Demo'ing 4 ATS systems tomorrow, what questions should I be asking?

Ok all of my recruiter friends out there. From a staff aug recruiting perspective if you are looking at a new ATS systems what features and/or functionality is going to be most important to you? What big questions would you have.

Tomorrow I will be looking at 4 ATS systems the are: Bond Adapt, iCIMS,
Bullhorn and MaxHire.

Any thoughts on any of these would also be appreciated.

Thanks

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Eric Gilson on January 8, 2009 at 11:01am

First of all, I would add Blackdog Recruiting's software, Gopher to you list to demo.

Speak with Sofia at Blackdog and she will not only explain what their ATS system offers, she will provide a quick and free consultation that will provide you with all the questions that you need to ask. She will not SELL you, she will provide you with the information that you are looking for.

With her permission, here is her email address:
support@go4.bz

And again, Sofia is a wonderful person. Enjoy your interactions with her.

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Permalink Reply by Slouch on January 8, 2009 at 11:02am

are you getting demos from all 4 in order to make a decision as to which one your firm or you will use? Thanks. My brain could not process 4 demos properly in one day.

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Permalink Reply by Cindi K on January 8, 2009 at 11:22am

Vik

I am on Bullhorn currently and have a good friend on MaxHire. Let me know if you want insite in to either.

Based on our previous work together, make sure to ask about sales/recruting integration; auto lgging of e-mail, and (for your co) auto-post to job boards....

:)

Cindi

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Permalink Reply by Vikki Hawkins on January 8, 2009 at 11:28am

These are the 4 finalists, they started with a much larger list.

Eric Gilson said:

First of all, I would add Blackdog Recruiting's software, Gopher to you list to demo.

Speak with Sofia at Blackdog and she will not only explain what their ATS system offers, she will provide a quick and free consultation that will provide you with all the questions that you need to ask. She will not SELL you, she will provide you with the information that you are looking for.

With her permission, here is her email address:
support@go4.bz

And again, Sofia is a wonderful person. Enjoy your interactions with her.

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Permalink Reply by Vikki Hawkins on January 8, 2009 at 11:29am

Holy Chicka!

I definitely want your insight into BOTH. The integration piece for sales and recruiting was one of the number one reasons they started looking.

Vik

Cindi K said:

Vik

I am on Bullhorn currently and have a good friend on MaxHire. Let me know if you want insite in to either.

Based on our previous work together, make sure to ask about sales/recruting integration; auto lgging of e-mail, and (for your co) auto-post to job boards....

:)

Cindi

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Permalink Reply by Vikki Hawkins on January 8, 2009 at 11:30am

Yup all 4 in one, a full 8 hour day of demo's with companies. These are the final four. There will be a large group of us all evaluating them.

Slouch said:

are you getting demos from all 4 in order to make a decision as to which one your firm or you will use? Thanks. My brain could not process 4 demos properly in one day.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Gilson on January 8, 2009 at 11:55am

I demoed Bullhorn and iCIMS years ago and found them both limiting in some aspects. When I am dealing with software, I don't like to hear 'We can't do that'.

Things to consider with those left on your list.

Data back up. How often and how secure? Where is it stored? Will they insure your data? How easy is it to restore lost data?

How easy will it be to get that data if you decide to use another vendor down the road?

Set up fees regarding your existing data into their system.

Since these are web based apps, I would ask them what their uptime guarantee is. What happens when you lose internet connection?

What are the upgrade and tech support fees?

Outlook integration?

Mail Merge Email campaigns?

Storage Space limitations and costs to expand? At what point are you charged more for storage?

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Permalink Reply by Vikki Hawkins on January 8, 2009 at 12:14pm

Great questions, thanks!

Eric Gilson said:

I demoed Bullhorn and iCIMS years ago and found them both limiting in some aspects. When I am dealing with software, I don't like to hear 'We can't do that'.

Things to consider with those left on your list.

Data back up. How often and how secure? Where is it stored? Will they insure your data? How easy is it to restore lost data?

How easy will it be to get that data if you decide to use another vendor down the road?

Set up fees regarding your existing data into their system.

Since these are web based apps, I would ask them what their uptime guarantee is. What happens when you lose internet connection?

What are the upgrade and tech support fees?

Outlook integration?

Mail Merge Email campaigns?

Storage Space limitations and costs to expand? At what point are you charged more for storage?

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Myers on January 8, 2009 at 12:25pm

I think Eric's questions are all good as well. Data was huge for me, how often do I get a back up, how much data can I use, how much is it, how easy is it to transfer data in and out of thier system to another... I had it down to Sendouts, Maxhire and Bullhorn and eventually chose Bullhorn.

I think when looking at them they will show you a lot of great tools that you "can" use but seeing all 4 in one day sounds so overhwhelming. Some of the tools you may never use. I would stick to what tools your firm needs, make a checklist of those features you need and will use most and be sure those are all covered in detail.

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Permalink Reply by Vikki Hawkins on January 8, 2009 at 1:33pm

Well I am work on the staffing side for our organization but our corporate recruiters will also use this ATS. Nothing I put out here is ever easy, lol!

Jason Gorham said: