For those of you that don’t know, Applicant Tracking Systems are up-and-coming automated systems that help to facilitate the hiring process with ease, as well as serving as a central location for applicant information, incoming applications, and existing jobs needing to be filled within your company. For many HR teams, ATSs are the most helpful tool that you could implement within your company. If you do not have an ATS currently and are thinking about implementing one for your team, here are some considerations and steps to think about before you do.
How Will You Be Using It?
It is important that you sit down and evaluate the amount of talent that you currently have onboard your company, how much you are looking to hire, and what your business income can currently cover. By outlining areas that are important to you, you will understand exactly what your company stands to gain from an Applicant Tracking System. Whether you are planning on innovating your current hiring process, or are looking for a way to track talent within your company, an ATS can help. Many companies are using these systems to help with performance analysis, employee management, and even employee development. Not only do they help you keep track of incoming applications, but they also allow you to communicate via social networks with potential hires, organize applicants by competencies, and search for individual strength within hiring groups.
How Many People on your HR Team have Worked With an ATS?
Even if you are confident that a certain ATS is exactly what your company needs, it’s important that you have a large number of the potential user group “test drive” it. Because it will be primarily implemented in recruiting and talent management, and because talent acquisition is such a foundational part of that group’s job, it’s important that they feel comfortable and like the ATS, even if you think it’s fantastic. Ask them what they like about individual systems and what they think they need more of, then use those features as a guide to find ATSs that are feasible for your company.
Understand Your Goals
After you have decided on and started implementing an ATS system within your company, it’s very important to have a good handle on what information you are trying to capture, and how it needs to be presented to the system’s users. If you identify this information early on, it will save you time and energy having to go through and modify existing settings and potentially change the format and presentation of the system. Make sure you have everything set exactly how it works best for your team before really getting down to business.
Keep Your Tech On The Upswing
Everyone knows how important it is to stay up on trends: the same thing goes for your ATS. Make sure that you, or someone on your team, stays up to date with the newest ATS trends, and any evolution that your existing ATS may have gone through. By keeping up to date, you will be better able to analyze areas that you perceive as needing improvement. Talk to your ATS provider regularly about your needs and desires, and they will do the best they can to help you make the most of your system.