Jake Stupak
HRIS – Picking Up where the ATS Leaves Off
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are an effective way to post positions, organize candidates and streamline the hiring process. For many HR professionals, ATSs are typically their first experience with new talent management solutions. In my experience, once the value of the ATS has been recognized, there is a spark of consideration for new features, benefits and values that opens up the potential for investing in additional talent management solutions. The question then becomes “where does the ATS end and other talent management solutions begin?”
Identifying where your ATS ends in the spectrum of overall talent management solutions really depends on its specific features available. While some stand alone ATSs provide onboarding and API integration into HRIS systems, many other simply manage candidates up to the point they are hired. In these situations, I like to use my “ruler” analogy. For example, lets assume that an ATS is part of an over grand talent management solution/system for a company. If we took all of the functionality and aligned it with a ruler, I believe an ATS is the first inch (it would be different if we did it for value, but that is another post).
So if you have an ATS that leads you up to the point of hiring a candidate, where do you continue to manage candidate into the transition of an employee? You might want to consider reviewing Bamboo HR’s HRIS as the continuation.
BambooHR.com is a web-based HRIS solution for small to medium-sized businesses which integrates multiple HR functions under a single roof. They are a great alternative for companies cannot afford larger solutions and who are drowning in the headache of spreadsheets. With 100% customer retention, Bamboo HR is demonstrating a real market need for this type of solution. It’s clear that companies of all shapes and sizes place a high value on saving money, eliminating mundane administrivia, and increasing efficiency.
“We’re thrilled that our affordable and flexible HRIS is a great value-add for companies already using an ATS”, stated Ben Peterson, CEO of Bamboo HR. “The ease-of-use creates a natural fit between BambooHR.com and the ATS, which keeps customers happy. Everybody wins.”
I’ve had an opportunity to use Bamboo HR for several months now and its functional simplicity increases usability while streamlining navigation with great performance. What works out really nice is how Bamboo HR uses information directly from your ATS. While the solution can be implemented with just about any ATS, I believe you will see several ATS partnerships develop.
LinkUp helps Job Seekers through a new iPhone Application
While my typical posts revolve around applicant tracking systems (ATS), I wanted to cover something a little different with this one. I have become more involved with a job search engine called LinkUp. It is similar to Indeed and Simply Hired, however, it only aggregates jobs from an employers’ website or ATS.
Today, LinkUp is further equipping job seekers with the release of its new iPhone application. Specifically designed for job seekers, LinkUp’s iPhone application, which also supports the iPod Touch, allows the user to easily search job listings found only on company websites, search jobs by keyword, location, company, or category. Users can also save jobs to Favorites and access Favorites via browser or feed reader and save searches to email alerts and be notified of all new matching jobs.
Request for Applicant Tracking System Research
I found the following post on Craigslist in several locations: http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/etc/1234727293.html. It reads as follows:
“Do you use an Applicant Tracking System (Research Study)? (Greater Chicago)
I am conducting usability research for an applicant tracking system. If you work in the HR field and use one of these, I would like to invite you to take part in a 45-60 minute usability session.
Applicant Tracking System Vendor List
I thought that I would keep this post nice and simple. For anybody interested in viewing my latest list of applicant tracking system vendors, it is now available at www.TheATSGuide.com. There are currently over 140 vendors listed, and it continues to grow. Please feel free to comment on any systems that I may have missed.
The ATS Guy Interview with Bill Vick
Several weeks ago I was contacted by Bill Vick from XtremeRecruiting.tv to do an interview covering the latest in applicant tracking system (ATS). It was a very nice surprise and compliment, yet I did get a bit nervous. To help ease my nerves, my wife told me to just have fun like Recruiting Animal did in his interview. While I didn’t really take the Animal’s approach, I still had a great time. Bill just posted the interview today. Here is the link: http://www.xtremerecruiting.tv/jake-stupak-ats-product-specialist.
Build Your Own Applicant Tracking System
There are lots of folks out there that simply like to build things themselves. This can easily be seen with home improvement and is backed up with the success of “How to” books and the DIY network. The same is true for software.
Applicant Tracking System Guides
There are a number of different applicant tracking system (ATS) guides available to help both HR professionals and recruiters narrow down on the vast amount of solutions. These guides typically come from separate angles ranging from ATS vendors steering clients towards their solutions to 3rd party sources with a large amount of ATS experience.
2009 Applicant Tracking System Vendor List
Starting over a year ago, I began keeping track of all of the different ATS systems available. Now the list has grown to almost 140 different vendors. Yikes! I thought it might be nice to make this list available to folks, so I helped a group of friends build a little site with the list. For anyone interest, I would welcome any feedback before I send it to everyone. Please feel free to contact me if you would like a sneak peek.
Anyone reviewing applicant tracking systems (ATS) knows there are plenty of features and functions designed to deliver the core benefits of reducing costs, increasing efficiency and placing quality candidates. The other side of the ATS that sometimes takes the backseat during considerations revolves around the benefits for the candidates. The following is a shortlist of some of these features:
ATS Candidate Features
LinkUp.com Press Release
Here is a news release for my favorite job search engine:
Minneapolis, MN. – April 28, 2009 – LinkUp, a job search engine that collects job openings exclusively from company websites, today announced the launch of a universal login feature to greatly simplify the job seeker’s experience.
One Year with Applicant Tracking Systems
Today marks my one year anniversary of working with applicant tracking systems. I thought it might be fun to take a look at the top five ATS related “events” in the past year that standout to me:
- JobDig Tracker is released
- Integration of ATSs into Social Networking greatly increases
Microsoft Recruiting Site
The following article is an interesting story that was passed along to me: Microsoft is Building An Ambitious, New Global Recruiting Site. I’m looking forward to this site’s release.
JobDig Tracker Introduces Team-Based Access
Eden Prairie, MN – JobDig, a leading employment-focused media, advertising, and technology company, announces the latest update to their applicant tracking system (ATS) – JobDig Tracker. The update incorporates team-based access to greatly improve implementation in organizations with multiple locations, divisions or departments. The update is available to all JobDig Tracker clients at no additional charge.
Most Requested Reason for Applicant Tracking System Newcomers
Since the beginning of the year, I have spoke with an increasingly large number of applicant tracking system (ATS) newcomers. While one might expect the main reason for the influx to be reducing costs in general, there is a very specific goal almost all have in common. They wanted to manage the large number of candidates applying for positions. Of course this can easily be correlated with the current unemployment rate at 8.5%. One HR professional from a smaller organization said she had over 900 candidates apply for a position in just a few days, and she was relying on files, folders and Excel. She chalked up as a big challenge and started investigating ATSs.
TheATSGuy on Twitter
After meeting many great HR professionals and recruiters through my blog. I’m hoping to meet more through my newly created Twitter account – TheATSGuy (TheATSGuy).
As a small side note, I’ve now been contacted well over 100 times by folks with questions about applicant tracking systems. Please feel free to continue submitting questions, and I would be happy to answer them.
