Buying an ATS | Got a new HR system

So what should you do if you have a new HR system and the vendor is recommending you also buy their Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?  Are the integration benefits worth it or is a niche/specialist system better?

PRO'S

The HR system will of course be tightly integrated with their ATS which should mean that a new position created in the HR system is easily exported into the ATS to save re-entering the data.  At the end of the process, the details of the new hire will be already entered again saving some of the data entry.  In theory, there will be no integration costs.  There is only one supplier to deal with.

CON'S

The HR version of an ATS will not have as much functionality as a niche providers.  The information held in an HR system about a position is NOT the same as an advert so in reality the external details will still need to be re-written so only a small amount of data entry time will be saved.  Depending on the volume of new hires, having data already in the HR system may not be that great a time saver.  Also, some of the ATS vendors also have 'onboarding' modules that can capture the new hire data anyway; albeit still in a separate system but they can of course provide it in a format that can be sent into the HR system.  Whilst the HR vendor will state 'zero integration costs' there will still be set-up costs for their ATS.

SUMMARY

The HR ATS option can be useful as there is only one supplier to deal with but the supposed integration benefits may not be that great.  So if the functionality meets your needs and the costs are not overly prohibitive, it may be sufficient otherwise a niche ATS may deliver more value.  I would advise you look at a minimum of two niche systems and see how both costs and functionality compare.

We have created a free report 'Buying an ATS' that helps with this decision making process, feel free to contact me for a copy.