It takes a number of different systems, tools, and programs to create a complete staffing function. In this post we are going to discuss what most of them are and at a high level what they all do.

ATS= Applicant Tracking System. This is where we store our candidates resumes, interview notes, JDs, references, and more as well as were we maintain a log of searches done, and how we monitor and keep a record of candidates that move through the interview and hire process. Example Taleo

HRIS= Human Resources Information Management System. This is a complete HR system that either has an ATS component or can be connected to and work with your ATS system. Example SAP

Job Aggregator- This is a system or tool or program that takes the JDs from the ATS or HRIS and posts them to all the paid DBs, Social media sites and more. Sometimes an ATS or HRIS will have a built in one, other times it will be separate. An example of a separate one is Jobs2web or Jobvite.

Staffing Process or Lifecycle- this is the process that is followed from idea or thought that a company might need to create new position all the way through onboarding. See some of my previous posts on staffing lifecycle.

Talent Community- this is where the future is, a whole community of potential candidates.

Company Website with career page- a website that represents the company that must have a careers page, to allow candidates to search and apply for positions.

Social Media company sites- this is a site or page within a social media site that represents your company and you will more often than not also post jobs there(see aggregator). Example Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and of course there are allot more.

Career page connected to corporate website- no explanation is needed here.

A mobile strategy- this is a combination of tools that allow you to perform all the steps, processes and functions previously listed but created for a mobile environment.

Extra tools-these tools are subjective as to if you need them or not, they include testing tools, culture matching tools and more.

Now there are some tools or software that can do many of the these all in one.

And of course you need the people that can do all of this.

So there you go the major components needed.