In my 25 years in the technology sector, I’ve seen it all too often, businesses trying to adapt their processes and requirements to fit in with rigid off-the-shelf software. Why? There are many reasons, but one of the main ones is the belief that having flexible and customisable software is too expensive, but that is not always the case.
In this day and age, the technology stack you invest in should be smart enough to adapt to your unique requirements without incurring costly software development fees.
Here are four key ways your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) should fit around your requirements and support your business.
#1 Building your edge over the competition
Everyone works differently. For many of us, how we deliver an outcome for our clients is what sets us apart; this is especially true in recruitment. When you start to change your process to fit with your technology, you are in danger of losing what differentiates your business and gives you an edge over the competition.
Your ATS should be designed with your processes, goals, and challenges in mind – enhancing what is already working for you and giving your team the tools to deliver more for your clients. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow best practice processes in your business, but you should be the one leading this – not your technology.
Whatever your goals, your ATS provider should take the time to understand them and build the features and functionality that will support your business, today and tomorrow.
#2 Measuring performance in real time
Measuring business and employee performance is fundamental if you want to improve and grow your business. Your ATS should give you real-time access to all the data points you need to make the data-driven decisions for your business, from both the ATS itself and any systems you have connected to it.
You should be able to generate all the custom reports you need to track and analyse performance from any angle and create live dashboards that allow you to see what’s happening in your business at any point in time.
#3 Responding to changing needs
Your technology should enable your business, not hinder it. Often, when we invest in a new system, it’s got all the bells and whistles, but it quickly becomes outdated, and as our business grows, it stops becoming efficient or useful. This is particularly true with the speed of market changes today.
Your ATS should not only suit your business needs today but have the flexibility to adapt as business, and industry requirements change. For example, your ATS should allow you to create additional fields, adapting the way you classify clients, candidates, vacancies or applicants in real-time, without raising a service request or waiting for support. The flexibility to make these changes yourself reduces downtime, allows to you to respond quickly to changes in your requirements and ensures your system can grow with your business.
Investing in technology that allows you to continually adapt your process and reporting not only provides your business with insights, it empowers your business to seize new opportunities and adapt to changes in the market quickly.
#4 Supporting different processes
You should not have to settle for one process to fit your business – and if your system is shoehorning you into that, it’s a red flag that it’s not the right one for you.
If you cater to several vacancy types, you probably have a different process for temporary and permanent positions, for example, and your system should support multiple process flows, so you can get the job done in the most efficient way possible. This is especially important when you have a system that integrates and triggers other processes in your technology stack, like payroll, rostering, and contract management. It needs to be tailored to the specific context – and it’s likely that you’ll need options here.
At the end of the day, the whole goal of any technology, from your ATS to your payroll and contract management, is to help your reach your business goals – not make it more difficult. If you are making too many compromises for your ATS, get in touch to discuss your goals and challenges and find out how CTC People can support your business.