6 Reasons to Buy vs Build Your Recruitment Software

When your staffing or recruiting firm is ready to invest in a modern digital system, the decision to buy vs build your recruitment software can be a little stress-y.

Read below for the top considerations when buying or building your next recruitment software.

Buy vs Build Recruitment Software Consideration #1 / Internal Team Bandwidth

Does your IT department have the bandwidth to handle nearly constant updates for bugs, compliance, new business needs, industry standards, integrations with other software, and more.

Consider:

• Is your IT team prepared for yet another major project?
• Something breaks, how quickly can your internal team get to it?
• New compliance guidelines come out, how easily and quickly can you implement?
• Your plug-in for marketing gets updated, and now won’t work with your homegrown ATS.
• You need to update the options for a field in your database. How long do you have to wait?
• The IT team is implementing a new phone system. The phone system does not integrate with your homegrown software.

For most staffing and recruiting firms, this is going to be a deal breaker. The amount of work that goes into building and then maintaining a software system is a ton of work. And, your IT and Technology team will typically have a lot on their plate in addition to any software build.

Furthermore, good software developers are not cheap. Leading to our next consideration.

Buy vs Build Recruitment Software Consideration #2 / Cost

Consider what the cost of a full-time team and/or developer would be vs how much an experienced, professional software provider would cost.

Developers typically charge $150/hour, which can equate to over $300K a year for a full-time person. That’s one person. And, you might be able to find someone for cheaper, but that is also a very real risk.

That said, you could also find a way to spend a ton of money on software. If you go the route of having a marketplace worth of applications and add-on’s, it could certainly add up.

If you go the software route, we recommend an integrated solution that has as much built in and connected as possible. This brings down cost, and makes the system much easier to manage.

Consider:

• What will be the cost of hiring an internal team to build, maintain, fix and update a homegrown system? Your existing team is already busy, most likely.
• What is the cost of buying software?
• And, what all do you need in your system?
• Are marketing, back office, integration, and CRM features included? How well do they integrate?

It’s important to balance cost with fidelity. Your business data and operations is your second most important asset, after your people. Which brings me to Consideration #3.

Buy vs Build Recruitment Software Consideration #3 / Reliability

Whether you build or buy, you want to make sure you’re in good hands.

Consider:

• If you are building, how do you handle internal turnover of integral team members?
• If you are building, can you ensure adequate documentation of functionality, scripts, coding?
• If you are buying, how easy and effective is the company’s onboarding, training and customer success?
• How much experience does your internal team OR the software company have?
• Are they capable of maintaining compliance in your industry and location?
• Is your data safeguarded?

If your company is not in the business of developing and maintaining software, it is usually an unnecessary risk to reinvent the wheel.

Buy vs Build Recruitment Software Consideration #4 / Customization

This is probably the main reason a recruitment or staffing firm would set out to build their own ATS and recruitment software.

A lot of firms have unique business needs. They call things certain names. They want their software to feel like a part of their business.

Luckily this can be accomplished well with certain software, like Tracker. ????‍♀️

Consider:

• If you want to build, how easy will it be to change customizations down the road?
• If you want to buy, how easy does the software company make it to customize your fields, views, and more?
• What needs to be customized, and what needs to be standardized?

Often, a project of implementing new software, whether bought or built, needs to start with an operational and strategic assessment. Really understand what your needs are before jumping in.

A good partner can help you do this.  With Tracker, our software is so customizable, it feels like a custom build. And, in a lot of ways, it is. But, without the headache or astronomical price tag.

Buy vs Build Recruitment Software Consideration #5 / Compatibility

This is another sticky point for both the buy and the build side of the coin.

It can be very tough to build a custom recruitment platform that is compatible with your VOIP system, your marketing platform, your VMS system, and so on.

It’s can also be challenging to find an ATS/CRM that is fully compatible and integrated.

Consider:

• Do you need or want to keep all of your current software integrations? (i.e. your phone system, marketing platform, vms portal, etc.)
• Whether building or buying, which recruitment software features and integrations do you want included in your platform?
• If you are building, are these external integrations compatible with a homegrown system? Is there an open API?
• If you are buying, does the recruitment software integrate with (or include) all of the features you need?

There are many, many features available in the marketplace, and deciding which ones you need (and want) can be overwhelming. Our experts are happy to talk you through your needs and options, and if we aren’t the best fit, we will let you know.

Buy vs Build Recruitment Software Consideration #6 / Time to Launch

First, you need to decide what is your launch goal? Do you need to get this up and running in a matter or weeks or months or longer?

It’s no surprise that a build out could take several months to plan, develop and test. Then you also would need to migrate any existing data you had into the new system.

If you are going the route of buying software, then you will definitely be able to ramp more quickly. But, you also should vet recruitment software companies based on their implementation, training, and data migration processes and timelines.

Consider:

• If you are building, how long will it take to plan, build, launch and test your software?
• If you are buying, what is the implementation and data migration process? How long does it typically take?
• If you are buying, how is the training setup?
• If you are building, who will do the training?
• How will you get your old data into the new system? Whether built or bought.

In most industries, time is money. This is certainly the case in staffing and recruiting. If you can’t get your system up and running in a matter of a few weeks, then you should reconsider your plan.

Buy vs Build Recruitment Software Considerations Considered

We realize this is a lot to consider when vetting your recruitment software options. But, it doesn’t have to be hard.

A system like Tracker’s is built for staffing and recruiting firms of all sizes. And, our software is built to be customized. With most features you could need being natively built in, you don’t have to worry about spending a fortune on a suite of applications and programs. We have a full team of in-house developers who not only keep the system maintained and compliant, but also constantly add new features and functionality to make our clients’ lives easier.

Our experts would love to walk you through how Tracker compares to other software options, as well as how we make your Tracker system feel custom built. Request a consultation here to get started.

About Tracker

Tracker helps recruiting and staffing firms build better relationships, workflows, and revenue. Over the last 15+ years, we have developed Tracker into a leading cloud-based Recruitment, Applicant Tracking and CRM Software provider serving staffing and recruiting firms across the globe.