Recruiting and Technology: Session 3

There was a recent discussion on ERE and LinkedIn about what a “modern” applicant tracking software (ATS) tool should include and the ROI for your business. Many of my consulting clients in the staffing or executive search business ask my opinion on, or are seeking, a new tool as the current tool they have is not being used or does not have the latest bells and whistles. Below is my response to this question, which has generated a lot of interest and discussion.

It seems people are looking to buy or enhance current ATS systems as technology continues to advance. I have done a lot of work with various ATS tools over the years through my exposure with sitting in technology positions / chairs within industry and HR associations. While I do have favorites and have gone as far as to be a SME and / or reference for 2-3 tools, I would say “it depends.” A true ATS tool used in the staffing / recruitment arena is very robust and not just a tracking and on-boarding tool utilized by HR. A true staffing / recruitment ATS tool not only tracks applicants, but is intuitive to the job order(s), client(s), and end user(s) for the candidate so one note in the system follows all points. The top tools on the market right now even go as far as to incorporate the following:

1. Web based
2. Integrated email which auto-tracks to all records
3. Third-party tool friendly (i.e. able to utilize some of the hot tools like Contact Capture and Diver)*
4. VoIP / Network phone integration for auto-dialing and call tracking
5. Can produce reports easily with NO extra costs
6. Integrates with your website
7. Email or at least sendouts tracking (are they being looked at, if so how often and by whom)
8. Applicant tracking back to the specific job (auto-parsing)

The reverse should be true as the ATS should also be able to act as the CRM tool for client management so recruiters are not trying to track down notes, a sales rep or looking through other systems to get valuable information about a client or manager. The best tools are based on a CRM platform where both the client and the candidate are treated as a potential lead and everything has a time stamped tracking (this way you can meet various employment standards and regulations by clients and the government). Bad tools make you work for it on the client side. Worse, bad tools require more tools to manage clients in say salesforce.com* or ACT.*

One should look through all the activity for your company to see just how robust of a tool you need and use this as the benchmark for making a decision. Far too many recruiters and firms jump into a tool based on costs or the friendly rep and it cost them 10 times to get out of it! If it is not easy and intuitive for the staff, it will not be used…hands down from experience!

Feel free to connect with me off-line and I can share what my top 5 ATS tools are…

*Contact Capture, Diver, salesforce.com and ACT are all trademarked products.

For assistance with your Job Search from Chris Wellington and others on the staff visit
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Recruiting and Technology: Session 2

As I tour the country and work with various recruiters and professional headhunters I can’t help but to chuckle at the complaints the modern recruiter (corporate, executive search, staffing and basement dwellers) all seem to have. My internet is too slow, CareerBuilder is down again, my wireless mouse is not working, and on and on. It was not that long ago when we had to fax or hand deliver resumes and you were lucky to get a company email to contact some hiring manager or job seeker.

Now, I have a flat screen TV in my office and can’t live without all the small technology toys to include the so aptly named crackberry! Well most of it I can live without and probably become an even more productive recruiter and member of society, except my multiple monitors! I remember the first time I heard about running dual monitors for recruiting. I had seen the concept for call centers and IT developers but never thought it would apply to me. I was wrong.

I was attending a Top Echelon conference and one of the main presenters was hosting a training session. He had two screens being projected and showed how to run their ATS tool on one screen and look at a candidate or job order on another. What? Yeah I said that and laughed it off but Tiffany who was with me said, “Pretty cool.” Ok, so maybe there was something we were missing here. So, we asked what does it take to set up dual monitors in our office.

The set up was very easy, and after a few years now I have assisted numerous recruiters and companies, with various laptop or desk top hardware configurations, transition into the multiple monitor mode. If you are paying attention I said multiple monitors as I have found out with my laptop and docking station that I can have three monitors, and have since found a great USB product that will allow me to run up to five (yes, not enough desk space).

So why multiple monitors? As I learned at that conference; efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. I am sure there are a number of other gains like cost savings on printing, speed to market, enhanced phone time, etc. But it is great to have the resume of the person you are talking with on one screen, your ATS on another and the job order or client website on the third. Not to mention, but hey I am the boss, facebook or Yahoo IM running to see who I might ping during the day.

All told, running a dual or multiple monitor configuration is not that big of an investment, even for an entire team of recruiters and researchers. The enhancements you gain far outweigh the time and cost to set this technology up. Plus, you seem smarter to the person on the other end of the phone when you can Google a word or phrase they mention and say, “oh yeah here is what you are talking about!”

To engage The Recruiting Guy to train or consult with your staff visit our services page or contact The Wellington Group @ info@thewellington-group.com.