The ATS Guy

Every so often I get asked by companies or individuals what I feel is the best way to approach a partnership with an applicant tracking system (ATS) vendor. This typically revolves around the introduction of a new technical integration the company has to offer. While it is important to note every potential partnership is different, I believe there are some factors that can maximize the partnership potential. Again, these factors might differ from ATS vendor to ATS vender depending on the type of value or technology, however, I believe that following can increase the chance for a successful first impression:

(I will be referring to the company seeking a partnership as “company”)

Value
The company should have clear vision to share with the ATS vendor in regards to the value (including value to ATS vendor’s clients) that will be delivered by the partnership. This is important for many reasons, but usually the most important is the fact that ATS vendors’ roadmaps are already in place and active development will stretch anywhere from 1-12 months out. If there is high enough value to the ATS vendor, the partnership will then be placed in the queue and be matched up against other opportunities. Most valuable opportunities will almost always win. This is where the company might have to be patient because the sense of urgency between them and the ATS vendor are most likely are not aligned.

Integration
This next point is more directly tied to the technical aspects: What is involved with the integration? It is important to understand how easy or difficult it will be to get the two solutions working together. While integrations have become increasingly easier over the years, the company will most likely need to be much more flexible than the ATS vendor. I’m sure there is a chart out there that can better depict this, but here are my thoughts as it relates to value and technical integration:

• The more value for the ATS vendor, the more likely they will be flexible, faster, and easier to work with.
• The less value (yet the ATS vendor still wants to more forward) the more the company’s solution better be “plug-n-play.”
• No value no integration.

It is always best to find where the believed “sweet spot” is between value and integration. This reinforces the importance of the first point by
ensuring the value proposition is optimized.

Deliverables
The following points cover what is needed by the company if the technology or service is “new” to the ATS vendor/industry:

• Have documentation ready that highlights the partnership.
• Have a demonstration prepared. Either beta, live or model based works as long as it’s conceptual and ties the integration to value.
• Have market numbers ready and how the partnership could potentially help the ATS vendor capture X% market share, grow revenue by Y, etc.
• If the partnership is based on a shared revenue model, the company needs to have some sort of revenue expectation outlined. If there are no set expectations, the ATS vendor might assume there is little to no value.

Approach
The company should have a plan for approaching each ATS vendor. The company needs to find the markets each ATS vendor serves and their market share. Many of the features that are found in ATSs have become a commodity. If the company has something truly unique, they should be prepared for the “Would you do an exclusive deal?” question. If they don’t plan on exclusive deals, they might want to create a lineup of ATS vendors listed from least-to-most potential based on revenue or market penetration expectations. (NOTE: Use the suggestion with caution)The company could then start contacting the least potential ATS vendors to practice and refine their partnership approach, and then work their way up the list.

These are only a few of my thoughts, and each one certainly doesn’t apply to all situations. Some of the best partnerships can start with a simple phone call or on the back of a napkin at a networking event.

Filed under: Applicant Tracking | No Comments »
Tags: Applicant Tracking Partnership, Applicant Tracking System Partnership, ATS Partnership

I found the following post on Craigslist in several locations: http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/etc/1234727293.html. It reads as follows:

“Do you use an Applicant Tracking System (Research Study)? (Greater Chicago)

I am conducting usability research for an applicant tracking system. If you work in the HR field and use one of these, I would like to invite you to take part in a 45-60 minute usability session. The interview can be completed on-line if you wish ($75 incentive). Appointments are available Thursday and Friday, June 25-26.

Please respond with the name of the tracking system you use, the number of employees in the company or organization you work for, and where I can reach you.
•Location: Greater Chicago
•Compensation: $75 for a single, 45 - 60 interview. Can be completed on web.
•Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
•Please, no phone calls about this job!
•Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.”

I thought this was a very interest method to drum up participants for ATS research. I hope that the findings are shared!

Best of luck!

Jake Stupak
www.TheATSGuy.com
www.JobDigTracker.com
www.TheATSGuide.com

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: Applicant Tracking Research, Applicant Tracking System Research, ATS Research

I’ve covered several topics in my posts that were aimed towards helping decision makers select the right applicant tracking system. Each of these posts, with a bit of modification, could really be applied to any sort of solution. The purpose of software after all is to simplify processes, reduce costs/time, and align objectives with overall organizational goals. I have never seen a vendor that promised their solution would drain your money and cause you headaches, however, I see this all of the time. This is the very reason that guides, reviews, white papers, and suggestions exist.

In an effort to select the right solutions, you most likely will start with a quick search online. As part of your search you might have come across a company named Capterra. This is a great site that focuses on listing a large number of available solutions specific to industries, size and a large amount of other types of filters. However, one aspect of the site that you might have missed was the Software Buyer Resources page. This page contains some excellent information that can help you with selecting the right solutions, and this can certainly applies to applicant tracking systems. If you are currently in the market, or will be in the future, I suggest reviewing this page to expand your understanding of different considerations.

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It has been a long time since I’ve had a new post. The truth is that I’ve been swamped. I’m experiencing a massive influx in ATS activities. One of the biggest questions I’ve been asked in the last few weeks revolves around the number of companies using applicant tracking systems. While I have a solid understanding about market segments in the US, I would like to gain further insight of applicant tracking systems used on a global scale. From this information, I would like to do some “fun stats” on candidates served, reductions in time- to-hire, cost savings, paper reductions, etc. I welcome the participation of any others and plan on sharing what I find. While I know this might take some time, I’m really looking forward to digging in. If you have any information you would like to share, I would greatly appreciate it.

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I thought that I would keep this post nice and simple. For anybody interested in viewing my latest list of applicant tracking system vendors, it is now available at www.TheATSGuide.com. There are currently over 140 vendors listed, and it continues to grow. Please feel free to comment on any systems that I may have missed.

Filed under: Applicant Tracking | No Comments »
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Several weeks ago I was contacted by Bill Vick from XtremeRecruiting.tv to do an interview covering the latest in applicant tracking system (ATS). It was a very nice surprise and compliment, yet I did get a bit nervous. To help ease my nerves, my wife told me to just have fun like Recruiting Animal did in his interview. While I didn’t really take the Animal’s approach, I still had a great time. Bill just posted the interview today. Here is the link: http://www.xtremerecruiting.tv/jake-stupak-ats-product-specialist.

Thanks Bill!

For anyone that hasn’t heard of XtremeRecruiting.tv, it’s really the only site of its kind that focuses on “the changing face of the recruitment business.” It features numerous interviews from Social Media experts to CEOs of large recruiting tech companies. I highly recommend the site for anyone that hasn’t had an opportunity to visit it.

Filed under: Applicant Tracking | No Comments »
Tags: Applicant Tracking System Trends, Applicant Tracking Trends, ATS Trends, Jake Stupak, TheATSGuy Interview

There are lots of folks out there that simply like to build things themselves. This can easily be seen with home improvement and is backed up with the success of “How to” books and the DIY network. The same is true for software.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing around the internet for some applicant tracking system (ATS) information and came across a video entitled “Build Your Own n-Tier Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in 10 Minutes.” The video was created by Gregg Dourgarian, another ATS Guy or Talent Management Guy that is just a few miles from me here in Minneapolis.

While the actual end product doesn’t compare to other polished solutions, I still thought it was a neat approach to building your own.

Filed under: Applicant Tracking | No Comments »
Tags: Build an Applicant Tracking System, Build an ATS

There are a number of different applicant tracking system (ATS) guides available to help both HR professionals and recruiters narrow down on the vast amount of solutions. These guides typically come from separate angles ranging from ATS vendors steering clients towards their solutions to 3rd party sources with a large amount of ATS experience.

While I have created, reviewed, and purchased many of these guides, I haven’t found one all-inclusive guide that covers all of the features, benefits, and components of an ATS to ultimately find the perfect alignment. So with that being said, I thought I would share some of my favorites:

•    Considerations for ATS Selection (okay…of course I’m a bit biased on this one)

•    Personified’s Applicant Tracking System Guide 2008 – This guide reviews ATSs from 25 different vendors in an unbiased view. This guide goes for $350. This is a great guide if you are a larger company, however, smaller companies might not be able to afford most of the systems.

•    Personified’s Staffing Front Office Guide 2008 – This guide reviews ATSs for staffing companies from 15 different vendors in an unbiased view. This also goes for $350, however, I haven’t had an opportunity to review this guide yet.
*Please note that the Personified mentions a form which actually isn’t there, so you will need to use their contact page if you would like a copy.

•    Sharkstrike’s Applicant Tracking System Requirements Analysis – This guide is more of a bullet point checklist of considerations when looking at an ATS. I’m pretty sure that I’ve actually seen this entire guide in RFPs a few times. The guide goes for $74.99.

•    swatrecruiting’s ATS Self-Evaluation Questionnaire – This is a pretty neat comparison guide that you fill out when evaluating different ATSs. While you won’t find it on swatrecruiting’s site, it is available on Sendout’s website: http://www.sendouts.com/pdf/ATSEvaluationQuestionnaire.pdf.

While this is only small list of guides, please comment on other guides out there that you feel others might find helpful.

Filed under: Applicant Tracking | 1 Comment »
Tags: Applicant Tracking Review, ATS Guide, ATS Review, ATS Vendors

Starting over a year ago, I began keeping track of all of the different ATS systems available. Now the list has grown to almost 140 different vendors. Yikes! I thought it might be nice to make this list available to folks, so I helped a group of friends build a little site with the list. For anyone interest, I would welcome any feedback before I send it to everyone. Please feel free to contact me if you would like a sneak peek.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 12 Comments »
Tags: Applicant Tracking Guide, Applicant Tracking List, Applicant Tracking System List, ATS Guide, ATS List

Anyone reviewing applicant tracking systems (ATS) knows there are plenty of features and functions designed to deliver the core benefits of reducing costs, increasing efficiency and placing quality candidates. The other side of the ATS that sometimes takes the backseat during considerations revolves around the benefits for the candidates. The following is a shortlist of some of these features:

ATS Candidate Features

• Searchable job listings
• Send job information to a friend
• Signup to receive new opportunity notifications
• Online applications
• Automated emails

These features actually translate into great benefits for recruiters including high candidate satisfaction. However, I recently ran across a solution that could take candidate satisfaction to another level. It is EmployPrep by HRinmotion. Here is the idea behind it according to their site:

“EmployPrep is the only “white-label” career training software as a service (SaaS) for the staffing and recruitment industry’s candidates.

Your candidates gain a competitive edge through professional online career training – covering everything from resume writing to advanced interview skills. And all they need is a computer with Internet access.

The online career training tool is fully customizable, easy to set up, and showcases your staffing and recruitment company’s name, logo and colors, etc. right on your website.”

As a one time job hunter myself, and talking with several friends currently looking for one, this could certainly be a positive refresher to help build confidence to continue to the next step and help polish techniques for other opportunities. The concept in general could certainly be a nice value add-on for an ATS in regards to the Applicant Portals/Career Centers.

Filed under: General | 1 Comment »