ATS and multiple posting - Onrec looks at how theyíve changed and look forward to 2008

By Lauren MacKelden, UK Features Editor, Online recruitment magazine

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) and multiple posting services are here to stay. The important questions now are not about whether theyíre needed, but all about accurate targeting of candidates.

How widespread is the use of ATS/multiple posting now?
John Cassidy, managing director of conker.net explains their recent history: ìWhen analyzing the current take up of ATS and job posting services, it is crucial to cast your mind back 2 years. During this period, we have seen a unique rise in the number of providers and solutions on offer. As talent acquisition has become the holy grail of recruitment, primary management tools are no longer enough. We have seen our client base grow 120% over the past 18 months, as recruiters are becoming more aware of the benefits of applicant tracking and multiple job posting services. Moving forward, it will be essential to offer additional solutions throughout the entire value chain. Many direct employers have now moved their entire recruitment process online which is a growing trend in the direct corporate employment market.î Darren Revell, CEO of Attract HR says: ìIn the UK we speak to 500 recruitment companies/corporations per week. Across the board about 7% of the people we talk to use multiple posting technologies now and about the same are considering going down this route in the near or immediate future.î



What do customers now expect from their systems?
For Dan Enthoven, VP of Marketing at Trovix, the focus has changed: ìAs the market for talent has tightened and companies have found it harder to hire, the focus of recruiting has been shifting more towards candidate relationship management. Recruiting in the first half of the decade focused on screening candidates out and eliminating resumes from consideration. Important features then were the so-called ìknock out questionsî and functionality that made the candidate do more work. Now, with fewer and fewer candidates to choose from, recruiters are rethinking their process. They want tools that make it easier to get candidates into consideration, communicate with those candidates and the rest of the hiring team, and provide a quality experience to those candidates. Related to this, they want tools that help them move very quickly. Quality candidates remain on the market for a very short time. Today, recruiting tools need to first and foremost focus on speed in identifying and processing the A players when they come along.î

John Cassidy believes: ìBasic, reliable job posting tools are a prerequisite. The customer expects the technology to be 100% reliable, and the customer & technical support to be unrivalled. Now that many recruiters are familiar with the principles of ATS & MJP, end user demands and requirements are increasing. The result of this increased knowledge transpires in more customer lead products and services, which is great for our business. Many of our clients are top 20 consultancies, so expectations are high; thankfully we are in a perfect position to meet these demands.î Darren Revell believes having a flexible system helps: ìItís hard to speak for the whole market but people buy our ATS systems because they can be configured around the user, and so the client does not have to force change upon its workers. By having the ATS partner with your work practices, instead of a one size fits all approach which most ATS system vendors have seems to be the key reason why people use our ATS systems.î

What has surprised you in the last year?
The increase in quantity of new job boards, but lack of quality has amazed our correspondents. John Cassidy has been surprised by the continued launch of new job boards. He says: ìWe now integrate with more than 700 job sites across Europe, with many more in the pipeline. At conkers.net, we set out to firstly educate the recruitment market in the value of ATS and job posting, and we are now enjoying the fruits of this endeavour. Our levels of customer acquisition have allowed us to expand our operations and professional services division (conkers PSD tm)î.

Dan Enthoven has also been surprised by the number of job boards that are getting launched. He says: ìWith the profusion of ìjob-board-in-a-boxî products, it seems like every blog, community site, and engineer with time on his hands is launching a new board. Unfortunately, these services donít really improve the experience for the job seeker or the employers. Our consumer research makes it clear that people are really unhappy with the traditional job board experience. Job seekers are looking for services that can help them find the right jobs for them. More jobs and more job boards donít make it better if the services donít also have a way to make sure the results users see are jobs they would want. For employers, itís getting easier to post jobs to more and more boards. But the real challenge isnít getting the job displayed. The challenge is getting the job in front of the right candidate. Employers are looking for more ways to target the right candidates rather than the standard one-to-many job broadcasting.î Darren Revell is surprised by the amount of Job Boards that have little to no natural Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). He says it just seems to be that the majority spend a small fortune on Pay Per Click, but have no desire for Organic SEO, and in particular Long Tail SEO methods.

What are you looking forward to in the New Year?
We asked our experts for their predictions, or even New Year Resolutions. John Cassidy announces that as well as a new look homepage, conkers.net will also launch the long awaited ëChestnutí bulletin and update service during November. In addition, their newly formed Professional Services Division (conkers PSD) will be addressing the needs of the recruiter, with a raft of Multi Level Services, to be communicated and launched in the New Year.

Dan Enthoven also has new services for 2008: ìIn the fall we launched Trovix, the consumer-facing job portal that allows working professionals to look for jobs that match them using their resume and a wish list. People use Trovix to stay aware of the best job opportunities for them, even when they arenít actively looking for a new position. In the New Year, weíll launch products and services to allow employers to reach out to these candidates based on their resume. Trovixís unique matching technology will display jobs for candidates based on how well they match the personís background and career interests. Weíre looking forward to the continued growth of Trovix as an innovative service for working professionals and recruiters to connect with each other.î

Darren Revell says they too have new improved systems underway: ìOur ATS system in now in final beta testing for version 3.0. This version comes with a customer configuration tool that allows the client to have total control about screen designs and database filed selections for any area of the ATS. We have always had a customizable work flow system for the user, but now with custom screen views and choices the product is just so easy to integrate into any work environment.î

If a new system is your New Year Resolution, take heed of their expertise, and have a happy and successful 2008!