an operating plan: where hiring fits among your priorities, the must-haves to hold every option to, and what to compare when you choose.
Where this comes first
Trades and businesses that usually sort this out early.
Often decided alongside
Other parts of payroll and people.