American Horror Story? Try ATS Horror Story. This tale may not be filled with ghouls and scary wardrobe changes, but it instills in recruiters and hiring managers a similar aversion for the poor HR systems. They purchased – or rented – these massive tools in order to help the recruiting process, but unfortunately they didn’t have the means to make an educated decision. At the beginning, it looked like the ATS would save them from the mundane tasks they dreaded; but upon the attempted integration, it became clear this was not the case. The ATS they use didn’t save them money, like they thought. It didn’t save them time, like they were told. It didn’t make the process easier, like they needed.

“The company was growing, and the paper filing system we had gotten used to wasn’t cutting it anymore. So, the HR department agreed it was time to get an ATS. We ended up spending more money than we anticipated after deciding on the free ATS. Instead of saving money, the HR department ended up spending more in wasted time and energy… I can’t say it was worth it.” – Frustrated Fernando

It takes dedication to replace an employee who has left the company. Bringing on a new hire can take four to eight weeks for a small organization.  If you add a poorly fit ATS into the mix, the odds aren’t so favorable. Applicant tracking systems are supposed to reduce time and money in the recruitment and hiring processes. However, even a company of eight people can save time in hiring new employees and keep the $10,000 of residual effort instead of spending it on futile hiring pains.

“It was time to get a new ATS for our recruiters. The one we were using was older than the computers we had in the office. Trying to save money we went with a cheap ATS. We got what we paid for… it was difficult to integrate. Since it’s a newer company, they are still working out some bugs in the system. It’s just not the robust system we were hoping for.”  - Resourceful Rachael 

It’s easy to find ATS vendors. All you have to do is type it into Google and you find about 2 million results in just over half of a second. There are countless webpages that offer suggestions for ATS vendors. It’s a large $4 billion industry, expecting to grow at least 20% by the end of 2014. With all of the choices available today, it’s important to weigh your options.

“The system we originally used was a talent repellent. The application process was long and difficult for the applicants… and our department.  Recruiters and hiring managers couldn’t use the ATS to communicate the status of an application to our candidates, which was a problem. Our choice to get an ATS in the first place was to automate the mundane tasks. It didn’t automate nearly as effectively as we had hoped, and it certainly didn’t help our employer brand.” – Dissatisfied Dale

Candidates want an easy application process. However, what they want more than that is communication from the company they applied to. In fact, 58% candidates who rated their experience as poor or very poor said it was due to irregular updates on their application status. Automating candidate relations is easy. The well-rounded system allows users to schedule interviews, post to job boards, and uses a Smart Email system so everyone stays in the loop.

At the end of the day, you simply can’t settle for an ATS that doesn’t match your department’s requirements. The right ATS will enhance your employer brand, not detract from it; it will be easy for your recruiters to integrate and use; but mostly, the best-fitting ATS will save the company time and energy… and therefore, money.

Bio: Sean Pomeroy, CEO

Sean has worked in the Human Resources industry since he graduated from Radford University with a Bachelors in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. After working in HR as a generalist for a government contracting company, he moved to the HR Technology arena and began assisting companies in the selection and implementation of HR software.

While selling other companies software solutions, Sean worked with Michael Warden to design over a dozen applications for different organizations and industries over the years. Sean now focuses on the vision for the company, business development, and continues involvement in the software design of ATS and LMS: Cyber Recruiter and Cyber Train. Want to see what Visibility Software has to offer? Take a demo now.

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