|
Applicant Tracking System Selection Guide
A prudent business person's guide to applicant tracking
systems
By Michele
Groutage
Part one of a two-part series.
As a veteran of the
recruiting industry, I regularly monitor
emerging HR/recruitment
technologies that help manage labor. About a year ago last
February, I listened with interest to the rumblings about
Web-based applicant tracking systems (ATSs). I had been a
Resumix user in the early '90s and thought, "WOW! This could
be pretty interesting."
I had questions, however. Was
it possible to take a software-based ATS product and Web
enable it, while ensuring data security? Better yet, if my
data now resides on the vendor's servers, does that data
become the vendor's or remain mine?
As the buzz grew
stronger, I started doing research, beyond what the vendors
were saying. My question was simple: How can I protect my data
from becoming the property of someone else?
During the next several weeks we will
explore more about ATS, providing you with the information you
need to make informative decisions. In my experience, there
are few guarantees in the area of an ASP/ATS; however, there
are precautions that any prudent businessperson should take
when investing in products and services provided by another
company. While most are common sense, many are overlooked.
Here are the first seven precautions, which can be applied to
ATS. You'll find seven more in part two of this series.
-
First, investigate the vendor on your
own. You can conduct research on a public company on sites
like www.hoovers.com and find basic financial information
for private companies at Dun & Bradstreet at
www.dnb.com.
-
Ask the company to describe its history,
product(s) and services offered. Ask also about all partner
companies and subsidiary relationship(s). You want to make
sure that the company's subsidiaries are not your
competitors.
-
Ask how many clients the company has
that fit the profile of your needs. (Most ATSs are generic
workflows.)
-
Ask about technology, features and
functionality. Can they do this and can they do that? You
are buying the technology, not slick graphics.
-
Put the ball in the company's court.
Give the company a list of all the ATSs you are considering
and ask the people there to give you their perspectives. Ask
for what issues you should watch out and how they position
their company, products and services relative to each
vendor?
-
Ask if the company is expanding or
decreasing its workforce. Decreasing isn't a good sign and
could affect your ability to receive product support in the
future.
Probe about support, asking
where the company is located, how many offices it has and
how you will be supported.
Michele Groutage is the Director of
Marketing & Development for MedZilla, Inc., the first site
on the worldwide web established in 1994, to provide
searchable resume and job database services for professionals
and employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medicine,
science and healthcare."
Applicant tracking
links
|
Employment Marketplace
|
|
MSN ATS articles, Mon, 28 Apr 2008
|
|
The advances in technology have dramatically changed the landscape for recruiters. ... Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have evolved to streamline the entire recruiting ...
|
|
|
ATS Services Acquires Dunhill Staffing
|
|
MSN ATS articles, Sun, 27 Apr 2008
|
|
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ATS ... Its executive recruiters and consultants partner with clients ... The views expressed in the articles are ...
|
|
|
American TonerServ Announces Letter of Intent to Acquire Pendl Companies (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance)
|
|
Yahoo-ATS, Thu, 24 Apr 2008
|
|
American TonerServ Corp. ("ATS"), a strategic consolidator in the more than $6.0 billion highly fragmented independent segment of the printer supplies and services industry, announced today that the Company has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to purchase certain assets representing the retail business of Pendl Companies, Inc., headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Pendl has been ...
|
|
|
