ATS Renewal: Seven Important Considerations

If your company uses an ATS during the hiring process, as most businesses these days do, what should you consider when renewing that system? Visit http://pcrecruiter.net/site to learn more.

Authoria recently released a report detailing the seven key considerations companies should keep in mind when renewing their applicant tracking system. As technology has dramatically changed the recruiting game, with everything from Web-enabled application and talent pool systems to business intelligence tools, it’s important for companies to stay at the forefront of the game.

“A wide array of applicant tracking systems (ATS), at different stages of maturity, now compete for the opportunity to help your organization meet its staffing and recruiting needs,” the report notes. “But with over 100 vendors to choose from, where do you start? If you are responsible for renewing your company’s applicant tracking system, there are many factors to take into account.”

Here are the seven key considerations to keep in mind when renewing your ATS:

• 1. How will workforce trends affect your recruiting/staffing needs? – Today’s marketplace for skilled workers is most likely different from when you first implemented your ATS. As key demographic trends influence and shape your organization’s staffing and recruiting needs, it’s important to adjust your strategy accordingly. Looking at how workforce trends have changed your recruiting and staffing needs is the first step.
• 2. Do you know your talent acquisition workflow? – Focusing on your recruiting workflow can help you understand which capabilities your ATS should have in order for your recruiting efforts to succeed. This means having a clear understanding of your recruiting process, including everything from lead generation to closing the deal to evaluating a new hire’s performance. It’s also important to make sure your recruiting process is aligned with the organization’s goals.
• 3. What is the strategic focus of your ATS vendor? – You should know about the growth strategy of your current vendor – whether they are a market leader, if they have staying power and if they focus their product and services on customers like you. You should make sure your vendor has been in business for a while, is growing, and has the experience to meet your goals. They also should have good customer support and follow-up procedures.
• 4. Does your current ATS help build better relationships between recruiters and hiring managers, increasing the usefulness of requisitions and the quality of hires? – Streamlining interaction among hiring managers, recruiters, candidates and HR executives is important, and collaboration between hiring managers and recruiters can lead to higher-quality candidates. ATS systems that support this will offer: role specific dashboards, analytics and key performance indicators, post-hire quality surveys, and tools allowing you to track the source of new hires.
• 5. Does your current vendor help you build meaningful relationships with candidates over time, promoting your employment brand and developing private talent pools of candidates? – As there are currently more job openings and fewer skilled applicants, it’s important for companies to have a proactive hiring practice in place now instead of when they find themselves in an emergency situation. Leveraging talent communities for external and internal candidates can lower your agency and job board costs, reduce time-to-fill and help you better identify diverse candidates.
• 6. Does your current vendor allow you to utilize all the information you learned about a candidate in the recruiting process? – Valuable applicant data learned during initial contacts, assessments, screenings and interviews can be integral to the employee’s future and should be available throughout their time with the company.
• 7. Does your current vendor allow you to go beyond attracting and recruiting the best talent, to managing, developing, and retaining it? – An ATS that is highly integrated with other essential talent management functions, such as performance management, succession planning and compensation management, can allow you to utilize all the information you’ve learned about an employee.