Top 5 Applicant Tracking Software Packages
A company is only as good as the people it employs. That’s why recruiting employees is one of the most important tasks for any HR department. But while the hiring process must be done well, it also must be done quickly. If it isn’t, a company can easily miss out on the best candidates because they’ve taken another job elsewhere.
To help keep their recruiting efforts as efficient and effective as possible, HR departments turn to applicant tracking systems, or ATS software.
Those systems take companies through every step of the recruiting process, such as automatically collecting resumes submitted by candidates online and putting them in a searchable database, organizing candidates into groups based on their qualifications, and scheduling interviews.
Many applicant tracking systems also collect data from applicants about how they learned about your job openings. That allows organizations to look at what parts of their recruiting efforts are working and which aren’t.
Options for applicant tracking systems
ATS software can be available as a standalone system or integrated with Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) and other HR software. If you will be integrating different systems, you’ll need to make sure you choose an ATS that works with the other software you’re using or plan to use.
Companies should also consider how easy a system is to work with – one way to investigate that is to view software demos with some of the people who will need to use the system. Another thing to keep in mind is how implementing the software will affect the candidate experience.
Top 5 systems
Organizations have a lot of options when it comes to applicant tracking systems. Here are five choices we believe are worth investigating:
Taleo Recruiting – Taleo offers recruiting software that serves businesses of all sizes, from small companies to large global enterprises. The solutions are flexible so they can be used in the recruiting for any type of job, to decrease the time it takes to hire someone and improve the quality of new hires. In addition to standard applicant tracking features, Taleo Recruiting also offers testing and assessment features that collect data about candidates’ aptitude and attitude before they even come in for an interview.
For more information, read our Taleo Recruiting Review.
Zoho Recruit – Zoho offers a range of web-based office software, geared largely toward small and mid-sized businesses, including Zoho People, an HRIS, and Zoho Recruit and applicant tracking system. Zoho Recruit helps recruiting departments and staffing agencies track job openings, resumes, candidates, and contracts more efficiently. The system also integrates with Google Apps, allowing you to import contact information from a Google address to the ATS and easily schedule interviews and add the appointments to a Google calendar.
For more information, read our Zoho Recruit Review.
SmartSearch – This staffing management software allows organizations to streamline the processes of candidate sourcing, recruiting, and hiring in one easy-to-use solution. The system is simple to operate, allowing companies to reduce the time spent training users and generate a faster return on their software investment.
For more information, read our SmartSearch Review.
SuccessFactors Recruiting Management – SuccessFactors offers a large suite of business execution software, including its Recruiting Management module. The system is built with collaboration in mind, as recruiting is a process that requires cooperation between multiple people and departments. SuccessFactors Recruiting allows authorized users to share their ideas and comments, which is especially helpful when, say, the hiring manager and recruiting personnel are located in different offices. The interface is simple and easy to work with, so it can be used immediately by all members of the hiring team.
For more information, read our SuccessFactors Recruiting Review.
Ceridian Recruiting Solutions – Ceridian offers a highly configurable suite of recruiting tools that can meet the needs of businesses of any size. The flexible nature of the system allows organizations to build the recruiting solution that’s right for them. Ceridian offers a hosted, web-based solution, eliminating the need to for a big upfront investment and huge installation costs. The system allows companies to search resume databases using sophisticated search methodology so they can find the best candidates.
For more information, read our Ceridian Recruiting Review.
