I’m sure you can relate to this. You invested all this time building an intimate relationship, spending months likely years getting to know every single detail about the other. Then, over time, you start to drift apart. Things are not as easy as they once were. What once seemed like a natural fit is now requiring all of your effort to keep things going.
Eventually, you get to a point where you realize you are no longer a good fit for each other and decide it’s better if you just split ways.
Then all of a sudden something magical happens. Graduation goggles appear. Now, you’re questioning whether you made a mistake and wish you could run back to the comfort of what you already know.
Wait! Did you think I was talking about an ex? Well, I guess I was, but it’s not the ex you think. I’m talking about your ATS.
At Loxo, we get it, switching to a new ATS is a BIG decision. Likely, one of the biggest decisions you will make.
Whether you’re a one person firm or a large staffing agency, your ATS is the tool at the heart of your entire process. With your entire process designed around you old ATS, how can any other tool ever compare? There will never be another platform quite like it. The buttons were placed just right. You knew how all the features worked, and you loved the predictability of it all.
Cue graduation goggles.
Before you go running back into the arms of your old ATS, stop and take a deep breath. Start to remember all of the reasons why you decided to make the switch in the first place.
Familiarity doesn’t make it better. Remember those hours you spent manually importing candidate data because there was no automated workflow. How about the time you contacted support with an urgent issue only to receive an email saying it would take them 5–7 days to respond? Or, how about the fact that you had to pay hundreds of dollars a month for additional tools because your old ATS hasn’t released new features in over 10 years?
You chose your new ATS for a reason. No, it’s never going to look and function exactly like your old tool did, but that’s a good thing. If you’re old tool was perfect, you would have never switched in the first place.
You’re a smart person. You did your homework — researched all of the options, consulted the rest your team, and watched countless demos before you decided you to pull the trigger. What happened between then and now? You were confident in your decision. You knew your new ATS would automate manual processes, included innovative features, and had a reputation for stellar support.
I can tell you what happened. It’s change.
Change is hard. Doesn’t matter what it is. Anything from a switching jobs to something as small as a new hairstyle can induce panic in the best of us. The most important thing is to keep calm and have an open mind.
With any big change, there is an adjustment period. When it comes to a new ATS, there will be a learning curve no matter how intuitive and user-friendly the sales person told you it would be. It will require you to modify some of your processes, and simple steps may take a bit longer than usual as you learn the new tool.
Remember, you are making a short-term investment of your time for a long-term payoff. The extra minutes or hours you spend learning a new system could save you days, weeks, or months in the long-run.
Persevere. The change will be 100% worth it, and if you’re still struggling reach out to your ATS provider. If they are as good as they say they are, they will work with you to make sure you’re successful. Your success is just as important to them as it is to you.
Now, I think you’re ready. Rip off those goggles and keep going.
You new ATS will be full of great new surprises. You have to keep exploring and keep learning to find them.