As a business owner, HR executive, or leader in your company, you have no doubt heard of an applicant tracking system (ATS). Perhaps you have even pondered the idea of whether your company could actually benefit from this type of technology? While some have met the ATS with resistance, most execs would agree that an ATS improves their hiring workflow for both them and their candidates. If you’re not sure what an ATS actually does, allow me to map out some reasons why any business leader could benefit from an applicant tracking system as part of their hiring process.
1- Customizable and Configurable
Retail stores manage the hiring process differently than a corporate office and manufacturing companies hire differently than school administrators. With an HR application tracking system, preferences and processes are customizable and configurable in innumerable ways. You can optimize your ATS to best suit the needs and culture of your company.
A few of the many add on features you can expect are:
- Video interviewing
- Pre-hire assessments
- Sourcing of passive candidates
2- Integrate with Career Sites, Job Boards, and Social Media
You can specify your applicant tracking system to integrate with different job boards, even those in other countries. It can also automatically post to social media by using content marketing strategies.
3- Increase Your Pool of Qualified Applicants
By using an ATS that is mobile-friendly, your pool of applicants can increase up to 40 percent. Reducing the amount of time it takes to apply for a job to less than 20 minutes decreases the drop-off rate of applicants.
4- Thin Out the Candidate Pool
ATS systems can reduce your workload by thinning out the candidate pool with set minimum requirements, years of experience, and personality and cognitive assessments which gauge relevant skills and potential conflicts.
5- Gather All Your Applicant’s Data and Hiring Info in One Place
Easily get applications and forms into your ATS so you can sort, rate, share, and contact candidates. Once someone has been hired for your company, their info can integrate directly into the HR employee system.
You also have the capability of saving promising candidates for future positions or to share them with other departments or positions within the company.
6- Avoid Interview Blunders
Be sure you’re compliant with non-discriminatory laws and company policies since applicant tracking systems are non-discriminatory and can help you with the wording of your job posting and interview questions.
7- Reduce the Time Burden of Hiring
An ATS can save recruiters and HR reps time by sorting through hundreds of resumes, automating social sharing with other people or departments within the company, using automated email templates to thank applicants for applying or to let them know they were not chosen for the position, and the ability to delegate hiring tasks.
Just by utilizing these options, it’s estimated that an ATS can reduce the time burden of hiring by up to 20 percent.
8- Save on Hiring Costs
The average hiring cost for a position in a moderately-sized U.S. company is $ 3,000-$ 4,000. By implementing an applicant tracking system, your company will save money on advertising plus the cost of paying a recruiter or employee for their time sorting through stacks of resumes.
9- Boost Employee Retention
How can using an ATS boost employee retention? By helping you hire the right person for the job. When that is done, the likelihood that both you and the person you hired will be satisfied with each other is higher, which in turn reduces employee turnover.
10- Improve Your Company’s Image
People want to work for a company that is efficient and uses current technology to their advantage. Being able to quickly and easily communicate at every stage of the hiring process keeps them interested in the company and sets you apart from the others.
Each company needs to evaluate the factors that go into purchasing and implementing an HR applicant tracking system. Those factors include cost, learning curve, and level of desired automation. However, the benefits and ease of workflow that an ATS can bring are undeniable.
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