Six Steps to Success with an Applicant Tracking Systems

The applicant tracking process can provide exceptional benefits for HR managers by saving time, money - and also finding the best candidates. Yet lengthy installation and user opposition can undermine the process and cause many organisations to waste time and money. These six steps will put your company on the road to success.

1. Evaluate the bigger picture

Many companies start their search for an applicant tracking solution by developing a list of features and functions. The more appropriate first step is to determine desired outcomes. Is your goal to speed up recruitment? Automate time-consuming manual tasks such as generating application confirmation letters? Improve the quality of your candidates? Or perhaps all of the above? Once you have developed a list of overall objectives, you then have an appropriate template from which to evaluate features and functions.

2. Manage obstacles

Itís a rare employee who embraces change ñ introducing new recruitment technology is no exception. You can transform that resistance into enthusiasm by including the front-line recruiters in the decision-making process. Find out what parts of their jobs are repetitive or difficult and ask for their input on solutions that address them.

Be up-front about the softwareís impact on your department. Itís true that many applicant tracking systems enable companies to do more work with less people, but most seek a solution that helps them address rapid growth. If your companyís objective is to rely on automation to double the number of applications handled without adding more recruiting staff, say so ñ people are more willing to accept a new tool if they know it wonít be replacing them. Focus on the benefits to the recruiting staff: most companies find that using an applicant tracking solution enables their recruiters to be more productive, and frees up time for more important work such as strategic planning rather than CV sifting.

3. Choosing features and functions

Once you have determined overall objectives and discovered your employee wish list, itís time to start looking at some features and functions. Do you want a solution for your department or something company wide? A system that enables online applications? Spell each item out, and then rank each in order of importance. Features that support your overall objectives should be on the top of the list.

4. Look beyond the price tag

When evaluating the initial price of a system, make sure you look beyond the package price and get information about customisation, integration, and upgrades. These three can often turn a low-cost system into an expensive one. If the system you like isnít beyond your price range, get estimates on what it will cost to customise it. The more specific the information you provide to your supplier, the more accurate your quote will be. Make sure your supplierís quote specifies clearly who will be responsible for each step of the installation process and what it will cost. Finally, if a solution requires customisation, find out what happens when your supplier issues an upgrade ñ do you lose all customised reports, functions and features? Request information about those costs in advance before you decide to purchase any system.

5. Getting started

Few recruiting departments are able to stop work to accommodate lengthy product installments. Yet even ready to use packages require careful planning and integration. The best way to get a realistic installation schedule is to talk to previous users of your package of choice. Ask your supplier to provide one or more customer references that can describe their installation and integration process and donít forget to set aside time for training ñ the best system will make no difference to your company if your recruiting team canít or wonít use it.

6. Measuring results

At this point in the process youíve chosen your system and integrated it into your workflow. Now itís time to measure the results. Start with your list of overall objectives, and use your tool to calculate changes. Within several weeks, you should have measurable statistics on productivity improvements such as time saved in processing application documents and generating correspondence. Within the next six months, results on larger issues will emerge, such as reduced time to hire and improvements in quality of applications.

Applicant tracking and talent management solutions can turn good recruiting teams into experts within their field. With careful planning, your company can be well on its way to recruitment success.