For even the most seasoned recruiters, the market is highly competitive. It is increasingly difficult to avoid pitfalls and acquire the best talent. To recruit effectively, you must have a system in place that helps quickly recruit candidates, assists in hiring many candidates, and most importantly, find quality candidates on a consistent basis.
An applicant tracking system (ATS) simplifies the recruitment process, providing recruiters and hiring managers with the right tools to help boost recruitment and find the right candidates. Knowing how the applicant tracking system works in the overall recruiting process can make a difference in the way you streamline tasks. An automated system does all the heavy lifting, making your recruiters more efficient, effective, and productive. This blog outlines an applicant tracking system explained in detail.
What is an ATS?
Employers use applicant tracking system software to organize and filter the number of applications they receive based on posted positions, individuals sending in their resumes for review to determine if they have any open positions, and qualified candidates already in the system. Candidate information such as educational background and job history is uploaded into a database that is accessible to anyone involved in the hiring process.
An ATS can perform automatic tasks, such as sending emails to let potential candidates know their resumes were received. It can also use screening questions to narrow the candidate pool and send rejection emails.
Once the system has information, it organizes applicant data to help employers easily analyze the data. The system also ranks and scores applicants based on their resumes after passing through pre-programmed filters.
An ATS is customizable based on your needs and can include items like pre-hire assessments and video interviewing.
How Does an Applicant Tracking System Work?
Employers use an applicant tracking system to streamline the hiring process by assisting recruiters in creating job postings, publishing them to company websites and job boards, screening applicants, tracking their progress, storing their information, and simplifying the final steps of the hiring process once an offer is extended. In addition to processing resumes, applicant tracking systems may use social media to actively recruit employees.
The best applicant tracking systems screen and sort resumes using natural language processing and artificial intelligence. For data analysis, these systems scan resumes, look for keywords, and use other algorithms.
Why Use an Applicant Tracking System?
Why use an ATS? There are a few reasons:
- When using an applicant tracking system, there’s no risk of an employer accidentally deleting applicants’ resumes or misplacing files.
- An ATS helps employers monitor the hiring process and communicate directly with applicants. Companies use this software to keep track of relevant information about their customers, and employers can use similar software to organize information on prospective employees.
- Organizations thrive on attracting, hiring, and maximizing top talent. Hiring and onboarding are challenging processes for many businesses. An ATS can help organizations find, hire, and retain the best candidates.
- Remaining compliant with laws. When crafting job postings and interview questions, you can remain compliant with company policies and non-discriminatory laws.
- Save on costs associated with hiring. The system helps avoid manually inputting resumes, saving on manpower and advertising costs through automation.
What are the Benefits of Using an Applicant Tracking System?
An applicant tracking system can:
- Enhance job descriptions. Job descriptions should reflect the responsibilities of the position. They must also capture the attention of the best candidates. ATS job descriptions have keyword-rich templates that attract top candidates at the right time and place.
- Streamline and automate. ATS systems can automate and transform the hiring process with tools such as postings, automated communication, and digitized, flexible interview scheduling. Businesses can reduce their dependence on manual, paper-based processes.
- Increased productivity. With an ATS system, recruiters can save time and effort. Automating tasks like emailing candidates, searching resumes using specific keywords, and generating reports are geared toward efficiency. Whenever an HR professional can avoid reading applications, drafting rejection messages or interview invitations, or collaborating with other departments manually, time is naturally saved.
- Improve hiring quality. An ATS improves the quality of hire by automatically identifying candidates who best meet the job requirements and automatically eliminating unqualified candidates. By improving the screening and qualification process, you will be able to improve your employee retention rate.
- Better candidate experiences. In addition to creating an efficient recruitment process, an applicant tracking system will enhance candidates’ experience exponentially. It will provide a professional experience regardless of whether they are hired or not. An ATS will also ensure that candidates are kept updated at every stage of the process.
- More insight. With an applicant tracking system, you will gain continuous insight that only grows with time and usage. By accurately assessing key performance indicators such as time-to-hire and retention rates, your interview and onboarding processes can be improved.
- Full integration. ATS systems should be able to integrate with the software you already have. The data can then be passed back and forth between the systems without any user input, saving even more time and increasing efficiency. It can also help you make more informed recruitment decisions with extra data reporting and analytics tools.
- Improve company image. You want talent that understands and appreciates who you are as an organization. An ATS provides a professional, seamless process that keeps candidates interested in your company and helps you stand out.
It can be challenging to recruit new talent for your business. You want to make sure you make the right choice. Hiring managers and recruiters can save a large amount of time and stress by using an online applicant tracking system.
This system can drastically improve your business’ recruitment process and make it easier to find the right new recruits for your company. Getting the right tracking systems takes a little research to determine your specific needs and the level of automation you require. Once you have this in place, the benefits continue growing and adapting as you scale.
