Basic as basic can be, but does the job.
Updated April 07, 2015
Basic as basic can be, but does the job.
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
7.0
Modules Used
- Silkroad Recruiting Platform
Overall Satisfaction with OpenHire
OpenHire is the basic ATS we utilize to track the applicant flow from our careers page. The primary users are those of us in the Talent Acquisition spectrum though our Human Resources department frequents in the system along with our hiring managers in the field for submitting requisitions, approvals, and the like. It allows all of these departments to really get on the same page with having one standardized method to go about the process of acquiring talent for the company.
- The ease of use when it comes to create requisitions from a hiring managers side of things is definitely a positive. It's very much user intuitive and the specifications can be completely customized as to what a company would like to appear within said requisition.
- Candidate correspondence is an absolute breeze as you can custom load templates into the system that can be edited at any time through an administrator in your company instead of having to go through a technical support team on the other side of things.
- Overall, it's a pretty no muss no fuss system to use as there's not a great layer of complication about it and like most things, spaced practice and consistent exposure to it tend to iron out those rough edges. From an administration standpoint, adding in locations and hiring managers is incredibly simplistic along with reporting functionality.
- Candidate folders have come a long way in the system and are much more user friendly at this point than when I began using the system some four years ago. It's very easy to shift candidate profiles between folders and edit on the fly.
- Offer letters, offer letters, offer letters! Unfortunately OpenHire does not have the capacity to have a standard offer letter that can be customized without being saved as a different entity. For example our company has different offer letters for full time and part time hires, non-exempt/exempt, and assorted miscellaneous roles so instead of having one standard offer letter with the ability to drag/drop items within it that we need, we instead have to save each one individually meaning that as a recruiter goes to make an offer, they're selecting amongst multiple different letters.
- Spam filters. When using the candidate correspondence option to communicate via email with potential prospects, these system generated emails tend to trigger the spam filters of many of the most popular servers such as Gmail, Hotmail, & Yahoo. I tend to avoid sending emails through OpenHire to candidates for this reason.
- Candidate search functionality can be inconsistent at best and non-existent at worst. There are times if you're looking for a sizable pool of prospects and set up a pretty bare bones, general search that search will oftentimes take up to 5 minutes and yield no results after that. Definitely can be frustrating.
- Broadbean usage. Last year OpenHire rolled out Broadbean which is a job posting aggregator allowing a user to select external job boards to post their roles directly from the OpenHire requisition. It's pretty new software so there are certainly a good deal of random kinks that could use some ironing out. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that while there's a wide array of external boards that can be selected, it's literally posting to each selected board so after the selections are made it's not an instant process to post as it requires filling out board specific details which can be time consuming.
- Increased correspondence with candidates without question
- Neutral time to fill on openings
- Negative metrics reporting protocols
- Increased hiring manager satisfaction due to the simplicity of the system
I can only really discuss the differences from a candidate side in applying for different roles. OpenHire tends to have a very general styling about it and the application process, while fully customizable to a business' needs, can be a bit cumbersome whereas other applicant tracking systems such as Jobvite have an incredibly expedited process where it's the basic uploading of a resume, filling in some basic information, and the application goes on its way. Total time probably takes under 5 minutes which is crazy appealing to a company seeking to increase their candidate experience. Taleo on the other hand is a notorious pain with the application process as it requires not only uploading a resume, but also completing in multiple sections that are identical to the resume portion which again, time consuming!