Stand alone or let your ATS provide your web presence?

Should your ATS vendor replace your stand-alone website? Recruitment software vendors can offer you this service, however I think it's a fools errand, why?

User habits

Candidates have voted clearly with their feet when it comes to extended online applications, which is what most ATS systems offer. One, two, three and sometimes 4-5 pages of screens to fill out for your application. Gen Y users want a one click Facebook apply page and if not 4-5 questions to answer max and those are to include their name and email address! Savvy Gen X users want the same and lest we not forget LinkedIn one click apply etc for all types of users.

If you don't intent to cut down on the admin time and accept just the quick registration process, most ‘Recruitment Website' manufacturers have the ability to export the info needed to the ATS provider via FTTP, CVS files and/or XML transfer.

Saving money on admin fees, will result in loses in sales of 10 times the saving, moving to 20, 30, 40, 50 times the saving when candidates are fully driving the market again. Candidates expect you to do more work not less. This solution solves an inward looking process, in that you want to save money on admin. It does not enhance the candidate experience/improve their chances of being hired in most cases.

SEO

Previous logic was that ATS vendors gave you website platforms that did not get your jobs spidered, that used to be a problem but potentially not anymore. Post the Google Panda/Farmer update v2 having your jobs published can be seen as duplicate pages/doorway pages if you don't produce original content.

Then there is the requirement from Panda for your pages to have the WOW factor for the users who find them and there is not a single ATS vendor in the world who will be able to tell you what that WOW factor is and how you need to meet it. This is because they have made a few web pages for you not invested hundreds of thousands making a content management system tuned for recruitment use. Ask an ATS vendor what their strategy is for Google Panda for their web pages/web portals they offer.

Google has confirmed that ‘Recruitment SEO' is a skill in its own right, knowledge of how 200 Google algorithms come together to rate your online presence is not present in any of the ATS vendors I know. People like myself, 4mat, Hot Lizard etc have pioneered the work in ‘Recruitment SEO' none of us has yet seen anything from an ATS vendor to come close to matching our knowledge or what we built, will build next in our CMS. Rather we seek to JV with them so their clients can benefot from our knowledge some vendors are open to this some vendors want the income from making you some web pages so block attempts for JV.

Mobile

What does the ATS vendor have to offer in the way of a mobile site, mobile enabled version of your pages? Chances are not very much; some feedback will be given on HTML5 but not much more.

Then try out your detailed application in mobile enabled formats, they become 10,20.. 50 pages and how many users can/do carry their CV on their phone? Still think the iPhone, Android or Blackberry user is going to be in rapport with you after this experience?

Am I qualified to comment?

I have made all forms of recruitment technology. ‘ATS System', ‘RMS Systems', ‘Vendor Management Systems', ‘Content Management Systems', ‘Job Boards' and ‘Recruitment Websites'. Each one requires specialist knowledge.

Conclusion

ATS vendors are exceptionally good and mapping recruitment workflows and it is a natural progression to offer a slick mapped application process the goal of the ATS is after all to provide efficiency over and above what humans can do alone. They genuinely change recruitment companies for the better, but in this respect workflow mapping and replacing your standalone web presence with a fully integrated one. Crashes head on with your Candidates, Google and the Mobile Web.

Google Kevin Wheeler/other Gen X or Y candidate attraction experts on the web, you'll find their views match.