Why an ATS is a “must have”
Authored by Lisa Muller, recruiting operations manager, Archer & Associates
An ATS is a foundational and fundamental tool in your recruiting toolkit. The Applicant Tracking System takes your process and tracks and organizes it so you always know where you are with any given candidates, on any given day, for any given open job req!
Shopping the tools
Determining the best product for your organization and implementing it should be done early in company’s growth cycle as it captures valuable data and morphs into your pipeline as you grow. If you are already a mature organization, never fear, an ATS can very successfully be implemented!
How to determine the best ATS for you? You gotta go through all those darn demos. I know, it’s time consuming and a little tedious, but it’s important you have a feel for the user experience of the system, and make sure it aligns with your needs.
And speaking of needs, list out your must-haves and nice-to-have’s in a spreadsheet along with other critical criteria such as fees and training– something like this:
- Monthly user fee
- Installation Fee
- Any additional fees for training, adding customizations, data transfers
- Does it synch with Outlook?
- Is it customizable?
- Level of customer service?
- Does it have a CRM?
- Strengths/weaknesses
- You get the idea
The value of your ATS
Your pipeline is your recruiting goldmine! It helps you track candidates, develop relationships and have a go-to resource to start with when a new req opens. Plus it organizes your candidate data in an efficient, searchable way that makes it painless.
It also puts data and analytics at your fingertips: you can run recruiting metrics easily, analyze ROI for your sourcing efforts and track progress on any req, recruiter or candidate. It helps you catch trending around your interview process or identify trouble spots, which allows you to address situations early and find solutions before they become big problems.
Lastly, and very importantly, an ATS improves your public image! By having your ducks in a row, candidates experience your recruiting function (and your organization) as a well-run machine. Everyone wants to work for a company that has its act together!
