Oracle Taleo Business Edition Review

PROS: The layout is very simple, meaning you'll have no issues navigating the program. I've used and compared various similar products, but I never came across something that doesn't require long training before. This software is easy and functional!

CONS: Using the HTML editor box for populating job descriptions can be terribly annoying, especially if you're trying to copy-paste text from Word documents. The data loses its format, or gets completely lost ehen you are trying to save it. Sometimes, saving is not an option-you have to click Save so many times that you forget when was the first time you tried to do it. Retyping text each and every time is painful, I wish they'd work a bit more on this issue.

PROS: There are many things to like about Oracle Taleo, and integration is a very important one. Thanks to the variety of integration points, the product appears to be a modest and robust solution. Knowing this, we were not surprised to see how well it handled automating applications, the same as vetting and applicant tracking.

CONS: There is a lot of room to improve customization, mostly when alert messages are concerned. Dealing with it, we had to disable some alerts that were important to us, just because we couldn't change the default message that was not suitable for the way in which we accomplish our tasks. Formatting is not exactly what one would call eye-pleasant, there must be a way to improve that too.

PROS: I felt like I've known the program all of my life, setting it up was just too simple. There are no manipulating tricks to navigate it, everything happens smoothly and seamlessly. I became an administrator in only one month, and I'm currently training colleagues with the software At first, everybody was skeptic towards its recruiting functions, as it happens when you introduce new software for the first time. However, I'm observing more and more colleagues adopting the database, and I'm proud of my achievements, but I sincerely regret that the company didn't buy the support feature. I mean, I do know how to use it and everything, but few explanatory guidelines could spare me from occasional frustration. In terms f functionality, it is really easy to enter existent jobs, and to create templates for recent/future openings. The program acts as a proper safeguard against the possibility that the hiring team will circumvent an approval procedure, or will change the verbiage instead.

CONS: I understand that storage supports only txt files, but that doesn't stop formatting from being more visually appealing. It is not a pleasant interaction, they should do something about it.

PROS: The basic portion of features is easy to use and access, even without specific trainings. I use it to post and source positions, track applicants during the entire recruitment process, and of course to share information with my managers.

CONS: Some parts of the tool are not exactly user-friendly, especially when you're not familiar with online recruiting in general. I've seen the managers struggle with req creation, and I've experienced issues with editing req myself. I remember few unsuccessful attempts to relocate posted req, even if the posting result was not as functional as I expected it to be.

PROS: Contacting a candidate at the first and the last step is not going to be motivating, we all know that. We needed a program that will guide the entire process, from the first moment a candidate submits an application to the final phase where he's being selected or refused. It means we're not putting all candidates under a single roof, but paying enough attention to each of them. For instance, we flag candidates we like, or send a non-standard explanatory email to those who haven't been selected.

CONS: I am completely satisfied with Oracle Taleo and I wouldn’t change anything. The only thing that worries me is that I've already explored all recruiting features and there is nothing new to discover. I wish they had some type of 'hidden' functions that do extracurricular checks on candidates being offered a position.

PROS: You will hear a lot of good ad bad things about the software, but you will never know how the program works until you try it yourselves. At least, that was my experience. I faced a very simple and user-friendly interface, and I liked it from the first moment. The options are cut for my needs, especially if you think that I'm somehow 'fresh' in online recruiting and I had no idee how to use ATS in order to choose decent representatives for my company.

CONS: Oracle Taleo is awesome, but only if you know how to use it. Initially, I was happy to have reporting and tracking, but they proved to be much more complicated than I expected. I had no idea what reporting is about, and instead of being guided through the procedure, I had to learn everything from scratch. The first encounter was just scarry! Still, I said OK, the Web Support was still there to help me, but that was only a thought. I would honestly prefer e guidebook that I can download and keep on my computer for further reference. This way I feel even more confused.

PROS: Most people think that OT's Business Edition (BE) is the same as the Enterprise Edition, but that's not true. The first was intentionally designed more flexible and configurable to serve the needs of small/middle size companies. I like the fact that I can add fields easily, design my own portals, enter data, and run all necessary reports.

CONS: Even if Reporting is the best I've seen so far, it is not easy to use. Every time you try to modify it and to add a new field, it locks you out without any opportunity to adjust it. It means that you have to have all fields into account on the first step, because as you move ahead there will be no way to edit them. I am really annoyed by it, and I hope Oracle will do something about it.

PROS: It is great to have all capabilities displayed on the same dashboard, and to be able to use external informaton on dot. I was impressed by the Duplicate Req option, because I didn't have this type of information history before. I think it saves time like no other program.

CONS: As every other software, Orcale has its bugs and quirks, to say at least. Requisition is tricky, and the software doesn't alert you on information you didn't insert (or inserted wrong). Languages, for instance, need to be inserted before posting, but in case you don't do it, the software will not explain the nature of the mistake. The only way to go is to rely on your own experience. I would also like to be able to copy word text in the Job Description, because this way I have to do too much formatting. Finally, merging profiles should be possible even during the selection phase. There is an error message everytime I try to do it.

PROS: We didn't have a program that can store all data for automated utilization by multiple departments. Each department entered data of their own, which is why we duplicated entries so many times. I think that's that's the biggest benefit of this program, together with accuracy and paperless efficiency.

CONS: See, overall, the program is customizable, but due some reasons I can't understand, the Onboard Task menu is not. I have no control over the number of columns in the menu, or the order in which they appear. The payroll department shared similar concerns about hotlinks, saying that files are always named 'Payroll Load Data' , instead of mentioning the employee's name, which (due to the same unexplained reasons) appears on the opposite side of the page. The employee number, they said, was completely absent. One would say that with the employee's name the number is irrelevant, but that doesn't solve our problem: we have few payroll administrators and many subsidiary groups for each of them, and that makes the employee's numer critical for accuracy. Everything would be easier with more columns (references, numbers, due dates, etc).