The Evolution of a SaaS Applicant Tracking System

I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane, and give a short pictorial history of myStaffingPro applicant tracking system.

1999

Our first product as a company was DialApp, an interactive voice response system that companies could use to automatically collect job applications over the phone.

2000

Within a year, we built a web portal for reporting the applicant data collected over DialApp. We called the web site DialApp.com. I can still clearly picture the brainstorming meeting we had to choose the web application name. I don’t think that name lasted a year!

2001

Here we are in 2001 with our expanded application – this is our Build a List of Applicants feature. Notice we’re searching for a new name already. Kind of looks like fashion from the past, doesn’t it. But hey, we were proud of it at the time, and the functionality was robust.

2002

New logo – new name!

2003

In 2003 we streamlined the look of Build a List of Applicants a bit, added some shading, made it less crazy. We’ve still got the Quick Tools. Of course, there’s a lot more functionality not pictured here. We added a Requisition module, Sourcing module, and enhanced Reporting module.

2004

In 2004 we released our Fast Track Edition, a SaaS applicant tracking system that could be implemented by the customer with no technical support needed. Previously, implementations required support from our client services and technical departments.

2006

Fast forward to 2006 – the same Build a List of Applicants feature is displayed. The design is better, but we haven’t gotten rid of that awful teal color yet.

2007

We’ve replaced teal with blue – hooray! Build a List of Applicants:

Plus, a new logo:

Today

And now, we have a SaaS applicant tracking system with 10 years of feature rich development that offers over 75 add-on modules.

Build a List of Applicants:

5 Easy Ways IT Can Help the Environment

1. Slim Down Your Servers
   Those old, boxy servers you’re hanging on to are probably power hogs. Upgrade to newer servers and you’ll not only save on energy, you’ll also benefit from better performance.
2. Virtualize
   Cut down on the number of servers through virtualization. If you have an application that needs its own server but doesn’t take up a lot of memory or CPU, it’s a perfect candidate for co-locating with another server on the same piece of hardware. With virtualization, you can run different OS’s on the same equipment, and as an added bonus, backup and restoration are very easy.
3. Help HR Go Paperless
   Save trees and make HR happy by switching from paper job applications to a SaaS applicant tracking system, complete with web-based career site. Go even further and setup paperless new hire paperwork, such as the I-9 and W-4, through an online onboarding process. Digitize all those annoying health insurance enrollment papers by upgrading to an online benefit enrollment system. AutoZone documented their savings by going paperless in just the hiring process, and discovered they save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in paper, mailing and faxing costs (source).
4. Don’t Trash, Donate
   Before you trash that old IT and telecom equipment, call your area non-profits. In our area, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore (resale outlet) will accept old computers, racks, etc. as donations, then turn around and sell them, or break them down and sell off reusable materials. You get a tax deduction, and the warm feeling of helping another organization, all while reducing waste.
5. Embrace the Cloud
   Whether you go to the cloud by utilizing managed services such as Azure, or by taking advantage of the many robust web-based systems available, using online services reduces our combined environmental footprint. By leveraging web-based systems, resources are shared. Instead of one thousand companies each maintaining their own HRIS system, for example, they can each purchase licenses on an HRIS solution hosted by the vendor, maximizing server space and bandwidth. Another advantage is that good SaaS vendors are experts in their line of business, allowing IT to leverage best-practice systems without having to become experts themselves.

How to Add Checks & Balances to Your Hiring Process

I’ve been a part of hundreds of applicant tracking system implementations (via myStaffingPro), and the most successful hiring organizations take advantage to technology to add some checks and balances into their hiring process, ensuring that the people involved in the hiring process are following the organization’s hiring guidelines.  Below are some suggestions that have been successful for many organizations:

Use Pre-Screening Questions
A simple way to enforce basic qualifications is to build a pre-screening questionnaire into the online application.  Take your time, and determine those qualifications that are a “must have” for each job type, such as eligibility to work in the job location country, minimum age requirements, minimum education requirements, etc.  Mark the answers that are instant knock-outs as disqualifiers.  In the ATS, the candidates that fall into those knock-outs will be assigned a specific status.

Limit the Applicant Statuses Hiring Managers Can View
Configure the Hiring Manager Portal to only display applicants that fall within “pre-qualified” statuses.  With some organizations, the statuses include only those applicants who have been manually vetted by the HR team.  Other organizations will allow hiring managers to view any applicant that passed the pre-screening questions.  Some go as far as to require the applicant to pass an assessment before the applicant appears on the Hiring Manager Portal.   Just be sure your limitations don’t negatively impact your AAP goals.

Enforce Status Progression
Limit the next status your users can advance an applicant to.  For example, if the applicant is in the stage “Application Complete”, s/he can only be advanced to “HR – Reviewed – Qualified” or “HR – Reviewed – Not Qualified”.  The applicant can’t immediately be jumped from “Application Complete” to “Hired.”  This functionality makes a hiring manager stop and think before skipping important hiring process steps. (Of course, allow at least one administrator the ability to jump stages).

Limit Export to HRIS Until Verifications Are Complete
If your organization enforces that a background check is complete before the new hire’s start date can be assigned, limit the system to not export to HRIS until a valid background check, or other verification, is on file. 

One of the great advantages of technology is the ability to help us make better choices.  With just a little planning, and a powerful applicant tracking system, you can build automatic checks and balances, resulting in the enforcement of hiring policies, and ultimately, better quality hires.