Recruiting is one of the most important responsibilities that Human Resource professionals are tasked with. Since recruiting is such a top priority, it is important to have a tool you can rely on. As you start writing your job description, keep in mind, you are about to lay the foundation for your entire hiring process. If the foundation of your hiring process is cracked, you will be facing future trouble. An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can be the tool you are looking for to lay a solid foundation for your organization.
Build the Employer Brand
Your marketing department is focused on branding, how consumers feel about the product or service your company is selling. (You might wonder) What does that have to do with Human Resources? In 2016, it has a lot to do with HR. Employee referrals can generate some of your best applicants. Studies have found applicants referred by your current employees are not only more likely to be become part of your payroll, but also start working for your company faster. ATSs will enable applicants to identify themselves as “Employee Referrals” when submitting the application. You can quickly see who referred this employee, and if it is one of your top performers, you can prioritize that application.
You want to be the company everyone wants to work for. If you treat your employees with respect and have a culture people want to be part of, applicants will look for your job openings. In addition, Applicant Tracking Systems have the ability to feed your jobs to online job boards. where employees now have the ability to review their employer. You don’t want to be the employer who has a two star rating, so focus on improving company culture to help recruit top talent.
Construct a Top Team
Every company has a strategic mission. You want to be the best of breed in your industry. You can have the best product or service on the market, but that does not mean anything if you don’t have stellar customer support, informative salespeople or rockstar marketers. Each department and person in your company helps you reach the strategic goals you have in mind. Customers also associate you with your employees. They will remember and share bad interactions with employees before they will broadcast positive ones. You need people on your team who are constantly conveying a positive message to your customers.
It is not overly complicated to submit a resume. Filling out an application takes a bit more time and energy on the applicant’s part. ATSs give you the ability to create job specific questions so you can gauge if the person has the skills to be a good fit. Taking it a step further, you can also create open ended questions that can be more situational so you can ask how someone would behave in certain situations. Since the questions are open ended managers can see who is a good communicator. If the answers are riddled with typos, that might be a red flag that that applicant won’t put his or her “best foot forward” when representing you and your company.
Hammer in Structure
Prior to ATSs, anyone involved in hiring was forwarding cover letters, watched resumes pile up to the ceiling, and had boxes of old applications in storage. An Applicant Tracking System can cut down on the emails you are forwarding to managers, hoping they are not getting lost in the shuffle. You can set users up in a hiring system so they only have access to applicants for positions they are responsible for. This way managers aren’t dependent on printing or forwarding. They can access the information they need, when they need it, in one convenient location.
You can find applicants who had previously applied might be eligible for new positions you have open. The likelihood of you finding an old resume you were looking for is slim to none. Not only will an ATS give you the ability to find these older applications, but you can easily invite those candidates to apply to a new opening. Which can ultimately help to give you the reputation as an employer who builds a positive relationship with applicants.
With the right applicant tracking solution in place, you can focus your attention on improving team productivity. For help choosing the right application tracking solution, check out this free eBook.
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