Centric ATS onboarding is a guided, phased rollout that takes you from kickoff to go-live with your data migrated, your workflows configured, your systems integrated, and your team trained without putting active hiring on hold. You can expect a structured project with a clear plan, a dedicated point of contact, realistic milestones, and a defined split between what the Centric team handles and what your team provides. Most implementations move through six phases, and the timeline scales with the complexity of your data, integrations, and workflows.
This guide walks through exactly what happens at each stage, how long it typically takes, and what is expected of your team so there are no surprises after you sign. Timeline ranges are general guidance; your actual plan is scoped to your environment during kickoff.
Centric Ats Onboarding At A Glance
Onboarding is run as a project, not a download. After you decide to move forward, you are assigned an implementation lead who builds a plan around your hiring workflows, existing systems, and go-live target. The goal is a working platform your recruiters trust on day one, with your historical data intact and your key integrations live. Because Centric’s background is in enterprise digital transformation, onboarding treats the ATS as part of your wider systems landscape rather than an isolated tool which is what keeps integrations and data governance clean from the start.
Quick takeaway: Expect a structured, supported rollout with a named lead, a phased plan, and a clear responsibility split designed so hiring keeps running throughout.
The Onboarding Process, Phase By Phase
Most Centric ATS implementations move through the following six phases. Smaller, lower-complexity rollouts compress these; larger or more integrated environments extend them.
Phase 1: Kickoff and discovery
The project opens with a kickoff session to confirm goals, success criteria, and a go-live target. The implementation lead documents your current hiring workflows, the roles and permissions you need, the systems you want connected, and the data you want to bring across. This phase produces the project plan everything else follows.
Phase 2: Configuration and workflow design
Your hiring stages, job templates, communication templates, user roles, and approval steps are configured to match how your team actually hires. Rather than forcing your process into a default, this phase shapes the platform around your workflow including the compliance and reporting structures you need. For a sense of which controls matter here, our guide to ATS compliance requirements for US employers covers the records and reporting capabilities worth configuring up front.
Phase 3: Data migration
Your existing candidate, job, and pipeline data is exported from your current tool, mapped to the new structure, and imported with validation to confirm nothing is lost or mangled. This is the phase buyers worry about most, so it is handled methodically: a test migration first, a review, then the production load. Clean source data speeds this up; messy data is cleaned as part of mapping.
Phase 4: Integrations
The ATS is connected to the systems it needs to exchange data with your HRIS, calendar, email, and any assessment or background-check tools. Getting this right is where most of the long-term value sits, which is why it is planned deliberately. Our deeper guidance on integrating an ATS with your HR tech stack explains the data-flow decisions made during this phase.
Phase 5: Training and enablement
Your recruiters, hiring managers, and admins are trained on the workflows they will actually use, with role-specific sessions and reference materials. The aim is confidence, not just familiarity so the team adopts the platform rather than reverting to old habits.
Phase 6: Go-live and hypercare
You switch over on the agreed date, with the old tool kept read-only for a short overlap so nothing is stranded. Immediately after go-live, a hypercare period gives your team fast access to support while everyone settles in, before transitioning to ongoing support.
Quick takeaway: The six phases move from understanding your process, to building it, to moving your data, to connecting your systems, to enabling your people, to a supported launch.
How Long Does Onboarding Take?
Timelines depend on the complexity of your data, the number of integrations, and how customized your workflows are. The ranges below are general planning guidance; your exact schedule is confirmed during kickoff.
|
Rollout type |
Typical characteristics |
General timeline |
|
Lightweight |
Single team, minimal data, few or no integrations |
A few weeks |
|
Standard |
Multiple users, moderate data, core integrations |
Several weeks |
|
Complex / enterprise |
Large data set, multiple integrations, custom workflows, compliance needs |
Multiple months |
Ranges are illustrative for planning only; your project plan is scoped to your environment during discovery.
Who Does What: Your Team vs. Centric
Onboarding is a partnership. Knowing the split up front keeps the project on schedule.
|
Centric handles |
Your team provides |
|
Project plan, implementation lead, and milestones |
An internal project owner and decision-maker |
|
Platform configuration and workflow build |
Your current hiring workflows and requirements |
|
Data migration, mapping, and validation |
Access to source data and a clean export |
|
Integration setup |
Access/credentials and integration priorities |
|
Training sessions and materials |
Staff availability for training |
|
Go-live support and hypercare |
Timely feedback during testing and launch |
Want to scope your timeline? Book an onboarding call with the Centric team and we will map a realistic plan around your data, integrations, and go-live target.
How Centric De-risks The Rollout
What makes onboarding go smoothly is less about the software and more about the method. Centric approaches an ATS rollout the way it approaches any digital-transformation project: discovery before configuration, a tested migration before the real one, integrations and data governance designed in rather than bolted on, and a named lead accountable for the plan. That is what keeps your historical data intact, your systems connected, and your recruiters productive from day one.
Worth knowing: If you are still finalizing the decision, the same rigor shows up earlier in the journey see how we help you choose an ATS for your company size and weigh the ROI of an applicant tracking platform before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Centric ATS onboarding take?
It depends on complexity. A lightweight rollout with minimal data and few integrations can be live in a few weeks; a standard implementation takes several weeks; and a complex enterprise rollout with large data sets, multiple integrations, and custom workflows can run multiple months. Your exact timeline is scoped during kickoff.
Will my existing candidate data be migrated?
Yes. Your candidate, job, and pipeline data is exported, mapped to the new structure, and imported with validation. A test migration is run and reviewed before the production load, so you can confirm everything came across correctly before go-live.
What does my team need to do during onboarding?
Provide an internal project owner, share your current hiring workflows and requirements, give access to source data and the systems you want integrated, make staff available for training, and give timely feedback during testing. Centric handles the configuration, migration, integration, and support.
Will hiring be disrupted while we switch?
It should not be. The old tool is kept read-only during a short overlap, go-live is timed around your hiring activity where possible, and a hypercare period right after launch gives your team fast support while they settle in.
What happens after go-live?
After the hypercare period, you transition to ongoing support. Because the platform is configured around your workflows and connected to your systems, your team continues hiring in one place with the reporting, automation, and records they need.
Ready to plan your rollout? Talk to the Centric team to scope your onboarding timeline and see the platform configured around your hiring process.
