Here’s something that doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves during the ATS buying process: every system requires ongoing administration, and most companies underestimate what that costs.
This isn’t usually a central part of the vendor conversation. Your IT department assumes someone in TA will handle it. Your TA team assumes IT will handle it. And six months after go-live, you’re stuck with a $200K system that nobody owns.
This isn’t a hypothetical. I’ve seen it play out dozens of times.
The question isn’t whether you need system administration. The question is whether you’re resourcing it properly – or setting someone up to burn out.
Not sure where you stand? Take our ATS Maturity Assessment to see how your workflow design compares to industry benchmarks.
The Foundational Tier
What this looks like:
Nobody officially owns ATS administration. Or if someone does, they’re doing it in addition to their real job – usually a tech-savvy TA manager or recruiter who got voluntold into the role.
That person is:
- Submitting tickets to the vendor for every change
- Googling solutions at 9pm because a workflow broke
- Building workarounds in spreadsheets because they don’t know the system can do what they need
- Saying yes to every request because they don’t have the political capital to say no
Meanwhile, the rest of your team has given up on the system. They’re using spreadsheets, email, and Slack to do the actual work while the ATS collects dust as an expensive applicant database.
What’s actually happening:
You have shadow processes everywhere. Recruiters aren’t using half the features you paid for. Data is inconsistent because everyone has their own method. Reporting takes hours because someone has to manually clean everything first.
And the person doing system administration? They’re working 60+ hour weeks and will burn out within 18 months.
What to do about it:
You have three options:
- Hire a dedicated system administrator (realistic for companies 1,000+ employees)
- Bring in fractional system administration (what we do at IRD for mid-sized companies)
- Accept the limitations and move to a simpler system (not a failure – just honest about what you need)
The mistake companies make at this stage is thinking system administration is just ticket submission. It’s not. It’s workflow design, integration management, compliance monitoring, user training, and strategic planning. You can’t do that as a side job.
Quick win: Get clear on what you actually want from your ATS. If you’re not growing, or if you’re shrinking, accepting the limitations of a less configurable system might be the right move. But if you’re anticipating growth into mid-market or upper mid-market territory, you need to decide now whether you’re willing to invest in someone who can fully leverage the capacity of the system you purchased. You can’t have enterprise software performance with small-business resourcing.
The Functional Tier
What this looks like:
Someone is officially doing system administration, but they’re also doing other things. Maybe they’re a TA manager who spends 40% of their time on the ATS. Maybe they’re an HRIS analyst who covers multiple systems.
Your ATS works. Tickets get resolved. Small changes happen. But larger strategic work – workflow redesign, integration optimization, advanced automation – keeps getting pushed to “next quarter” because your admin is underwater.
What’s actually happening:
You’re getting standard implementation-level performance from your ATS, but you’re missing the optimization layer that drives real ROI. Your time-to-fill is okay. Your data is mostly clean. Your reports work.
But you’re leaving money on the because nobody has time to:
- Redesign workflows that were “good enough” three years ago
- Optimize integrations that are creating duplicate work
- Build the advanced automation that would save recruiters 10 hours/week
- Stay current on new features and AI capabilities
And here’s the hidden cost: the person doing your system administration is probably one of your best people. They’re technical, they understand TA, they can problem-solve. So you keep giving them more projects – the HCM implementation, the new background check vendor, the chatbot evaluation.
And suddenly your ATS admin isn’t doing ATS administration anymore. They’re doing everything else while the ATS maintenance backlog grows.
What to do about it:
This is where companies need to make a decision: Is your ATS a strategic tool or just software you own?
If it’s strategic, you need dedicated focus. That means either:
- Protecting your admin’s time: 60-70% of their role should be ATS-focused, with clear boundaries around other projects
- Hiring a second person: Most companies in the 1,000-5,000 range need at least one dedicated person, and companies above 5,000 need multiple people
- Bringing in external support: Fractional admin services or consulting engagements to handle backlog and strategic projects
The companies that stay stuck in Functional are the ones who can’t commit. They want Optimized-level performance but they’re only willing to invest Foundational-level resources.
What’s costing you: If your system admin is stretched across multiple systems and projects, you’re probably spending 20-30 extra days per implementation/integration project because nobody has dedicated time to manage vendor relationships and test configurations properly.
The Optimized Tier
What this looks like:
You have a dedicated system administrator whose primary job is running your ATS. They spend 60-80% of their time on system administration, and the rest on closely related projects.
If you’re a larger organization (5,000+ employees or global operations), you have sub-administrators – people in different regions or business units who handle localized configurations and serve as the first line of support for their teams.
Your system admin either:
- Came from the vendor side and has deep technical knowledge (but may need TA expertise support)
- Came from a TA background and implemented your current system (ideal scenario)
- Was hired from another company where they did ATS administration (needs your institutional context)
What’s actually happening:
Your ATS is a competitive advantage. Your time-to-fill is faster than industry benchmarks. Your data is clean. Your recruiters actually like using the system. New features get evaluated and implemented quickly.
But you have two risks:
Risk #1: Single point of failure
All of your institutional knowledge lives in one person’s head. If they leave, you’re in trouble. Even if you have sub-admins, they probably don’t know the full picture.
Risk #2: Innovation stagnation
Your admin is good at maintaining what exists. But are they innovating? Are they testing AI tools, piloting new integrations, rethinking workflows based on industry best practices?
Or are they just really good at keeping the lights on?
What to do about it:
Document everything. Your system admin needs to maintain configuration documentation that would allow someone else to understand your setup if they won the lottery tomorrow. This should include:
- Workflow logic and business rules
- Integration mappings and data flows
- Custom field purposes and dependencies
- User group structures and permissions logic
- Compliance requirements and audit procedures
Connect them with peers. Your admin needs to be in community with other enterprise-level system administrators. That’s what System Admin Insights provides – peer learning, vendor access, and strategic guidance from people operating at the same level.
Bring in outside expertise occasionally. Even the best in-house admin benefits from an external perspective. This could be:
- Your vendor’s premium success plan
- An external consultant with deep vendor expertise who’s done 50+ implementations (this is what we do at IRD)
- A strategic review engagement once a year to identify blind spots
The companies at this level aren’t trying to fix problems. They’re trying to stay ahead of the curve.
Advanced strategy: If you’re global, make sure your sub-admins are actually empowered. They should handle regional compliance, localized workflows, and first-line user support. Your central admin should be focused on global strategy, vendor relationships, and cross-regional standardization – not getting pulled into every ticket.
The Bottom Line
System administration is not a side job.
Companies below 1,000 employees can sometimes get away with fractional support or a part-time admin. Most companies in the 1,000-5,000 range need at least one dedicated person, and companies above 5,000 need multiple people.
If you’re trying to run a $200K+ ATS without proper administration, you’re paying full price for 40% of the value.
And if your system admin is doing this plus three other jobs, you’re setting them up to burn out and leave – taking all of your institutional knowledge with them.
Want to talk about what proper resourcing would look like for your organization? Book a strategy call or check out our fractional ATS administration services.
Already have a great admin who needs peer support and strategic guidance? That’s what System Admin Insights is for.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I know if I need a dedicated ATS administrator?
A: If your company has 1,000+ employees, you almost certainly need someone dedicated. Below that threshold, it depends on your system complexity and growth trajectory. The key indicator: if the person doing system administration is working 60+ hour weeks or if strategic projects keep getting delayed because of maintenance backlogs, you need dedicated resources.
Q: Should my ATS administrator come from a TA background or IT?
A: TA background is strongly preferred. System administration isn’t just technical configuration – it’s understanding recruiting workflows, candidate experience, compliance requirements, and how recruiters actually work. IT professionals typically don’t have this context. The ideal candidate is someone with recruiting experience who became technical, not the other way around.
Q: What’s the difference between a system administrator and submitting tickets to our vendor?
A: Vendor support handles individual requests – “can you change this field” or “why is this workflow broken.” System administration is strategic: designing workflows that align with your hiring process, optimizing integrations, maintaining data quality standards, training users, monitoring compliance, and continuously improving your system. It’s the difference between facility maintenance and facility management.
Q: Can we outsource ATS administration entirely?
A: Yes, through fractional system administration services like what we offer at IRD. This works well for companies in the 500-2,000 employee range who need dedicated expertise but can’t justify a full-time hire. Above 2,000 employees, you typically need at least one internal person with external support for strategic projects.
Q: What should an ATS administrator’s job description include?
A: Core responsibilities should include: workflow configuration and optimization, user training and support, integration management, data quality monitoring, compliance oversight, vendor relationship management, documentation maintenance, and strategic planning for new features and capabilities. They should spend 60-80% of their time on ATS-specific work, not juggling multiple systems.
Q: How much should we pay an ATS administrator?
A: It varies by market and company size, but expect $70K-$110K for mid-level administrators with 3-5 years of experience, and $100K-$140K+ for senior administrators managing enterprise implementations. Former vendor employees or those with deep technical expertise command the higher end of these ranges.
Q: What happens if our ATS administrator leaves?
A: This is why documentation is critical. If all of your configuration knowledge lives in one person’s head, their departure creates major risk. Proper documentation should include workflow logic, integration mappings, custom field purposes, user group structures, and compliance procedures. Without this, you’re starting from scratch with the next person.
Q: Do we need multiple ATS administrators?
A: Companies above 5,000 employees or those with complex global operations typically need multiple people. This often includes a central administrator focused on strategy and vendor management, plus regional sub-administrators handling localized configurations and front-line user support.
