As businesses grow, so does the need for effective and efficient hiring processes. Recruitment is crucial from an operational and financial standpoint because the costs of hiring poor recruits are well known. This is where an applicant tracking system (ATS) can come in handy.

In this article, we will discuss how to choose an applicant tracking system for your business.

What is an Applicant Tracking System?

An ATS is a software application that helps organizations manage and automate their recruitment and hiring processes. It helps streamline the hiring process, from posting job ads to screening resumes to scheduling interviews and even tracking the progress of applicants. However, choosing the right ATS can be a daunting task.

How to select an ATS for your business?

Picking an ATS platform might be challenging because so many options are available. It would be wise to solicit suggestions from the whole team to optimize the hiring process. You need to consider the specific features of the system in more depth. Here are some important aspects to consider while choosing an ATS for your business.

1. Identify the need

Identifying what the firm hopes to achieve with the latest software is the first step in choosing the best ATS, despite how obvious it may seem. The issues an ATS solution needs to address are probably already clear to the company. An ATS’s main objective is to make it easier for HR teams and recruiters to identify and select the most qualified applicants for each open position. The hiring process is streamlined using an ATS.  

Recruiters can narrow their attention to only the most qualified candidates by quickly sorting through resumes and simplifying the candidate experience. Many of an ATS’s main functions probably align with these objectives. Setting intentional goals allows managers to maintain focus. As the organization evaluates the alternatives, setting goals helps make it much more to find the ideal ATS for the firm.

2. Budget-setting

Setting the goal will make it easier for the managers to create a budget. Although an ATS investment may appear pricey, it’s crucial to consider it from the perspective of the budget for recruiting. Using this tool will save recruiters and candidate sources a tonne of time. Using the ATS ultimately results in better hiring decisions, greatly impacting retention.  

3. Convenience

An ATS should, at the very least, offer simplicity of usage through its fundamental parts. Managers should be able to use it to automatically find applicants on several platforms and direct all incoming applications to a single platform.

This eliminates the need to manually post job ads and review resumes received through multiple means. With the software, sending emails directly is convenient. Everything is saved on the cloud in one location, which is advantageous for teammates to improve collaboration.

4. Potent resume database

The resume database houses all of the company’s resumes, making it one of the most crucial components of an applicant tracking system. This saves companies from manually looking through thousands, if not millions, of resumes to choose prospects. Managers should check if the ATS supports the resume database while choosing an ATS for the company.

5. Easy job distribution

An applicant tracking system should be able to do the groundwork for the company regarding job distribution. Once the accounts have been restored, ATS should be able to fill the open positions and handle all the tedious work for the business. Recruiters should be able to publish job openings with a single click on various job portals and other platforms. Using this capacity, the recruiter should be able to look for potential candidates on various networking sites.

6. Integration Capabilities

An ATS should seamlessly integrate with other HR and recruitment software tools you use. Evaluate whether the ATS can integrate with your HRIS, payroll, job boards, and other third-party software. Integration can save you time and increase the efficiency of your recruitment process.

7. Ease of scheduling interviews

ATS messaging platforms should enable recruiters and candidates to communicate with one another via email or text without providing personal contact information. The benefit of this scenario is that tracking and maintaining communication inside the system is easier. Managers ought to look at if direct scheduling of interviews with candidates is done using the applicant tracking system.

To determine the feasibility of sharing the interview schedule, the recruiters only need to enter the day and time; ATS then sends invites to specific people who can accept or decline as desired. This makes scheduling interviews for both candidates and busy recruiters much simpler. Managers shall see if this facility is available as it saves much time.

8. Customization Options

Every organization has unique hiring needs. Look for an ATS that offers customization options. Customization can include creating custom workflows, adding new job fields, and modifying the hiring process to fit your organization’s specific needs.

9. Onboarding assistance

One of the most crucial features of an applicant tracking system is onboarding. Managers should find out if this function is offered because it helps guide the development and training of new hires. Also, it helps staff members keep track of their performance to maintain good working relationships with other employees.

10. Social sharing

Social sharing is an advantage that cannot be avoided. It has the advantage of allowing businesses to post job vacancies across numerous social media platforms. Companies will be able to engage with people in this way who are either actively looking for work or are interested in exploring different career options. It will save up more time for candidate searches if the chosen ATS can manage all of the firm social media profiles from a single dashboard instead of managing them individually.

11. Consider the core features

The core functionality of an ATS is to track applicants. Evaluate the ATS’s applicant tracking features, such as resume parsing, automated screening, and candidate communication. These features can save recruiters time and increase the efficiency of the hiring process.

Look for a system that offers reporting and analytics features, such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and source-of-hire tracking. These features can help you make data-driven decisions and optimize your hiring process.

12. Evaluate Customer Support

Customer support is an important factor to consider when choosing an ATS. Look for an ATS vendor that offers reliable customer support, including training, onboarding, and ongoing support. Also, consider whether the vendor provides online resources like user guides and video tutorials.

13. Data Privacy

Last but not least, ATS you are looking for should have tools readily available for data privacy compliance, one of the most fundamental (and probably the most significant, if overlooked) characteristics of an ATS. Given how important legalities are, including them in the standards should be a priority

Summing Up

Choosing the right applicant tracking system can be a challenging task, but it’s essential for optimizing your recruitment process. You can find an ATS that fits your organization best by identifying your needs, evaluating ease of use, integration capabilities, customization options, applicant tracking features, reporting and analytics features, and customer support. With the right ATS, you can streamline your recruitment process, save time, and find the right talent for your organization.

Any hiring team needs an ATS, but the available solutions might be confusing. Be sure to properly research the suppliers the company chooses and confirm that the ATS is suitable for the company’s current and future recruitment objectives.

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