Here's how to select your best ATS or Recruitment System

Choose an ATS that Fits Your Organization: Don’t Follow the Crowd 

A well-known organization is successful in recruiting new employees. You happen to know which recruitment system they use. The temptation is strong to follow their example and make the same choice, believing that if it works for them, it will work for you too—provided you have the right tools. 

Different Recruitment Processes and Ambitions 

This assumption is where the misconception lies: what works well for one organization may not work well for yours. For instance, your organization has hundreds of employees, whereas their system is designed for thousands. Additionally, your processes differ; in your organization, selection is primarily done by managers without the support of a dedicated recruitment team. Moreover, your international ambitions may not be supported by the system in question. 

Good Processes or the Right Technology? 

There are many reasons why this ATS might not be the best option for you. Furthermore, it’s worth questioning whether the other organization’s recruitment success is actually due to their recruitment system. It might be their strong employer branding instead—you can’t be sure. 

The moral of the story? Every organization is unique, and the same goes for their recruitment. Choose an ATS that fits your authentic organization and don’t blindly follow the market. 

Don’t Forget the Why: Consider What and Whom You Want to Achieve with an ATS 

Purchasing a recruitment system is not something you do on a whim; there is a reason behind it. Perhaps your organization is growing, and you want to take the next step by digitalizing your recruitment process. The market is very tight, and your organization is losing candidates because your recruitment process is too slow. It needs to be faster and, preferably, more efficient. Or maybe you want to reduce the administrative burden on your HR staff and managers. They already have plenty to do, so you want to make it easier for them to recruit and select new employees. 

An ATS as Part of a Suite or Best-of-Breed? 

You need to consider all these aspects before buying a recruitment system. What is already working well in your recruitment process? Where is improvement needed? You might not need an ATS with all the bells and whistles, but could be well-served by a basic package. If you only have ten vacancies per year and don’t hire flexible staff, a simple system that allows candidates to apply online and stores their information correctly might suffice. If you work in retail or have highly seasonal needs and want to flexibly redirect applicants to other work locations, that’s something to consider when choosing your ATS. 

What Do Your Candidates Want? 

It’s crucial to consider your target groups. Who will be using your ATS? Younger generations, for example, want to be able to apply via mobile. The more digital, the better. If your candidates are less digitally skilled and don’t spend much time on computers, you want to make the application process as simple as possible. For this group, it might be helpful if they can leave their information by simply scanning a QR code. 

What Does the Internal Recruitment Team Want? 

Internal needs and digital skills of your user groups also vary. Carefully investigate the different target groups you have and how best to assist them with your recruitment system. A manager who is always in the office may only need a dashboard to see which candidates need to be reviewed. For a manager who is often on the go, it might be useful to schedule appointments with candidates directly in the calendar via, for example, an Outlook integration. 

Map Out Your Recruitment Processes Before Choosing an ATS 

Suppose you want to use online platforms for your recruitment campaigns and automatically process the results in your ATS. Which platforms do you want to integrate with? And how will the data be relayed to the people who need to work with it? These are considerations you need to think about in advance. 

Is Your ATS Practical and Simple Enough? 

The last thing you want is for your managers or HR staff to keep their own lists because your recruitment system doesn’t work with the platforms you have in mind. If the processing of application data is automatic, you want them to be able to find suitable candidates with as few clicks as possible. They should not be overwhelmed with responses to the point where they can’t see the forest for the trees. 

Digitizing Specific Processes 

Another example: you work with selection committees. You want to enable the members to follow the selection process in real time, communicate with each other, and easily record their evaluations of candidates. If the committees vary by vacancy, you also want to be able to restrict certain data for them after the process is complete. 

What Is Behind Each Process Step? 

Map out how all your recruitment processes flow, what’s behind each step, and how you want to optimize them, both now and in the future. Include your reporting needs. Who needs access to what information? How do you present that information? And which KPIs do you want your organization to be able to track? This way, you can choose an ATS that best aligns with your organization’s way of working and planning. 

Consider GDPR Compliance 

One key point in outlining your recruitment processes is the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or its international counterparts. If many people in your organization assess candidates, ensure they only see the data they are permitted to see. Your ATS should work with different roles, each with specific access to applicant information. 

Plan the Setup of Your ATS 

Finally, after choosing your ATS, create a good plan for setting up your recruitment processes. How will you do this step by step, and how will you bring everyone in your organization along in the digitalization effort? This requires thorough pre-planning as well.