Applicant Tracking Systems: The Key to Efficient Recruiting

Applicant Tracking Systems: The Key to Efficient Recruiting

Fortunately, there is a technological solution that many companies are embracing to reduce the pain points associated with recruiting and hiring new talent: Applicants. Applicant Tracking System software offers designed to streamline and automate recruiting and hiring processes, so you can focus more time on selecting great candidates to help build your business.

The quality of people you hire and welcome into your company as employees can drastically impact your business's overall success. With the right people in place, doing roles, they love that further your growth initiatives and goals can be easier to scale your business efficiently and successfully.

To find the best team members for your company, it’s important to recruit for experience, talent, attitude, and personality. While this is an imperative mission for companies searching for motivated employees, it can also strain your human and financial resources as you search for that next perfect hire without an Applicant Tracking System.

What Does an Applicant Tracking System Do?

An Applicant Tracking System is a software solution that helps businesses streamline the process of recruiting, hiring, and managing new employees. Applicant Tracking System software helps increase hiring efficiency by electronically handling all the documents associated with recruiting, such as accepting and sorting resumes, to identify promising candidates more quickly.

More than 95% of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking System software to streamline their recruitment process and keep up with the number of applications they receive. Depending on your company’s business needs and budget, Applicant Tracking System solutions are available through on-site and cloud-based deployments.  

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Key Features Offered by Applicant Tracking System Systems

Applicant Tracking System software can be a powerful tool for better managing your recruiting and hiring efforts with increased efficiency and success. Applicant Tracking System software can be as simple as a simple database functionality to a complex full suite of tools to help your business’ recruitment process.

While the current Applicant Tracking System solutions on the market were born from internal Human Resources applications, they are much more advanced and provide a full suite of tools to help you better your hiring practices.

Some of the key features offered by top Applicant Tracking System providers include:

  • Job posting automation and management 
  • Resume management, sorting, and screening
  • Employee referral program management
  • Candidate search management
  • Candidate communication and interview management tools
  • Workflow management and automation
  • Pre-screening services
  • Social media integration
  • Reporting tools
  • Compliance with industry hiring regulations
  • User-friendly Applicant Tracking System portals for internal and candidate use

These Applicant Tracking System features help you stay competitive in the job market and can help ensure that you stand out compared to similar vacancies. And also, being able to reach applicants through multiple media platforms is a great way to increase the reach of candidates. 

Some of the more advanced Applicant Tracking System solutions even offer more in-depth tools for the hiring process, including:

  • Background checks
  • Certification checks
  • Candidate tracking for future positions
  • Social media talent acquisition

Pain Point Reduction with ATS Systems

Implementing an Applicant Tracking System software solution can dramatically upgrade how you handle recruiting and hiring new team members. However, like any software investment, there are a variety of Applicant Tracking System solutions to choose from, and you will need to consider your pain points carefully. Business needs to understand what Applicant Tracking System features and tools will best help them boost the efficiency of their recruiting and hiring practices.

Ultimately, using an Applicant Tracking System solution aims to hire quality candidates that can add value to your company. 

To best identify the pain points in your current Applicant Tracking System processes, you can use questions such as these to help guide your exploration and ultimately make the decision on which Applicant Tracking System solution will best fulfill your needs and goals:

  • Does manual handling of recruiting and hiring paperwork take up more time than any other steps in the process?
  • Do you need help finding good talent for your team, or have critical positions stay open for long periods?
  • Do you need help with compliance issues surrounding your current hiring practices?
  • Are you posting jobs and managing resumes manually?
  • Is your communication process with candidates clunky, manual, and outdated?
  • How well does your recruitment team collaborate?

The questions that receive an answer of “yes” are the pain points that could be holding back your hiring process and, by extension, the successful growth of your company. Identifying your company’s specific needs and gaps in efficiency will help you choose an Applicant Tracking System system that will help improve your recruiting procedures. Without taking this necessary step, you will likely select a method that does not meet your needs and may cause more work, confusion, and inefficiency around recruiting and hiring. Remember, an Applicant Tracking System solution is meant to improve how your business does the recruiting, not complicate it more. 

The right type of Applicant Tracking System software can create the most dynamic job adverts to attract more applicants to your company and filter all candidates adequately to streamline the next steps of the hiring process. Clear and effective communication with candidates can save your company time and effort when recruiting talent and help avoid turning away top talent due to a negative hiring process experience. For most top applicants, Applicant Tracking System software now features mobile apps to make the process even more convenient. 

When you have a shortlist of Applicant Tracking System options, contacting the provider and scheduling a demo of their software can also be very valuable. Most Applicant Tracking System providers will happily provide free demos and address your questions as you see the system in action. Communicate your pain points, make sure that the system will meet your needs effectively, and that you can leverage the Applicant Tracking System solution for your continued growth and success.

Also, you can refer to our guide to the best applicant tracking systems on the market currently and narrow down the best software solution that can fit your company’s unique needs. 

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