Pro Tips for Choosing the Best Applicant Tracking System for Your Business

In my early days of recruiting, my colleagues and I relied on spreadsheets and physical folders to keep track of applicants. At one point, during a critical moment for one of my firm’s biggest clients, I realized we had lost track of a star candidate. By the time we made contact with him in an attempt to bring him back into the fold, he had not only interviewed for a job but had accepted a job somewhere else. It was a painful lesson in the danger of letting candidates slip through the cracks. 

Thanks to current technology, scenarios like this can be largely avoided. Still, this experience perfectly illustrates why recruiting software like an applicant tracking system (ATS) is so critical for hiring teams. The right platform can help you stay on top of tasks, keep the hiring process moving, and avoid that pit-in-your-stomach feeling of losing out on a great candidate because you dropped the ball. 

Here, I’ll share my best tips for choosing software that meets your needs today and can grow with you in the years to come.

How the Right Recruiting Software Can Help Your Organization

An ATS can enhance and accelerate your ability to hire. It can help your organization:

Save time

At one point, my team manually posted openings to LinkedIn, Indeed, and every other job board we needed to cover. It took hours every week. We could publish listings to 10+ platforms within a few minutes by implementing a one-click job posting. This freed up valuable time recruiters could spend on other tasks, like actually interviewing candidates. With the automation power many ATSs provide, staff can focus more closely on high-value tasks that require a human touch, like engaging with suitable applicants. 

Streamline hiring

From screening resumes to simplifying scheduling to delegating tasks, A good ATS offers many features that keep the hiring process moving smoothly. Minimizing delays from one step of the process to the next helps you hire faster and provides a more seamless experience for candidates. 

Maintain consistent candidate communications

When we lost the all-star candidate I mentioned earlier, our biggest mistake was forgetting to check in. Sometimes the hiring process moves slower than recruiters would like, for reasons beyond our control. Staying in close contact with candidates can make all the difference between losing them and keeping them interested. Many recruiting tools automate the process of maintaining a consistent line of communication so applicants never feel like they’ve been left in the dark. They’re less likely to drop off the map when you stay in touch regularly.

Related: The Dos and Don’ts of Candidate Communication

Build a talent pipeline

There’s nothing inherently wrong with using spreadsheets to manage parts of the recruiting process. They get the job done… to a point. Once you amass a large number of candidates or begin hiring at a more rapid pace, though, spreadsheets become impractical for sorting, filtering, and maintaining your candidate database in a useful way. 

There are custom-built applicant tracking systems to help companies build and maintain an organized, searchable database at scale. With these tools at your disposal, you’re already a few steps ahead when a vacancy occurs, and you have a high-quality, vetted pool of candidates from which to begin your search.

Related: How to Build a Talent Pipeline

Facilitate collaboration

A recruiting platform provides a centralized location for various team members involved in hiring to work collaboratively, track progress, and compare notes, keeping everyone on the same page and preventing duplicate work.

Things to Consider When Choosing an ATS

Here are the top aspects to keep in mind as you review different recruiting platforms. 

Features

Does the program offer must-have features like tracking and sorting applicants, sending personalized messages, scheduling interviews, and screening resumes? What about additional capabilities like AI-powered matching, customizable applications, asynchronous video interviews, and background checks? How often do they roll out new features? If you’re a large organization, can you request custom functionalities that support the nuances of your business?

During COVID, my team learned firsthand how important it was to be able to schedule interviews across time zones and differentiate between virtual and in-person meetings. After several missed appointments and numerous mix-ups, where someone thought they were being asked to attend in person instead of via video, we knew we needed to take action. 

With a little tweaking to our templates, we were able to clarify our scheduling process and reduce the frustration candidates and recruiters were feeling during that tumultuous time. Having the right features made it possible. 

Accessibility

How easy is the platform to learn? How much training is required for new users? Are all features available on a mobile device, or are there tasks that can only be completed on a desktop? If you’re looking at a recruiting platform with a candidate-facing side, consider the ease of use of that interface and how it will contribute to your candidate experience. 

Integrations

Find out if the software you’re looking at works with the other applications you rely on, which can multiply its usefulness. Consider its ability to integrate with essential hiring tools like your calendar, email client, payroll provider, or benefits administration program. Integrating these programs saves time and reduces the number of actions you must perform to complete tasks. 

Security

Recruiters collect a mass of personal data on applicants, but we don’t often think about what happens to that data (that’s some IT person’s job, right?). When you’re choosing recruiting software, ask questions about how the platform protects sensitive data, where it’s stored, and how it’s used. 

Support

What happens if there’s an outage? Don’t take the marketing line of “99% uptime!” at face value, as this is a baseline industry standard. Probe deeper to find out how frequently outages occur and how fast the average outage is resolved.

And what about when you need help with the platform–how will you get it? Does the software provider use a ticketing system where you have to submit a request and wait to hear back, or do they offer dedicated phone support? Your needs may vary, but it’s important to know ahead of time what you can expect so you’re not caught off guard when dealing with a problem. 

Scalability

How many different users does the platform support, and how easy/costly is it to add new users? This is usually the area where the pricing model changes, so pay attention to what you’re looking at. Consider also the software’s ability to manage different offices or geographical locations, especially if those locations are in different states or countries. 

Reporting

Assess the app’s ability to delve into recruiting analytics, which can be a rich source of insights on your hiring efficiency and where the process can be improved. How quickly can reports be generated, and how much effort is required? How much ability do you have to customize reports based on what’s relevant to your organization? I personally love the ability to build custom reports and save them for easy access later. I can access my clients’ most important metrics within literally 30 seconds–super helpful for providing timely status updates and flagging problems quickly. 

Cost

Different ATS have different billing methods. As I mentioned, a platform may calculate cost based on the number of recruiters using the platform, the number of jobs being posted, or the level of features you have access to. One thing most modern platforms have in common is that they’re subscription-based, which means you’ll be billed annually or by the month. To avoid overpaying, selecting a platform with a billing method that aligns with your needs is wise. 

How to Choose the Right ATS

1. Define your needs

Outline the goals you want your recruiting tool to help you achieve, the pain points you’d like to alleviate, and the critical features that are non-negotiable. Don’t make this decision solely at the executive level; involve stakeholders in various job functions. 

If I hadn’t done this when selecting our recruiting platform, I would never have learned that my associate recruiters spent several hours a week manually combing through LinkedIn and comparing user profiles against job listings. Now, we use technology to do this for us. The point is that you can’t fix pain points you don’t know about. 

2. Establish a budget

Consider the abovementioned factors to decide which payment model is most practical for your organization. Be sure to ask about “hidden” costs, such as one-time setup fees, training costs, and costs for additional users.

3. Compare options

Ask fellow business owners and executives about their preferred software. Peruse online reviews to learn about the pros and cons of different platforms and see how they stack up side by side. Check out buyers’ guides; we have a breakdown of our favorite recruiting platforms here. 

4. Check interoperability 

Confirm that the software you’re considering works with the other applications you need it to work with and what that entails. Is the integration built-in, or does it require a special setup? Will you incur an additional cost? Some platforms may offer the functionality you’re currently getting through a different piece of software. Consolidating vendors can save on costs. 

5. Review finalists

Compile a list of finalists and test them out. Use free trials to get hands-on experience or schedule demos to understand the full range of available features. If you do partake in a demo, bring up the needs you identified in step one. A consultant should be able to speak specifically to whether the program will provide your required features and solve your pain points. This is also a good time to find out what the software’s onboarding looks like and what support will be available to you during the transition. 

6. Compile feedback and make a decision

Select your platform of choice using all of the information you’ve gathered thus far, checking in with stakeholders to weigh in where appropriate. If you are deciding between multiple platforms, you may be able to negotiate on costs and get your top choice to price match their closest contender. 

7. Monitor performance and results

Monitor performance and progress as your team gets up to speed on the new platform. After you’ve had time to fully acclimate (six months to a year is a good benchmark), analyze whether your goals are being achieved. 

Finding the right recruiting program may take some trial and error, but the one that’s a fit for your business will reduce manual work, help you keep great candidates close, and allow you to focus on hiring quickly.