More About Applicant Tracking Systems Vendor Assessment
- What is the vision and growth strategy of the vendor? The vendor must demonstrate leadership and foresight as a market leader. In order to present a comprehensive solution, the vendor should take into consideration your specific needs and prepare for change and growth in the future.
- Determine whether this solution contributes to your over all business plan? In the end, the Selection Executive will likely need to display an expected ROI in order to make a strong case for the
solution. The Selection Executive must look for savings on such things as recruitment advertising, employee value of the use of search firms, and process optimization provided by the vendor. The company should also save on employee retention and candidate quality. It can be overwhelming to create a fully detailed document of inquires that will encompass all the necessary topics to evaluate an applicant tracking system.
- Beyond features and functions, your committee should be sure to
discus the vendor’s ability to serve as a long-term partner to your organization. As your committee conducts its vendor assessment process, you want to be sure to consider such factors as:
- Financial Stability: Conduct due diligence on the
financial statements of all prospective vendors under review. You will find this is a perfect topic through which your financial committee contributor can guide you.
- Qualities of Strategic Partners: To offer a complete solution some vendors will partner with other service companies in order to offer their clients a more comprehensive suite of services. Your committee should be aware of any partnerships that are involved with the competing vendors. The information can provide an insight
into the possible partnership between your company and the vendor.
- Recruitment Capabilities: Regardless of your company size, you need to make sure that the vendor has the capability to support the full employee life cycle, from applicant tracking, on-boarding, succession planning to off-boarding. This will prevent your company
from growing out of its solution, which would likely result in aggravation, a new evaluation, and costly implementation fees.
- Future Product Development: Be sure that the vendor conveys a strong understanding of the challenges facing recruitment
now and in the future. The vendor you choose must be on the pulse of technology and industry news in order to adjust to your changing needs and ensure that the solution’s configurations are being used to its fullest potential.
- Integration with HRIS: Although you may want your IT committee contributor to provide input on this matter, it should not sway your committee into using an applicant tracking system that will not adequately serve the entire department. Any vendor worth considering should provide the capability to move key information from its system into your HRIS system with minimal difficulty.
Summary of Vendor Selection for Applicant Tracking Systems
The timeline for a vendor selection process for an applicant tracking system can range from a month to six or more to complete. The following is a suggested timetable that will allow your committee to project a timeframe for the vendor selection process for an applicant tracking system. Please be advised that this is subject to change based on a preferred implementation date.
Timeline for Your Vendor Selection for Applicant Tracking Systems
- Form a selection committee - 1 week
- Identify company needs - 1-2 weeks
Objectively assess vendors against the identified company needs with the following process:
- Create a long list of possible vendors - 1 week
- Request RFPs to provide clarification on any topic or concern - 4 weeks
- Create a shortlist using your key evaluation criteria - 1-2 weeks
- Finalize a vendor - 3-6 weeks
- Demonstrate various systems - as soon as possible
- Sales presentations - as soon as possible
- Site visits - as needed
Keep in mind that the main goal of an applicant tracking system is to empower your users. Committee members should be able to recognize and place a value upon technology tools, process optimization, company vision and customer support in order to strategically narrow down the vendors into a short list of real possibilities.
It is likely that your short list may not have many distinguishing functional differences; therefore it is important to keep the less tangible elements of that vendor in mind. Your committee should look to sources of information such as the vendor’s Web site, newsgroups, Human Resource portals and tradeshows. Connect with colleagues at other companies that are similar in size, needs and industry to learn from their experiences.
Partnering with a service-oriented vendor that is the most compatible fit with your organization’s vision and goals for the future will prove invaluable for all key players in your applicant tracking system evaluation, selection, and implementation.
