5 Things to Consider Before Purchasing an Applicant Tracking System

Is it Automated?

An ATS will sift through all of your candidate resumes and bring you the best ones, and some will even send pre-written polite rejection emails to the ones who didn’t make it to your desk. But that’s not what we mean by autonomous. Some ATS rely on cooperation between management and the hiring team in order to sign off on requisitions. Because companies know about 80% of the positions they’ll have to fill each…, it’s best to let the hiring teamwork autonomously, using your company’s ATS to help them out.

Is it Simple?

Even if an ATS has all the bells and whistles, if it’s too intricate or difficult to manage, it is not worth it. A good ATS won’t overload the hiring team or candidates with hoops to jump through or special features they never really use, no matter how much it can do. Candidates specifically don’t react well to complexity, with 48% of them dropping out of the process if it’s too cumbersome. So while you’re browsing the features of an ATS, make sure it is easy to use.

What Else Can it Do?

Of course, you don’t want to get cheated on other features, too. “Simple” and “versatile” don’t have to be mutually exclusive. You can investigate what other benefits an ATS provides. Many offer some sort of other hiring feature, such as training, onboarding or mobile integration, since 9 out of 10 job seekers plan to use their phone to apply for a job within the next 12 months. Make sure you’re looking for these features, since you want your applicant tracking system to be simple and easy to access.

How Aggressive Is it?

What do we mean by “aggressive?” How many applicants, get through your ATS before moving on to the next step in the process. How many fail to complete their resume? In some cases, companies make the application a little longer on purpose, since 53% of HR professionals believe it helps remove uninterested candidates from the process. Does that sound right for your business?

Can it Help With Interviews?

Speaking of candidates, you may want your applicant tracking system to offer a smooth transition from the application to the interview. After all, these dual-sided conversations are part of the larger  application process, so integrating the two into the same system is a no-brainer. If your applicant tracking system can help sort through resumes and set up interviews with the candidates who do make it through, it saves you the time of having to prop open your favorite calendar app and do it yourself. This is a fairly simple step for an ATS to implement, and should be another common feature you look out for.

Your business needs require you to think about a number of things. Will the applicant tracking system grow as your
business grows. What sorts of access privileges does it allow candidates? But the five above are some of the most common considerations we see across the board, and they should be what’s on your mind as you shop for an ATS system. Once you have your checklist, the shopping process will be much easier. You may even think it is fun.

About Author Sean Pomeroy: While selling other companies software solutions, Sean worked with Michael Warden to design over a dozen applications for different organizations and industries over the years. Sean now focuses on the vision for the company, business development, and continues involvement in the software design of Cyber Recruiter, applicant tracking system and Cyber Train, learning management system. Tweet me at @VisSoft