Five Things to Look for in Applicant Tracking Software ATS

What are some of the key features every applicant tracking software (ATS)should have?

I get asked that question a lot at conferences and other events where I promote recruiting software. Here are my standard talking points.

Applicant tracking software should….

Efficiently Track Applicants. It sounds obvious, I know, but software programmers can be like automobile designers: They get so caught up in bells and whistles that they don’t attend to streamlining high-quality core functions. How does the software manage candidates through the entire recruitment cycle and make you a more efficient recruiter? Always ask that first.
Be easy for company employees to use. If you need extensive training to use it or if you have a hard time figuring out features on your own, it’s too complicated. Remember, applicant tracking software isn’t just for recruiters, but for any person in the company who is part of the hiring process, including executives.
Be easy for applicants to use. Actually, it should be easier for applicants to use because they don’t have the benefit of (or the time for) a training module. Applicants should be able to see the status of their application(s), search for other jobs, sign up for email or text alerts, and forward information to a friend almost intuitively. They also should only have to enter their basic information once – an easy feature to overlook.
Automatically screen applicants. You and the candidate should be automatically notified if a candidate is, because of lack of a degree or requisite experience, not suitable for a job. This feature, which is typically in the form of “Knock-out Questions”, can literally save recruiters a hundred hours per year.
Be multi-lingual and multi-currency. That is, it should allow applicants and recruiters to easily translate Resumes/CVs as well as salary amounts. In today’s global economy, even small companies now need access to multiple cultures within their own country and top talent from countries around the world.

I usually try to answer questions about recruiting software in a product-neutral way, but here, in my own blog, I can just come out and say, “Bond Talent’s global applicant tracking software is the best in the business!” It really is. Contact us to find out more or to see if I really know what I’m talking about when it comes to recruiting software.

Comment by Scott Sachs on August 23, 2011 at 2:11pm: Sorry Tim, since I've been chastised for shameless product promotion in this forum the one time I did so, let me state that though I respect your opinion on the 5 things to look for in an ATS [there can be more, to be sure], forgive me if I respectfully disagree with your conclusion on which ATS is truly "the best in the business".

Comment by Sandra McCartt on August 23, 2011 at 2:14pm: Smack him Scott, it's your turn.

Comment by Tim Spagnola on August 23, 2011 at 2:25pm: fair enough Scott - great and important information (I also agree that can be much more added to this list), but the final conclusion would certainly be up for debate. Bells and whistles are great for making noise, but in a practical sense they don't always make money working a desk. Thank you for speaking out.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on August 23, 2011 at 2:26pm: Funny, ATS's are kind of like recruiters then... some are probably quite good but there are enough bad ones that we want to throw the whole lot out and go back to the days of 3 x 5 cards and fax machines. Damn you Taleo... you've ruined all applicant tracking systems for me.

Comment by Andrew Hally on August 23, 2011 at 3:52pm: Tim, if Bond has the best ATS software, why did your company report shrinking recruitment software sales and margins in its 2010 financial results (a year the overall industry was booming)?

Comment by Martin H.Snyder on August 23, 2011 at 5:32pm: Ouch Andrew....

I just dislike the unfortunate term "Applicant Tracking System" since "applicants" are a late stage recruiting process result. Lots of " tracking" is required long before the person is an applicant, and the term says nothing about the major role of business development and marketing in recruitment.

Five things I would look for ? Outlook integration, adjustable nomenclature/screen elements, strong grouping/un-grouping features for all major record types, reference accounts similar to your organization, and a strong business case for the sustainability of the vendor (especially critical with software as a service).

PS I think I harshed on Scott the mostest when he wanted to use these threads for selling, which is a whole set of threads on its own !

Comment by Tim Giehll on August 24, 2011 at 1:03pm: Hi Andrew: That's an excellent question. As Bond International Software expands into the Corporate HR market, our current $50 million per year in revenues is still influenced by the cycles of the global staffing industry. 2009 and 2010 were tough years for that industry as corporations reduced their temporary and contract workforces and Bond's revenues reflected that cycle. In 2011, the staffing industry and Bond's revenues are rebounding as corporations are contracting for more temps and contractors until the economy stabilizes and full-time hiring ramps up again.

From a profit margin point of view, Bond decided to continue our robust product development efforts through out the Great Recession in order to have new solutions available in 2011, rather than wait as some companies have. As a result, we are releasing in 2011 new versions of our 3 dominant staffing industry solutions (Adapt, eEmpACT, Staffsuite) AND we are releasing new versions of Bond Talent 2.0 for Corporate HR, Bond VMS Consolidator for our staffing/corporate clients and Bond Vantage for executive search firms. Those investments of 15-20% of revenues during the recession did have an impact on our margins, but our stockholders were all aware of that aggressive investment decision.

I hope this answers your question and gives you some new insights into Bond International Software.
Sincerely, Tim