5 Things To Consider Before You Spend A Dime On Any ATS System
ATS systems can be very expensive and very confusing to buy if your on the hunt for one. Recently I have seen a lot of new application companies and builders come online that have offered another avenue to capturing candidates through your careers portal. Before you make any decision I wanted to give some insight from a third party (as we don't care how candidates are managed we are just focused on capturing talent) point of view as I believe you can avoid some mistakes prior to making a decision.
1. Consider a alternative solution besides your typical ats systems. Salesforce, Longjump and even sugarcrm offer more open source to a standard ats system. The beauty of these systems is that you can hire your own developer and customize and create it to your specifications and needs at a fraction of the cost.
2. Change Me - Pay Me
Any ATS provider that you work with will want you to pay them a very hefty consulting fee in order to make any changes to your system. Make sure that you understand their fees and terms prior to making any decision. Most customers will make and or have requests but it will take either to long to implement or they won't do it at all so if your buying a system out of the box, know what's in the box.
3. It Only Tracks -
I think a lot of people don't understand what the ATS system will really do for you. Plain and simple it will track candidates. The system won't source, interview, screen, post jobs it will only track. Some vendors are taking steps to change this and to incorporate more of this into their platforms, however this has been a slow and painful endeavor. A good example of this is when a ats system is purchased a lot of people don't understand or know that they have to buy another third party job distribution package just to get their jobs out to the world. So now the customer has to pay for a ats, third party software and the job board posting.
4. We Don't Even Use Our ATS -
Because of a lot of reason that I mentioned above a lot of recruiters don't even use the ats system that the company spent tens of thousands of dollars on. The system could be old, not user friendly or the user hasn't been given the proper training. Make sure before you buy anything to see what the impact is on the company now and in the future. Also make sure that you have actual recruiters testing the system as they will be the one's using it day in and day out. Also make sure that it will grow with your future needs or if that's another charge.
5. Kiss - Keep It Simple Stupid
Their are lots and lots of features in ats systems however will you ever use them or need them? Before setting out on your ats journey consider that essentials and then they nice to have's. At the end of the day you can only use so much of the system and you will always want the end result to be a hire. Don't get caught up in what the system can do, but focus on what you need it to do.
I hope these tips will help you make a better informed decision regarding your current and future ats needs.