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Is Your ATS Killing Your Customer Service? By J.D. Burton Technology has revolutionized the recruiting process and 90% of it is for the better. This month I'd like to take a look at what I consider the worst of the 10%. The applicant tracking system or ATS has enabled us to process and "track" large numbers of applicants with ease. Have you ever sat back and thought, "What was the cost"? I will begin by letting you know that this problem is not completely the ATS developer's fault. They gave us what we wanted and we have chosen to use it the way we see fit. Almost every ATS I have tested features the beloved auto responder. This wonder of technology sends a standard or personalized message to applicants upon receipt of their resume. After interviewing several active job seekers and hundreds of recruiting professionals we began a simple test of this tool. We randomly selected 30 jobs from 30 companies with a variety of ATS systems in place. We then applied to them all. To set the stage we crafted resumes that accurately matched 100% of the qualifications detailed in the job description. Immediately upon applying we received the famous "we have received your resume and will be contacting you shortly" message from the auto responder. 3 openings sent us another automatically generated message after only 1 hour. It stated our resume had been reviewed and did not meet the needs and would remain on file, emphasis on no need to apply again. Due to our staged resume and the short period of time we suspect this was a system error and no human being had even seen or known the resume was received. Over the next three weeks (average period of a job seeker's search in a 5-6% unemployment market), we received 5 responses. Three months later we still have not heard from the other companies we applied to. The questions now are did the system inform the recruiter that we had submitted the resume, did the recruiter fail to contact us, or was there another mystical force at work here? We contacted several of the companies to find out. We found the companies we contacted received the resume. So why didn't we get at least a rejection letter? After some digging we found that the companies receive so many resumes and so many auto responders are sent out that it is easy to simply select a few and reply to those only. Shown our resume the companies all agreed it would be an ideal candidate for the position. The auto responder has made it easy for us to forget that we are building relationships and powerful hiring networks. Even the greatest automated system cannot replace the human element of recruiting. You may lose the best candidates when a person does not review every resume. I know it is easier said than done. Next month we'll look at some ways to enable your team to personally review resumes and contact candidates. ------------------ J.D. Burton is the President and Founder of Personnel Partners Network, Inc., and is a noted speaker and writer on recruiting, technology, and how they benefit one another. Combining that experience with the experience of top recruiters worldwide, PPN developed the "Return Oriented Recruiting Methodology." PPN operates several Web sites dedicated to helping recruiters succeed while taking advantage of the vast resources available and improving their benefits. Check out the NEW PPN site at http://www.gotresumes.com
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