Find the Best Applicant Tracking Systems

An ‘Applicant Tracking System (ATS)’ is a software that helps employers automate the entire hiring process. It is designed to help recruiters collect and sort out resumes based on the job criteria. Administrators can rank candidates by scanning certain keywords and relevant qualifications on their resumes and filtering out the ones that do not match their requirements. Furthermore, employers can closely track potential new hires throughout the recruitment process, all the while saving them time and money.

Some of the essential features that you must consider while choosing an applicant tracking system for your organization are:

Hiring Management

An efficient hiring process is a fundamental feature of any ATS. It comprises of all essential tools required for applicant data management, screening results and interviews, and hiring applicable candidates. With access to various job boards, like Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn, it helps organizations attract a large pool of diverse and qualified applicants.

Interviews Scheduling

Interview scheduling can be time-consuming and must be optimized for a smooth experience. Most ATS provide users with two-way scheduling functionality. This enables both recruiters and candidates to sync their calendars, streamlining the entire interview scheduling process.

Clear Communication

Transparent communication with shortlisted applicants is important for clarifying the onboarding process and enhancing the overall experience. An ATS promotes clear communication between candidates and employers by allowing administrators to send customized notifications and messages. This ensures candidates stay in the loop and are informed about important updates timely.

Advanced Analytical Functionality

Some advanced Applicant Tracking Systems have the functionality to analyze, and parse resumes before the initial interview, saving recruiters’ time. These platforms often segregate resumes based on the presence of specific keywords, selected by the recruiter. Therefore, if those specific keywords are missing from the candidates' resumes, the system flags them, which employers can see later to check if the flagged applicants are eligible or have relevant experience.

Integration

Seamless integration capabilities with Human Resources (HR) software enables the ATS to link with various platforms, digitizing numerous administrative tasks. The importance of interconnected data systems cannot be overstated, as they enhance data accuracy and streamline hiring workflows. By selecting an ATS that integrates with other HR systems, such as payroll, time tracking, and compensation management, you can ensure consistency and transparency across all administrative processes.

Apart from some core features, the criteria for choosing the best applicant tracking system depends on your company's specific requirements from the ATS. Here are some of the factors you need to consider before selecting an ATS that fits your needs:

1. Consider You Company’s Size

This is perhaps the most important criterion when selecting an ATS. For instance, if you are a start-up or a small business, your recruitment tasks might be less time-consuming and intricate compared to a mid-sized to large business. The number of users directly influences the specifications required in an ATS. Therefore, companies must carefully evaluate the features offered by the ATS to make sure the selected platform aligns with their workforce needs.

2. Analyze The Potential Users

An applicant tracking system is used by multiple individuals within an organization. Human Resources (HR) staff rely on it to post job vacancies, receive resumes, and schedule interviews with shortlisted candidates. Whereas employers use the system to monitor team working hours, punctuality, and productivity. By thoroughly analyzing the needs of the potential users, organizations can choose an ATS that effectively caters to all these requirements.

3. Assess The Integration Functionality

Before finalizing an ATS, it is ideal to check for its integration capabilities with the platforms you currently use. Whether these are payroll systems, HRIS platforms, or other software, seamless ATS integration will help streamline your tasks, maintaining speed and transparency across all functions.

4. Evaluate The Security

The applicant tracking software stores sensitive information about all the candidates who apply to your company, including resumes, educational documents, and contact details. Therefore, it is crucial to review the security measures it offers to protect this data.

5. Request A Demo

Requesting a demo and utilizing a free trial is an effective way to evaluate an ATS’s efficiency and determine its suitability for your company. This approach provides hands-on experience with the software you want to purchase, allowing you to assess its customer support, user-friendliness, and features.

Applicant tracking systems offer several advantages that increase recruitment efficiency. Some of these benefits are:

Task Automation

Applicant tracking software optimizes and automates repetitive administrative tasks. Manual tasks, such as posting jobs across different platforms, parsing through resumes, and scheduling interviews, can be hectic for employers. ATS digitizes these tasks and saves administrators' time and the company's resources.

Better Recruitment Data Organization

ATS centralizes all applicant data in a single system, providing employers convenient access at any time. This eliminates the need for spreadsheets and physical resumes. Hiring managers can find candidates by applying filters such as experience, location, and skillset, or by using specific keywords, to streamline the overall recruitment process.

Efficient Collaboration

Improved collaboration leads to smoother operational execution. Applicant tracking systems facilitate this by providing automated notifications and reminders. This enables employers to easily review applications, parse resumes, and provide feedback, while keeping all recruiting team members aligned and informed.

Improve Hiring Metrics

Analytics and insightful reports help recruiters identify the areas of improvement, improving the talent acquisition process. For example, if your recruitment software takes three weeks to schedule interviews with the shortlisted candidates, you can evaluate the entire process to identify bottlenecks. Once the issues are identified, recruiters can easily implement solutions to speed up the hiring process.

• Information Technology (IT): The IT industry often does remote hiring and needs a comprehensive applicant tracking tool that can help them assess an applicant for the required job position. Rippling HR automates the entire hiring process and brings forth the best candidates for the organization.
• Construction: Construction industry administrators can get bogged down with manual tasks, especially hiring and managing employees across different sites. BambooHR digitizes this manual work and provides more than 40 instant reports for better data analysis.
• Finance: The finance industry requires highly skilled candidates who can stay updated with global market trends while working on organizational progress. Zoho Recruit is one such ATS that facilitates this industry with remote hiring and an efficient recruitment process.
• Healthcare: The healthcare sector has undergone tremendous changes in the last few years. This industry, now looking for eligible candidates who can assist patients in both in-person and online settings. Paycor helps the healthcare industry shortlist and hire skilled candidates specific to their industry while providing utmost compliance.

What qualities should an applicant tracking system have?

An ATS must have all the features that specifically cater to your hiring requirements, whether it's interview scheduling, payroll transparency, or third-party integrations– the right ATS has it all.

What are the risks of the applicant tracking system?

Since applicant tracking systems are automated, organizations risk missing out on eligible candidates. If an applicant's resume is not perfectly optimized, the ATS might not read it and eliminate the candidate.

How do you optimize an applicant tracking system?

An ATS can be optimized by using a clear, simple text-based approach. Users should avoid using graphics, multimedia elements, images, or tables within the platform.

How might an applicant tracking system help the HR department?

An applicant tracking system helps an HR department by effectively storing, managing, and analyzing applicants' information. Recruiters can easily filter out candidates and shortlist them for the vacant position, saving time.