An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a type of software that is used within businesses to keep tabs on potential employees during the recruiting and hiring process.
Normally used by recruiters in the Human Resources (HR) department, an ATS makes the whole hiring process easier, more efficient and more pleasant for everybody involved. It provides basic database functionality as well as an extensive suite of tools that allow any and all types of businesses to sift through candidates and guide them through the application and hiring process.
Companies that offer human resources software solutions in the UK include:
Now, there’s no rule saying that businesses absolutely need to use an ATS in order to be successful in the recruitment process, but there’s no doubt about the fact that’ll make your life easier if you do.
How Does ATS Software Work?
Without the use of software, resumes that are submitted online go to a hiring manager who will then sift through them all from there. However, when a company is using an ATS, resumes are sent to the software that is able to pull out and organise key information immediately – things like your level of education, work history, contact details and relevant skills.
Generally, ATS software makes use of keyword recognition to be able to find candidates whose qualifications match the job description that they’ve put out. From there, candidates are normally organised and ranked in order of how well they’d fit the role.
Beyond the process of simply screening resumes, ATS software allows recruiters to review all candidates, make notes on them, schedule interviews and keep track of all communication. Essentially, it allows them to centralise all information relevant to the hiring process, making it smoother and faster. Also, it means that recruiters can easily go back and search for candidate information without having to sift through millions of emails.
Why Should You Use an ATS?
No matter the type of organisation in question, recruitment and hiring is all about maximising the acquisition of talent – you want the best possible employees. Thus, ATS software aims to make this possible, improving the whole process from start to finish.
For most recruiters, one of the top pros of using an ATS is that it’ll allow you to save time. Rather than having to manually sift through hundreds of resumes, this software gives you the opportunity to automate the process. Indeed, recruiters can spend the time they save on properly analysing only the best resumes rather than every single one they receive.
But, it’s not only about saving time. ATS software also allows for improved consistency. While it’s not necessarily intentional, biases tend to become involved in anything that is managed by humans, especially when it’s humans evaluating other humans.
ATS software, however, applies the same standards to each and every applicant, reducing unconscious bias and making the whole screening process more objective overall.
Another thing that ATS software contributes to the hiring process is the fact that it can help ensure that HR and recruiters are always adhering to legal requirements, especially things like equal employment opportunities and data privacy.
Indeed, the system records every step of the process, which means that audits are easier later on and also, applicant data is protected. This is especially beneficial in industries that are highly regulated.
What Are the Benefits of Using An ATS?
There are plenty of advantages of introducing an ATS into your business’s HR processes, from making operations more efficient to ensuring that candidate and employees have an improved experience overall.
Improved Efficiency
Using an ATS is primarily about streamlining the recruitment process, helping employees avoid sorting through hundreds and thousands of applications manually. Not only does this take forever, but it also introduces the possibility of accidentally missing a promising potential candidate.
By means of an ATS, recruiters can quickly and easily filter through applicants based on their own criteria – whether it’s specific requirements of keywords – allowing them to focus on only the best and most qualified candidates.
Time saving isn’t just about making employees’ lives more enjoyable. It can actually be really valuable for larger companies that attract loads of applicants.
Centralised Data
ATS platforms help centralise data, keeping everything in a single location. That includes everything from resumes to interview notes that are not only stored but organised too.
This makes it easier for recruiters to access candidate information whenever they need to, tracking progress through the different stages of hiring and even sharing feedback with team members.
More Consistency
By using an ATS, companies are able to ensure consistency in the recruitment process, applying the same criteria to every application.
By screening resumes by means of scanning for keywords, skills, job titles, resumes and qualifications, candidates are able to find the best applications that properly match the job description. By taking this approach, companies will be able to reduce human error and minimise instances of unconscious biases that tend to be introduced during manual screening processes.
Automated Communication
Some ATS programmes include an automated communication service which automatically replies to candidates in certain instances.
It’s up to the company in question, but normally, it’ll do things like automatically notify candidates of their application progress and status and more. This tends to improve candidates’ experiences overall, increasing the amount of communication they receive.
Improved Data Security and Regulatory Compliance
ATS software helps companies keep records of all hiring activities, supporting compliance with anti-discrimination laws and data protection regulations too.
Also, it allows for companies to store sensitive applicant data securely which, ultimately, reduces the risk of becoming the victim of data breaches.
Maintaining regulatory compliance can be difficult and complicated, even for companies with the best possible intentions. Indeed, by having a programme that manages it all for you, it’ll be far easier for businesses to keep things in order.
Data Analytics
Since these programmes are able to manage big data, using ATS software offers the opportunity to enjoy proper and useful data analytics in a way that manual analysis simply can’t really do.
For instance, recruiters can do things like track how long it takes to officially hire candidates, cost per hire, application sources and even candidate drop-off rates. Having insight into these types of metrics helps companies make helpful changes and informed decisions in the future.
