According to the latest statistics, 75 percent of large companies currently use an applicant tracking system (or ATS) to help them streamline their recruiting process.
Have you ever heard of applicant tracking software before? Are you curious about how it can help you find the best employees for your team?
Read on to learn more about this technology, how it works, and the benefits it can provide to your business. You’ll also learn about the best tools you can start using today.
What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
An applicant tracking system is a type of software that helps businesses to more easily manage their recruitment processes.
These tools are similar to customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which help companies to keep track of and optimize communication with customers. The only difference is that applicant tracking systems do this for candidates.
Applicant tracking systems assist with a variety of functions associated with hiring and recruiting, including the following:
- Posting jobs
- Receiving applications
- Filtering applications
- Screening candidates
- Messaging applicants
- Scheduling interviews
- Providing candidate feedback
The best applicant tracking systems also act as a database. They house all of a company’s hiring-related information and retain candidate records for future hiring opportunities.
All kinds of businesses can use applicant tracking systems. They’re most commonly used among enterprise-level organizations that receive large volumes of applications whenever they post a job ad.
However, lots of small and medium-sized businesses are starting to use these tools, too. They’re becoming especially popular now that the job market is booming and lots of people are looking for new positions.
How Do Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Work?
Applicant tracking systems function with the help of various sophisticated technologies, including natural language processes and artificial intelligence. The following are some of the other tools and features that applicant tracking systems use to help you with your hiring process:
Resume and CV Parsing
Applicant tracking systems allow you to build profiles to help you identify the ideal candidates for each position. One way they do this is with resume and CV parsing technology, which allows the system to sort through resumes and CVs, extract relevant information, and simplify tasks like searching and sorting.
Advanced Search
Applicant tracking systems utilize advanced search processes like Boolean search and radius search. Boolean search allows you to easily include or eliminate certain words and phrases when vetting candidates. Radius search allows you to include or exclude candidates based on location-related information.
CRM Software
The best applicant tracking systems also include CRM technology. This helps recruiters to keep track of conversations with applicants, easily access candidate information, and stay in touch over time to improve engagement rates.
Email Templates
Applicant tracking systems feature a variety of email templates and application templates to help you streamline communications, job posting processes, and more. This feature, alone, can save you a ton of time and help you simplify recruiting for every department at your company.
Advanced Reporting
Many applicant tracking tools feature advanced reporting, which allows you to monitor performance over time and see what works and what doesn’t.
If you’re curious about how a certain type of job ad performs compared to another one, your ATS will tell you. If you want to know where most people are learning about openings at your company, your ATS’s reports will let you know.
Integrations
Many applicant tracking software programs also integrate with other tools that you use to streamline your job and stay in touch with colleagues and customers.
These integrations help you to incorporate the technology into your office more easily and get all of your coworkers on board. They also prevent valuable data from accidentally falling through the cracks.
10 Benefits of Using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) for Hiring
If you’re still on the fence about using an applicant tracking system, perhaps this list of benefits will change your mind. Here are 10 reasons why you ought to start using an ATS system.
1. Save Time
One of the greatest benefits of using ATS tracking is that you can save time. As a hiring manager, you have a lot to do on a daily basis. How nice would it be if you could take some of the simple (but also time-consuming) tasks off our schedule and let someone (or something) else handle them?
When you start using an applicant tracking system, you’re able to streamline a lot of the processes you have to carry out each day. For example, you’ll be able to post an ad to several different job sites with just one click, which saves you from having to manually input information on dozens of websites. In one second, you’ll be able to do what previously took you hours to accomplish!
2. Save Money
Applicant tracking tools don’t just save you time. They also save you money.
Small businesses can easily save over $10,000 in wasted time and effort by incorporating an ATS into their hiring practices. For large businesses, the savings can be even greater.
At first, some people may balk at the idea of using an applicant tracking system. If this is the case for you and you’re having a hard time convincing the powers that be at your company that they need to invest in an ATS, talk to them about the potential cost savings associated with this technology.
After all, what boss wouldn’t like to save tens of thousands of dollars per year?
3. Manage Candidates More Easily
How difficult is it to collect resumes from various job sites, organize them into one folder, and then sort through them to pick out the most promising candidates? This is one of the hardest and most frustrating parts of the hiring process, right?
When you use an applicant tracking system, it becomes a lot easier to manage candidates, keep track of their information, and prevent qualified people from slipping through the cracks.
You won’t have to worry about remembering where you put the resumes or whether or not you’re forgetting to check responses from a particular site. From resumes and CVs to contact information, everything will be in one centralized location. You’ll also be able to easily search for what you need.
4. Post Jobs Faster
As we mentioned earlier, the best applicant tracking systems allow you to post jobs to multiple sites with just one click.
In addition to streamlining the job posting process, many applicant tracking tools also allow you to create job ads more easily. They provide templates to help you figure out what information you need to provide to job seekers.
If you struggle to write compelling job ads or find that you forget to include relevant details, investing in the right applicant tracking system can help. It also provides templates to help you with recruiting emails and other important documents, too.
5. Get Responses Faster
Not only will an ATS software help you post job ads faster, but it also allows you to get responses from qualified candidates faster.
The best ATS tools simplify the application process for job seekers and help them get back to you with their resumes or CVs right away. This, in turn, speeds up the entire hiring process and helps you to fill open positions sooner.
If you’re tired of waiting around for candidates to apply, only to find that they’re not qualified for the job in the first place, consider using an ATS. It does a lot of screening and vetting for you so you can get responses sooner and only get in touch with people who are good fits for your company.
6. Automate Routine Tasks
Many of the tasks associated with hiring and recruiting aren’t exactly complicated, but they are time-consuming.
For example, it might not be hard to send emails letting people know that you’d like to schedule an interview. However, it does take a while to find their contact information, type in their name and email address, send the messages, etc.
When you use an applicant tracking system, you’re able to automate a lot of these routine tasks. This, in turn, frees you up to focus on other things that require your skills and attention. Meanwhile, you can feel confident that everything is being handled and you’re getting closer to filling the job openings at your company.
7. Improve Communication
Applicant tracking systems help to improve communication between you and job seekers who are interested in working for your company. They increase engagement and help you to stay connected to the people who might become employees one day.
Some qualified job seekers might get frustrated if they don’t hear from a company they’ve reached out to right away. They might even decide they don’t want to work for them at all.
By simplifying communication and helping you stay in touch with job seekers, applicant tracking systems allow you to build better relationships and help everyone start off on the right foot.
8. Improve Hiring Compliance
Investing in ATS recruitment doesn’t just make your job easier. It also helps you to ensure you’re being compliant with your country and state’s specific hiring laws and requirements.
For example, your ATS can make it easier for you to comply with the following:
- Payroll and Labor Laws: Affordable Care Act compliance, COBRA compliance, etc.
- Taxes: Automated tax calculation, tax filing, etc.
- Workplace Health and Safety Trainings: Health and safety policies, diversity and inclusion training, sexual harassment training, cybersecurity training, etc.
By keeping up with these laws and regulations, you won’t just be making sure your company is following the rules. You’ll also be able to avoid fines, which will save your company even more money.
9. Simplify Onboarding
Applicant tracking systems don’t just help with hiring. They also assist with new employee onboarding processes. You ATS can assist with a variety of onboarding-related tasks, including sending offer letters, setting up payroll, providing introductions to company systems, and more.
When you automate these processes, you set your new employees up for success right away. You also show them that your company is well-organized and professional. This helps you to make a good impression before they even officially start working.
Remember, 69 percent of employees say they are likely to stay with a company for at least 3 years if they have a great onboarding experience. If you want to improve your company’s employee retention rates, utilizing an ATS is a great first step.
10. Reduce Stress
Finally, an applicant tracking system can reduce stress for you, the rest of your HR department, and others at your company. By automating time-consuming processes, reducing spending, and improving communication, you’ll have less on your plate and will be able to enjoy your job more.
Remember, the average HR manager spends approximately 33 percent of their time on paperwork-related tasks, including payroll and administration. This leaves you with less time to focus on other important tasks, like strategy, employee training, and engaging with current employees.
An applicant tracking system can help with a lot of document management processes and allow you to focus on other things. If you’ve been feeling stressed out and drained by everything you have to handle day-to-day, using an ATS could give you more bandwidth and prevent you from experiencing burnout.
Are There Challenges of Using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)?
As with any type of technology, there are some potential challenges you may run into when using applicant tracking systems. The following are some of the most noteworthy ATS recruitment obstacles of which you’ll need to be aware:
Potential Technical Difficulties
Whenever you start using a new software program, you face the possibility of running into some technical difficulties. There’s always a chance that there may be a glitch with the program or one of the tools with which it integrates.
This can create some temporary slow-downs at your company as you work to fix the problem and get the system up and running. If you choose a software that comes with robust customer support services, though, you likely won’t run into these issues too frequently.
Hiring Roadblocks
When you trust an applicant tracking system to help with candidate screening and hiring, there is a chance that you will eliminate some candidates who are fully qualified for the job. If they don’t use the proper keywords or format their resume appropriately, they may slip through the cracks and get rejected even though they are a good fit.
This is a risk you’ll need to be willing to take when you start using an ATS. In general, though, these tools are very good at picking up on the right candidates and connecting you to those who will work best with your team.
Initial Investment
The initial investment and upfront cost of an ATS can be offputting to some professionals. This is especially true of those who are working with tight budgets. When you consider the cost savings associated with an applicant tracking system, though, it may be worth it to spend some extra money initially if it leads to spending reductions in the future.
Learning Curves
Of course, there will be a learning curve when you first start using an ATS.
In the beginning, it might seem like it takes longer to use the ATS than it would be to just handle things manually. Once you get used to the tool and how it functions, though, you’ll find that you start saving a lot of time and eliminate a lot of the stress from your job.
You just have to put in the work to get over the initial hump.
How to Get Started with Hiring with an Applicant Tracking System
Are you interested in experiencing the benefits of ATS tracking firsthand? If so, one of the best tools you can utilize is GrabJobs.
GrabJobs is a mobile-first recruitment platform with a robust ATS feature. When you use GrabJobs, you gain access to a variety of tools, including HR chatbots, that help you streamline your hiring process, identify the best candidates for each opening, schedule interviews, and more.
GrabJobs also allows you to post job ads on over 20 different job sites with just one click. By incorporating this tool into your hiring strategy, you can reach a larger audience, locate more skilled candidates, and expand your talent pool for when future hiring opportunities arise.
GrabJobs also provides a variety of resources to help you improve your hiring processes. For example, you’ll gain access to guides like this one on the best job ad examples to help you write more attention-catching listings and attract better candidates.
Try Out an Applicant Tracking System Today
Now that you know more about how ATS software works and the benefits it has to offer, are you ready to see what an applicant tracking system can do for you and your team?
If you want to experience all the benefits of an ATS system, check out GrabJobs.
GrabJobs streamlines the recruiting process and helps with everything from candidate matching to interview scheduling. Give it a try today to see what it’s all about.
