Big Biller vs. SmartSearch ATS

Big Biller is well suited for pipeline maintenance and tracking. It is not as appropriate when the business is more stagnant and pipeline tracking is not necessary.

Incentivized

I think our environment has stretched SmS and their capabilities (positively) but we have grown together and developed an enormously capable system together that is now very well integrated into our business. For doing applicant tracking, requisition management and offer management that has really been strong. I think we can partner together and build some better analytics and reporting capabilities that would be better suited for our business.

• When you search for candidates in a big database, and want to reach them all at once via email. Big Biller provides you with the platform to build a database.
• Big Biller provides you the option to select candidates within a certain region of the country or even within a certain mile radius from a city or zip code.
• Big Biller allows you to narrow down searches to candidates who have completed certain Educational levels.

• The search functions are outstanding. It is the reason we originally went with SmartSearch many years ago. The ability to do very simple or complex searches gives the recruiting staff great flexibility in how they look for and narrow down candidates.
• The hire and onboarding traks allow us to create very specific processes we want our staff to follow to insure a consistent and repeatable result. I can create traks that can be very general or traks that literally provide emails and reminders to all of the players (recruiters, managers, candidates, etc...) every step of the way. This is particularly helpful where we have customers who have extremely stringent contractual guidelines that must be followed.
• Support. Their customer support is second to none. We always joke that they are our favorite vendor to deal with.... Anytime we have an issue or question. They are there to walk us through it. The training is on target and the staff has always been friendly and more than eager to help make us successful with the tool.

• I'd make sure that when trading partners re-post TE colleagues' jobs that the compensation information isn't removed.
• Make it easier to report the placement of a colleague's applicant, who was never on Big Biller and/or was associated with a job order on Big Biller. A General Placement Reporting form. If it already exists, make it easier to find.
• Don't know if it's possible, but find a way to stop candidates from applying for the same job over and over and over again. I've had one candidate in particular, who keeps applying for my job via every other recruiter, who has reposted my Job Order. He is overseas and he has bombarded me with his applications for my job. I can't consider him, and I've even emailed him to stop, but he is still applying for the job. I'm beginning to think he isn't real and that his applications are actually a kind of algorithm from some kind of phishing or hacking effort.

Incentivized

• SmartSearch has a steep learning curve if you want to extensively use the features like automated tasks and the report writer
• Technical support is spotty and sometimes very frustrating, they don't respond for weeks at a time.
• SmartSearch user interface is old and has far less ability to customize the interface than other tracking systems
• SmartSearch has virtually no ability to connect directly with other software and allows now other software to connect in - so no Microsoft Flow, no Zapier, no mail parser, etc. and since Smart Search capabilities are limited, not being able to integrate it with other platforms easily is unfortunate.

I would consider using Big Biller again, but they would have to make some technology changes. There are many features that come standard with most of their competitors that are not available with Big Biller.

I believe over the past 30 or so pages (or so it seems), you have every reason for my business to continue as a SmartSearch ATS client and user. The support is off the charts great the few times I need them (generally not even once per year). My business has been a client since 2004. That should say it all.

There are so many facets of SmartSearch, that to know everything about it is nearly impossible. While it is mainly straight forward, there is a lot. After using the program for a while, you become pretty comfortable with the basics and can start adding some of the other features.

Incentivized

My license for SmartSearch goes back to 2004. It has always been available for me - don't remember a single time it was not available in all of those years.

Support is near-instantaneous and personal. The tech support team is small, which means I always know who I am talking with, and they know me.

Incentivized

Once you get the 1 person on the phone they are very knowledgeable and tend to solve the problem. The issue is there are not enough resources to handle all the clients. Their primary clients are "recruiting firms" and I think that is where most of the their support resources go

Using the basic functions of SmartSearch is an easy implementation. But consider carefully what your organization needs to really drive placements. Because we only did a basic implementation first, we were caught off guard when later trying to implement more functions and realizing that the capabilities were limited or were difficult to learn and implement and realizing that tech support was not going to be consistent.

I choose BB over other ATS systems for 3 reasons - 1) Most of the other systems didn't have an integrated business development system and 2) BB provided great training and customer service during the initial trial and afterward. Lots of help getting started, ongoing training and support. 3) Constant updates - BB listens to its customers and when we ask for something to be tweaked, they have responded with updates.

Incentivized

Functionally, SmartSearch is not on the same page as ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter as a platform is much more geared toward helping applicants and is essentially a glorified resume database. SmartSearch offers so much more in terms of features and abilities, that would not really be appropriate to try and compare the two. Similarly, the overall use of SmartSearch is an apples and oranges comparison to LinkedIn Talent. LinkedIn is great for sourcing and attracting talent, but in terms of tracking candidates all the way through a hiring process and tracking a heavy volume of job orders across a variety of states and locations, the two just don't really compare.

Incentivized

• We moved to Big Biller from a home grown system and there is no comparison.
• Big Biller helps me keep track of all my candidates and clients and job order projects.

Incentivized

• That's easy - they have helped us grown and make more money. The core element of their technology (e.g. the ability to search for, identify and contact candidates is excellent).
• They are a business partner and do their very best to help us succeed.