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Mobile Friendly
StartDate is completely mobile-friendly for all users: HR, hiring managers and job applicants. Access the system via desktop, tablet or other mobile device.
Fast Implementation
StartDate can be up and running in mere minutes. Enjoy hassle-free and time saving implementation and start hiring quickly.
Unlimited Support & Online Training
We takes pride in our personal approach. Our support team ensures all users are well-informed and can receive prompt answers to their questions.
Maximize your Reach
Post Your Jobs Anywhere
Cross-post to External Job Sites
Advertise your job postings to a range of external job sites (like Indeed, SimplyHired etc) by just one click and reach maximum number of applicants.
Social Media Integration
Broadcast your jobs through your corporate social media accounts. It's simple to link one or more Twitter accounts within the system to schedule and announce your job postings.
Internal Postings
Choose to advertise specific jobs to internal candidates only, before its posted publicly. Internal candidates are flagged and given a higher ranking.
Streamline & Customize Your Hiring Process
Create Your Own Templates
Job Templates
Instead of creating jobs from scratch each time, save it as a template and easily create and edit any job posting quickly.
Rejection Reasons
Give a reason for a candidate not being hired - such as cultural fit, not qualified, not enough experience, offer letter refused, etc.
Email Templates
Automatically send a message to applicants, such as reject letters to those not hired for a position and application confirmation emails to new candidates.
Find the right talent faster with a user-friendly and flexible system.
Manage Your Recruiters
Multiple Candidate Workflow
Different types of jobs have different hiring processes. Create, organize and name each hiring stage to match the type of job posted.
Admin User Privileges
Assign or remove new or existing users easily by giving administration rights to any team member and make your hiring workflow more controllable.
Hiring Managers
Easily assign limited system access and privacy control to hiring managers and let them see only required information about candidates and job postings.
StartDate – A Perfect & Affordable Solution
Find Your Perfect Candidate Fast
Smart Candidate Search
With StartDate 'elastic' search, easily find your perfect and most qualified candidate from your candidate database and add them to a job list.
Candidate Ranking
Candidates are automatically ranked from most to least qualified, based on weighted question responses, resume and job description matching and past history.
Weighted Pre-screening Questions
Easily create, modify, delete and organize pre-screening questions. Questions can be assigned and customized on a per-job basis and answerable in different formats: yes/no, multiple choice, short or long answer.
An Easy to Use & Modern Interface that Makes You Efficient
Customization & Analytics
Careers Page Integration
The StartDate system is branded with your company logo and colours. Job seekers are shown a consistent company brand throughout their job search and application process.
Reporting Capabilities
Reports are available both on a per job or company-wide basis. Metrics such as time-to-hire, applicant source and job views are reported in an exportable table or chart form.
Data Security is Our Top Priority
Safe & Secure
Canada-Based Servers
HireGround is a 100% Canadian owned and operated company, so your data is saved on Canadian servers. Your information is regulated according to tight Canadian privacy laws.
Security & Privacy of Information
Security and privacy is maintained for users following the PIPA and PIPEDA guidelines for Canada and the Affirmative Action guidelines for the USA. All websites are protected and encrypted through the industry standard SSL.
Cloud-Based Application
StartDate is offered as a SaaS (Software as a Service) based solution or hosted model. We host the software, perform updates and maintenance, as well as back up and store your data.
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Fast Implementation
Get Started Sooner
A typical installation of an applicant tracking system has historically been in the range of three weeks to six months. Why, in this tech savvy age are we faced with such long implementation roll outs… with uncertain results at the end? In our view, there are simply not enough unique requirements for recruitment that necessitate months or a year in setup time!
Now, current technologies allow the StartDate ATS to be implemented in a matter of days.Configurations can be made on the fly within the system and typical installations take around 3-4 business days from start to finish, depending on delivery of necessary materials.
Branded Careers Page
The simplest and most popular solution is to have a StartDate hosted careers page, with your website linking to this page. Your logo will appear at the top, and the colour scheme is branded with your company colour. The text is styled using your own website’s CSS to match your website’s look and feel.
A more customizable solution is to use our provided XML or JSON feed to display your jobs within your own website. While this solution requires more technical knowledge and time to implement, it allows for full customization of how and where the job postings are displayed.
Training & Support
HireGround offers training webinars or phone calls to walk new users through the system. StartDate’s intuitive interface makes it very easy to understand, so training sessions are typically less than an hour. If there are any questions or concerns once you’ve started using the system, we are always happy to help. See more about HireGround’s personal approach.
Cloud-based
HireGround’s StartDate Applicant Tracking Software is offered as a SaaS (Software as a Service)based solution or hosted model. This means we host the software, perform updates and maintenance, as well as back up and store your data. There’s no need for extensive implementation, downloading updates, special hardware, or a dedicated IT team. The only requirement to access the system is a current internet browser.
Job Posting
Job Templates
Do you frequently hire for certain positions? Instead of creating a job from scratch,or copying and pasting each time, templates save the job details so posting is quick and painless. With templates you only need to add minimal information before hitting ‘post’.
Instant Updates
Manage your careers page with no need of tech support. Schedule a job to post on a future date,
cancel a job, or edit any part of a posted job at any time.
Multi-language friendly
Post your jobs in English and/or French with our seamless language tool. The entire application process can be bilingual, including the careers pageinterface, job descriptions and question forms.Translate only the questions and jobs which require a second language –this is flexible to fit your job applicants’ and business needs.
Online Applications
Mobile Applications
Enable applicants to search and apply for jobs on their preferred device. With almost 70% of job seekers using mobile devices in their search, your careers page and smartphone friendly application process can now cater to a growing number of users. StartDate uses a responsive design, with touch-friendly links and buttons.
No Login Required
Applicants can apply right away, without being asked to create an account or register. StartDate aims to eliminate time consuming processes and make applying as painless as possible! The system accepts resumes and also allows applicants to copy/paste or type their information.
Custom Application Questions
For each job, you can choose to require a resume, use a questionnaire, or both. Custom questions will give you the information you really need to screen, rank and filter applicants. A questionnaire provides an easy, mobile-friendly and fast way for applicants to provide the necessary information. Collect essential information in an instant at career fairs and events.
Upload Additional Documents
Allow applicants for particular jobs to upload one or more files in addition to their resume. Customize the message for applicants: ask for the specific information you need, such as a driver’s abstract,from the candidates you want. All files are stored as part of the candidate profile within the system.
Parsing Technologies
Candidate resumes are parsed upon upload so that the information is indexed. This allows the system to perform more accurate searches, including using phrases and contextual search,similar to a Google search.
Highlight Internal Applicants
Internal Postings
Post a job separately as an internal position. Jobs can be posted as internal, external or both depending on which start and end dates you choose. Only those designated as current employees can view or apply to internal-only positions.
Internal Tags
Automatically mark candidates from within your company with an internal flag for any job.This can be done through multiple IP addresses or through specified email domain names. In a job list, the flag is easy to spot and internal applicants are given a ranking boost by the system.
Plan your Hiring Process
Custom workflows
Choose which hiring workflow best fits each type of position. Some jobs may require fewer hiring stages than others, or need input from hiring managers at different parts of the process. With custom workflows, hiring for any type of job can be managed efficiently, from hiring part-time students, to permanent management positions.
Assign specific questions
StartDate’s question form builder enables you to pull relevant groups of questions and assign them to a job. Perhaps certain jobs require technical skills questions, while others require availability information – StartDate lets you ask only the questions that are relevant to the job.
Privacy and other System Users
Assign one or more recruiters to a job to allow only those people access to the candidate list. Otherwise, jobs are open to all recruiters. Assign a hiring manager to give them access to candidates in certain stages of a job.
Broaden your Reach
Post to job boards
With the job board package, your postings can be published on Indeed, SimplyHired, Glassdoor, Trovit, WowJobs & HireGroundJobs. Choose which boards to post to, and track their success with the Applicant Source report. Unlike when aggregators like Indeed ‘scrape’ your careers page, edits made in the StartDate system will be reflected across the third party job boards, and deposting jobs early will cause them to be removed from all sites.
Reach a broader audience and gain maximum traffic to your jobs with the job board integration.
Manage Candidates
Quickly compare applicants
Compare applicants by viewing their resume, profile information and application responses. Flip through candidates while viewing only information that is pertinent and hiding the rest (ie. Education) to compare qualifications. This encourages a quick decision making process, where a candidate is moved to the next stage or rejected with a click of a button.
Intelligent Ranking and Filtering
Candidates are ranked in a job list based on their resume, job description, system history and on answers to weighted application questions. Filter applicants by sending them directly to the ‘Reject’ stage using stop questions, or a filter keyword. View performance on application questions at a glance with our star rating system.
In‑App Resume View
Quickly view candidates’ resumes inside of StartDate as plain text or as an original PDF. No longer will recruiters have to download and open resumes one by one, click through emails or search for paper files when browsing candidates. A candidate’s resume is open and displayed as a PDF with all of their other application information ready and waiting for your recruiters.
System Notes
See if the candidate directly applied for the job or was moved there by a recruiter as well as how many other jobs they’ve applied to at your company. View how long they’ve spent in each stage, and why they were rejected.
Duplicate Profiles
Duplicate candidates are handled automatically: if a candidate applies for the same job twice, using the same email address, only the most recent resume and application information are shown. Candidates are still able to apply for multiple jobs at the same time with the same email address. View all candidates’ profiles and application history on a detailed candidate history page.
Black Flags
Is there a candidate who is not a good fit for your company, yet keeps applying for jobs? When you ‘Black Flag’ an applicant, they are immediately rejected for that position, as well as any future positions they apply to.
Score Candidates
Custom weighted questions
Ask questions to score a candidate’s qualifications and suitability. Multiple choice, multiple answer, short and long answers can all be given weighting. Assign the highest amount of points to the most important questions, or make an unacceptable response a stop question to automatically reject a candidate.
A candidate’s score determines how they are ranked in the job list: those who have given the most ideal answers will be higher in the list than those who do not fit the criteria or those who scored lower. See at a glance what a candidate’s overall score was, based on their answers to individual questions.
Search for Prospects
Smart Elastic Search
Search for candidates by name, keyword, location and date. Search the resume text, cover letter or notes section of their profiles. The advanced elastic search includes plural forms and suffixes in the results, for example a search for Engineer, will return candidates with the word Engineer, Engineering or Engineered in their profile. Use Boolean operators for additional filtering, for example, search using a phrase, add, or exclude terms.
Candidate profile information
View a candidate’s information and history with your company directly from the search results. See the jobs they have applied to and how far they made it in the hiring process. View their contact information and profiles used when applying as well as responses to application questions.
Copy Candidates to a job
From the search results page, select one or more candidates to instantly move them to a specific job. The system will never copy a candidate into a job they are already in to avoid duplicate profiles.
Inform your Decisions
Collaborate using notes
Make notes on a candidate to share with other interested parties. The system will track who made the note, when and for which stage of the hiring process. Collect opinions and feedback from others in the hiring team in one place to make an efficient collective decision.
Encourage timely decisions
View how long a candidate has been in a stage to encourage decision making. A label shows the number of days a candidate has spent in that stage waiting to be moved along or rejected. Keep that number low for a fast and efficient hiring process.
View Questionnaire rating
See at a glance how a candidate performed on your ranked application questions using our star rating system. Look at those 24 out of 25 star candidates who have given the most ideal answers to your questions before those with only a few stars.
Full transparency
See when and which recruiter or hiring manager moved a candidate. See when a candidate was rejected, who rejected them and the reason they were rejected. You can also view if any changes were made to the job posting, and who did the editing.
Streamline Communications
Email Templates
The number one complaint from job seekers is the lack of communication from potential employers. Our automatic regret letter elegantly solves this issue, by using email templates to send letters to applicants who didn’t get the job. The system will never send out a duplicate email. Informing applicants about their status in a job is one great way to improve your image as an employer.
Personalization
Email placeholders are available to personalize each email with the candidate’s first and last name, the job they applied to and your contact info. Sure, you may be sending out a stock form letter, but that doesn’t mean it has to look like one.
Leave a note
When working with a team to fill a position, use the notes section to gather opinions at a time that is convenient for everyone. It can be hard to schedule time to discuss candidates, but by writing notes you can ask and answer questions and let others know your thoughts on an applicant. Notes are job-specific, so they don’t interfere with discussions from other job lists an applicant may be in.
Email Alerts
Instead of frequently checking in on your jobs to see if there is an applicant requiring attention, let the system notify you via email an email notification. The alert will be sent out when a candidate is moved into a stage you are assigned to. This feature is currently available and optimized for Hiring Managers only.
Configure whether you receive a notification instantly, daily, hourly or not at all.
Manage User Permissions
Add, edit, replace and remove
StartDate Admin users have full control over assigning user licences. It’s easy to see at a glance how many users of each type have been assigned and how many are available. Add, edit or delete users quickly, without the need to call us. (You can still call if you want, we love to chat).
User Types
There are four different types of users, with varying permission levels.
Recruiter level users can post and manage jobs, and view candidates in all jobs, except ones they are specifically not assigned to. Recruiters can also search the database and view reports.
Hiring managers can only see candidates in the jobs they are assigned to, in stages that you designate as ‘hiring manager stages.’ Hiring managers can make decisions and notes on these candidates.
Admin users have access to the system settings, to manage Users, Questions, Workflows, Templates and other global administrative features.
The Super Admin user has access to everything in the system, including all Recruiter and Admin functions.
Get Informative Reports
The Numbers Don’t Lie
See what’s working in your hiring process and where the issues may be. Each report can be filtered by job location, custom categories, date, and more to compare or pinpoint the areas you are interested in. All reports are exportable, and can be viewed as a graph or a table.
Jobs Posted
View the number of jobs posted within a given time range. Filter this report by location, category, job type and workflow.
Job views and applications
Track the overall views job postings receive within a given time range. See where most candidates drop off in the application process for different types of jobs. Are a lot of people stopping after reading the job description, or are they giving up when they reach your questionnaire?
Candidate Source
See where candidates are finding your jobs to know which advertising channels are most effective. Choose to view the sources for Hired candidates only, as well as by location, category and other filters.
Time to Hire
See how many days it takes to hire candidates for various types of jobs in a given time range.
Individual Job Reports
In addition to the aggregate reports listed above, each job has its own reports to show how it performed. See data for job views and applications as well as candidate sources.
Customize with APIs
What is an API?
API: Application Programming Interface. It is a set of instructions and standards for allowing communication and data exchange between two applications. APIs are designed for computer-to-computer communication (not people). They maintain data privacy by exposing specific functionality while safeguarding other parts of the application and data. An API must be implemented by other developers, as each implementation is unique to your company’s existing software systems and specific needs.
Integration Opportunities
Our API makes integration possible with other HR systems your company may use, such as HRIS or payroll. Bring specific candidate information from StartDate to payroll for new hires.
An API can also be used by your web team to further integrate StartDate into your corporate website, as well as many other possibilities.
High Security and Privacy
100% Canadian
HireGround is a Canadian owned and operated company, so your data is housed on Canadian servers and your information is regulated according to tight Canadian privacy laws. Unlike many other applicant tracking providers, we do not use any third-party software based outside of our borders.
Best Practices
We use the very latest in industry best practices for privacy & security:
Encrypting passwords with a one-way secure algorithm, storing and backing up all data and encrypting web content through SSL.
- Flexible, scalable user roles with fine control over permissions, cryptographically irreversible password storage, and short-lived one-time security tokens to reset a password.
- Our servers are located at a Tier 3 data center in Canada; a highest level engineering centre surpassing uptime, security, cooling and power redundancy standards of other hosting facilities. The network is fully redundant and excels in speed, reliability and security.
