Nico Prins — January 22, 2020 Every company wants to grow, and it’s exciting when all the hard work pays off and you need to hire more people. But bringing in new talent can also be stressful, especially if you don’t have an efficient process for handling the influx of applicants and resumes. An applicant tracking system (ATS) can help you better manage the hiring process and find the right people for your company’s needs.
Many of the top HR departments in the world have embraced application tracking systems, with almost 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies using one. They understand that there are several ways an ATS can make the job of an HR professional easier.
What Is an Applicant Tracking System?
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a program or tool designed to streamline the recruiting process. It simplifies and automates the experience, from posting job openings to receiving applications to hiring employees. A good ATS improves the hiring process for both recruiters and candidates.
Some typical features of ATS include:
- Simple job posting to multiple sites
- Centralized storage of applicant data
- Automated email responses
- Built-in communication channels
- Messaging capabilities
- Application screening for potential matches
- Interview scheduling
- Recruiting analytics and reporting
- Employer branding
- Social sharing
- Career pages
- Interview kits and scorecards
Top 5 Benefits of an ATS
The popularity of ATS is growing. Small, medium-sized, and large companies are all tapping into the advantages to enhance their HR departments. Automatic tracking systems offer many benefits that save time and money—and make hiring easier.
1. Speed Up the Recruiting Process
Applicant tracking systems improve time to hire (the total time spent to fill an open job position). With an ATS, tasks that typically require hours of work, like resume parsing and removing non-qualified applicants, can be completed both easier and faster. This benefit is heightened with the use of automation for routine tasks such as sending notifications to candidates and scheduling interviews. All of which add up to save precious time.
In addition, a faster hiring process helps you get top candidates before they are nabbed by the competition.
2. Improve the Quality of Hire
Many ATS programs allow you to set pre-identified standards and qualifications to separate unqualified candidates and prioritize the ideal ones. This not only improves the quality of hire, but it also helps you more quickly identify the best candidates and not waste time on ones that aren’t a good fit. In turn, you are able to more quickly make offers for high-quality applicants. Take a minute to see what HR experts say about balancing quality of hire and time to hire.
3. Provide a Better Candidate Experience
Applicant tracking systems not only save time for the HR department, but they can also save time for applicants as well. An easy and accessible application allows candidates to quickly and easily apply for a job, which makes for a better experience. Plus, the quicker and easier it is, the more candidates will likely complete the process, expanding the talent pool for you to choose from.
In addition, sending automated emails that provide regular and timely communication with your candidates can significantly improve candidate engagement and experience. Those who have a positive experience are more likely to accept your job offer, reapply in the future, or refer others to your company.
It’s important to note that some job seekers don’t like using an ATS, but that may be a case of not fully understanding how it benefits them too. See why applicant tracking systems are not an applicant’s enemy.
4. Offer Enhanced Reporting
Applicant tracking systems generally have analytics and reporting features that can provide additional insights for making data-driven decisions. For example, hiring reports are one of the HR reports every small business needs. ATS can help determine the efficiency of the recruiting process, identify which source of hire is providing the best candidates, track Equal Employment Opportunity information, and keep management up-to-date on candidate pipelines.
5. Ease HR’s Workload
ATS features streamline and automate many parts of the recruiting and hiring process, which helps relieve much of the manual work associated with finding ideal candidates. applicant tracking systems can also help make the onboarding process more efficient once you’ve found and hired your new employees. This frees up your HR team to focus on other pertinent responsibilities and efforts.
Why Not Make Hiring Easier?
No matter the size of your business, acquiring new talent is an important process that requires an investment of both time and money. The right ATS can help your HR team make the most of both.
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