FIND EXCEPTIONAL TALENT WITH

APPLICANT TRACKING AND

VERIFICATION SERVICES

  

Find Exceptional Talent with Applicant Tracking and Verification Services

Recruiting the right individuals is essential to a company’s success. It can be challenging, however, to work employment verification into an already full schedule when hiring new employees. That is why applicant tracking and employment verification services have become a must-have for any company with an ongoing need for qualified employees. These services are now widely used to help businesses ensure they are hiring the right person for the job.

Important Facts about Applicant Tracking & Verification

Applicant tracking systems track and manage online job applications. Applicant tracking software allows the employer to deal with job applications and to manage the data collected from resumes.

Larger companies utilize applicant tracking software to manage the resume database created by job applications on the company’s own website. Applicant tracking software vendors may partner with the job boards of these companies in order to extract data from their online applications.

Essential to the recruiting process of many companies, an applicant tracking system enables hiring managers to search a database of resumes and job applications. Searches are performed using keywords, education, and years of experience, among other parameters. This is a very effective and efficient way for businesses to select the candidates who are best suited to fill their job openings.

An applicant tracking system can serve as one component of a comprehensive Human Resources Information System (HRIS), or as a module within the data management system of larger companies. Smaller companies that have fewer employee recruitment needs may utilize a stand-alone applicant tracking system.

Key Benefits of Applicant Tracking & Verification Services

The internet has had a major impact on the way companies hire, track, and verify applicants for job openings. Applicant tracking systems allow candidates to apply online for positions within your company. They allow you to set up automatic disqualification parameters, pre-test candidates online (and disqualify them if they do not pass), sort applications by various features, and process the data into your human resources system.

Some systems offer the capability of resume management and job board posting. Once the candidate has been made a job offer you can go into the applicant verification system to verify that a potential hire has the right experience, the required educational background, and solid references.

Applicant tracking and verification systems are also one way for companies to reduce the costs associated with hiring a new employee; approximately $3,479, according to human resources consulting firm Bersin & Associates. Many larger companies that downsized their human resources departments during the recession now spend about 7 percent of their recruitment budgets on applicant tracking systems and services.

Potential Drawbacks

Applicant tracking systems are not infallible. Mark Mehler, co-founder of consulting firm Career Xroads, a staffing consulting firm, commented in a Wall Street Journal article that the ranking system may “miss the most-qualified applicant if that person doesn’t game the system by loading his or her résumé with keywords from the job description.”

The technology used in applicant tracking systems is not designed to completely replace screening done by hiring managers, but to simply make the hiring process and pool of candidates more manageable.

Top Questions to Ask Vendors

Begin by assessing your needs and drawing up a list based on this assessment. For example, do you need a service that will screen applicants based upon results of a personality test, manage résumés and job postings, or track the progression of each applicant throughout various levels of the interviewing process?

Do you need the system to compile résumés, filter out applicants who are lacking certain required qualifications, such as an advanced college degree, or prescreen applicants by creating specialized questions and evaluating answers? Or you may want a system that automatically administers personality profile tests, runs live updates for candidates to review the status of their application or keeps track of interview progress.

Once you’ve decided on your priorities, ask each vendor you’re considering to provide you with a product demonstration of their applicant tracking system. This will give you an idea, not only of how the system works, but also of the level of customer service you can expect from the company’s IT support department. Here are some questions to ask when comparing providers:

• Is the system scalable? It's essential to get a tracking system that grows with you. While your company may have only 500 employees today, 2000 may be right around the corner. You don't want to have to change your applicant tracking and verification program because it can't handle the increased load.

• What level of customer service does the vendor offer? You want a vendor that understands your needs, because your recruiting requirements are unique to your company. Look for a vendor that offers a dedicated customer service rep who understands your business.

• Is the vendor capable of handling a wide variety of job posting formats? Are they flexible in their reporting formats?

• Do they know how to integrate to your existing HR programs?

• Is the software completely adjustable to your needs or will you be required to accept several features that you may never use?

• What functions does the vendor offer? The scope of what these systems offer varies significantly by vendor. Whether a vendor can meet your needs will be based almost entirely on your company's size.

• What will the system cost? Know up front that these systems, and the required support you will have to buy, are expensive.

• Ask for references, talk to HR or recruiting managers at other companies to get their input, and look for feedback on the Internet.

Capabilities to Look for In a Provider

• A system that makes it easy for candidates to apply to your job postings without having to fill out page upon page of questions.

• Enables recruiters to search the database by specific parameters, and includes all information available on a candidate.

• The capability to integrate processes such as job requisitions and management of employee referral programs. Centralizing these processes can greatly increase efficiency for your HR department.

• Ability to accommodate your hiring volume while still providing cost effective service.

• A scalable solution that can configure to your distinctive hiring management process and can accommodate your developing needs as your company changes and grows.

• Superior reporting capabilities; many organizations find it difficult to determine their total spend when it comes to vendors and the hiring process. Managing metrics through a single source will enable more accurate reporting.

• A reporting hub that allows clients to run ad-hoc reports and set aside data for future use. You will also want a system that lets you pull industry standard reports, such as cost-per-hire and time-to-fill.

Making Your Final Selection

There are many steps in determining which vendor you should select for purchasing an applicant tracking and verification system. Susan Vitale, Director of Marketing for iCIMS, in an About.com article, states, “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.”

Finally, you will want to obtain quotes from a select list of providers. InsideUp can get you through these steps efficiently by providing you with competitive quotes from highly qualified, pre-screened vendors. Glossary of Key Terms 

900 Number A pay for, automated phone system used by some educational institutions and companies to verify attendance or employment records. 

Adverse Action A letter an employer sends to applicants advising they will not be considered for employment. This occurs after the pre‐adverse action letter has been sent and the applicant did not dispute and resolve the findings of a background screen. This is required by FCRA regulations. 

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Any paper or computerized system that tracks data such as résumés, applications and job posting information. 

Chain of Custody Form In drug testing, the five‐part form given to donors. The form must be taken to the collection site and completed in the presence of a collector. The form requests the donor's personal information and signature, and the signature of the collector. 

  Chain of Custody Number A unique 7‐to‐10 digit number assigned to each specimen by drug screening laboratories. The number appears on top of every drug screening form. 

Collection A status appearing on a credit report designating the account has been turned over to an independent firm for collection. 

Consent and Disclosure Form Notification advising applicants that a consumer report will be obtained and used for employment purposes. Applicant provides a signed authorization acknowledging the employer will procure an investigative consumer report for consideration of employment or continued employment. 

Conviction Appears on criminal records when a judge or jury declares a person guilty of a crime. 

DOT Drug Test A required Department of Transportation compliant drug test given to safety‐sensitive transportation employees in the aviation, trucking, railroad, mass transit, pipeline and other transportation industries. 

Drug Panel A panel identifies the number and type of substances tested during a drug screen. 

FCRA Fair Credit Reporting Act passed by Congress in 1996 outlining legal requirements for obtaining consumer and investigative consumer reports, and individual rights relating to accuracy and fairness of reporting. 

Full Verification of Employment A process confirming all candidate information including: work performance, dates of employment and position. 

HR‐XML A standardized data language established by voluntary members of the HR community. HR‐XML uses common definitions to automate exchange of HR‐related data between organizations. 

  Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) A computer database used to gather, store, maintain and retrieve employee and HR related information. Typically includes employment demographics, benefits and compensation management, training, payroll and reporting.  Installment Account Credit account in which debt is divided into specified amounts to be paid successively at specified intervals.  Judgment An official court decision that appears on the credit report and involves an action or suit.  Match The result of a social security trace exactly matching the applicant's name and SSN.  Medical Review A process to determine if a drug test result has a legitimate medical explanation.  No Match A note that appears when the result of a social security trace fails to match the applicant's name and SSN.  Open Account A type of account where the balance is paid off in full at the end of every month, such as a utility account. This is different from an account labeled open because of outstanding payments.  Outsourced Verification An external or automated process to verify applicant information. Many large educational institutions and corporations use outsourced verification. (E.g. 900 Number)  Personal Reference A reference providing character information, in addition to dates of employment and position. 

Pre‐Adverse Action Notification given to individuals they may be disqualified from employment based on results of background screening. Documentation includes a copy of the report, summary of rights and a specified time to dispute the report. 

    Public Record Any and all information obtained by the Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) from court records, such as liens, bankruptcy filings and judgments.  Revolving Account Credit automatically available up to a predetermined limit, as long as a customer makes regular payments. (E.g. Credit Cards)  Specimen ID A unique 7‐to‐10 digit number assigned to each specimen by drug screening laboratories. The number appears on top of every drug screening form.  SS Trace Alert The result of a social security trace containing a name discrepancy.  SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Encryption A data protocol that encrypts data to be transmitted securely over the Internet.  Summary of Rights A statement of individual rights, covered by the FCRA, provided to an individual with the consent and disclosure form and if adverse action is taken.  Supervisory References Candidate information obtained by contacting supervisors directly, rather than a general verification obtained from Human Resources.  Trace No Hit A social security trace failing to return a record of the applicant.  Verification Through an Automated System Information verified by an automated, outsourced verification system.  Wage Earner Plan An agreement, due to outstanding credit, allowing an individual to send monthly payments to a trustee instead of paying creditors directly. The trustee distributes the payments to creditors.  XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a standardized data language designed for Web documents, enabling the exchange of data between applications and between organizations.