Surprisingly, the first step to choosing an Applicant Tracking System
is not actually looking at the different options out there. As brought up by the folks at Aon Consulting,
the first step to implementing an ATS is looking internally to
determine exactly what you need. This may take some time and effort
(two things people are not usually eager to give up) but in the long
run it will actually make the department far more effective.
The second step is to look at where the department is going instead of
where it is, as “[s]etting strategy for the future is perhaps the
single most important task an HR executive can take” in this
decision-making process. Formulating a specific mission or goal for
your department keeps everyone focused on what will make the best
choice in the end.
The final step is reviewing what you’ve found and selecting the
essential criteria for your ATS. Once you’ve established what you need,
then it’s time to find out who can provide it. Jake Stupak (a.k.a. The
ATS Guy) has recently launched TheATSGuide, a directory of current ATS options that can be easily compared. Aon’s analysis does mention the advantage of SaaS (like CATS Applicant Tracking) for the simple fact that it can change and improve without you having to do anything on your own system.
As the article so smartly says, “Rather than looking at the next best
thing in technology, employers should look at the next best thing for
their own organization: how to improve the hiring process before
introducing technology. This helps reduce risk and prevent costly
mistakes.”
The Strategy of Choosing an ATS follow this blog post
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Rachel, good points. I spent many years as an employee developing technology solutions for companies and have concluded that the processes used in companies override the technology. In other words, many off-the-shelf solutions require you to change your processes to meet the needs of the technology. Often this technology is designed to attract a broad audience, resulting in an overly complex system with bells and whistles you won't use or need. Instead, one must first analyze and improve the internal processes without the constraints of technology and design the technology to meet the needs of your processes.
In a perfect world, we'd all be able to build our own technology so it can adjust and evolve with your changing business needs. To do so can be expensive, time-consuming and can add a number of unexpected costs such as internal hardware and support. However, today there are systems available that balance low-cost, speed and customization in the saas world. It's best to innovate offline and drive vendors to meet your needs.
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Rachel, we just created an independant report that lists 170 bullet reports on what to consider to when purchasing an ATS.
