6 steps to find the right recruiting software (ATS)
As the competition in attracting talent is increasing significantly, playing the recruiting game has become harder than ever. Companies need to focus on staying (or becoming) an attractive employer and bring this message across to their candidates. In this highly competitive environment, it is often the recruitment process itself that can make or break a candidate’s decision to join.
Recruiting software, or Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), are useful tools that can help you handle various recruitment tasks and make the recruitment process more effective for both the recruiter and the candidates.
Speed, customisation and transparency can put your company in a pole position among competitors. As a significant side effect, your recruiters re-gain valuable time that they might otherwise spend on administrative tasks like scheduling interviews or sending candidate portfolios back and forth within the organisation.
However, not every ATS fulfills the needs of every company. The HR technology market is growing rapidly worldwide. While more options are available, businesses now need to sort through a growing number of stand-alone software solutions and suites with complex features and various integration options.
This guide helps you select the right ATS for your needs. We base it on our experience identifying and implementing recruiting software for clients of various sizes and growth ambitions.
HRMS vs. stand-alone ATS
You might already use a Human Resources Management Software (HRMS) like Personio, SAP Success Factors, Bamboo HR or Workday. Many of these tools offer an integrated recruitment module – often for an additional price. So before analysing a stand-alone ATS, check if your current HRMS has ATS features and whether these could suit your needs.
💡 In most cases, we recommend sticking to the basic version of your HRMS and booking an integratable ATS in addition to it. Why?
A good ATS is far more advanced in its features than most recruiting modules within HRMS since this is their main focus. Usually, an HRMS cannot beat more specialized competitors in all of its sub-functions.
Whether you consider staying with your HRMS recruiting module or choosing a separate ATS, the following steps will help you ensure you invest time and money in the right solution:
How to select your Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
1. Assess your recruitment team’s needs
The first critical step in selecting software is determining precisely what you need.
When it comes to an ATS, you should assess:
- On average, how many vacancies do you have each month?
- What features are essential to you and your recruitment process?
To answer these questions, consult all relevant stakeholders involved in your company’s recruitment process. Discuss with them what issues currently affect your recruitment process and what improvements you want to see. Based on these findings, you can begin to build a list of essential features for your ATS.
Now is also a good time to check whether you have any strict budgetary restrictions to consider early in your search.
2. Compile an overview of the core data and ATS features that you would like to review
Compile a list of essential and nice-to-have features your ATS should have.
These may include:
- CV Parsing,
- a Career site page,
- an interface to job boards/multiposting channels,
- integrations with sourcing tools (e.g. LinkedIn Recruiter),
- an employee referral support system,
- email templates and email automation capabilities,
- interview scheduling,
- interview questionnaires and scorecards,
- AI-based matching,
- a CRM / Talentpool,
- a Mobile app,
- an integrated requisition process,
- sophisticated analytics,
- video applications,…
In addition, you should pay attention to key facts like:
- Pricing
- Implementation effort and cost
- Data protection (as described below)
- Integrations with other tools you use (e.g. calendar tools, HRMS,...)
- Usability
3 . Create a longlist of possible ATS and continuously narrow it down
Begin your research by creating a table with all your comparison criteria in the top row and collect a longlist of potential ATS to review.
To do this, you can rely on recommendations from peers or a web search. We’ve found tool comparison pages like G2.com, Capterra or OMR Reviews quite useful as well.
Once you’ve created your list, take a closer look at the tools to see which ones might be relevant. Reviewing the respective websites and related reviews is a good starting point. For the tools that look most promising to you, schedule demo calls or book a test account.
ℹ️ We are continuously screening the software market within HR for your clients. For our usual clients (organisations of up to around 200 employees), Recruitee and Teamtailor (affiliate links) are often our go-to options for ATS. The right solution for you depends on your specific circumstances and requirements.
Here is an overview of some of the most popular tools:
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4. Deep dive into favorite tools and reach out to providers
Once you have identified a shortlist of up to five ATS that meet your core criteria and are within your budget, do not hesitate to contact the ATS providers with questions on advanced features and check their trial versions more thoroughly.
5. Determine your data security standards and examine ATS providers’ compliance with GDPR
To establish if your ATS provider truly complies with GDPR data protection standards, you must carefully read each provider’s data protection policy and ensure that their servers operate within EU borders or in countries whose data protection standards are comparable to the EU’s. In many cases, you will have to ask them about this in an initial call.
💡 Please note that it is not sufficient to check whether a software provider describes themselves as “GDPR compliant”. In some cases, this is still not the case. This is particularly true for many market leaders based in the US due to the Schrems II CJEU decision and subsequent national rulings within the EU.
6. Test drive your top 2 picks with your team
Once you have made a top 2 selection of your potential ATS, consider conducting a deep dive test with their free trials. Involve your recruitment team, and try implementing your recruitment process with the new software.
Thoroughly assess the most essential features and check if the tool suits your workflow and links with your existing software infrastructure (email, calendar, communication, etc.). Reflect upon its usability and scalability options and request final quotes from the providers so you can make your decision.
7. Congrats, you're ready to book your ATS and kick off the implementation! 🚀
Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links, as we have partnership contracts with some of the software providers we work with. Be assured that honesty and integrity are core values for us. Therefore, our blog content is not influenced by such partnerships and we would not partner with any companies whose products did not seem fully convincing to us.
© 2023 Julia Reis Consulting
