One of the biggest problems in adapting HR processes to today’s technological standards has been hiring new staff since this process traditionally requires a considerable amount of dedicated human resources. You need people for interviewing applicants, vetting out bad choices, and an officer with experience to make the final decision. The entire process, though, can be easily streamlined using Applicant Tracking Systems Software.
Below, we’ll explore some of the best choices for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Software. Before we do, however, let’s talk about what these innovative systems are and how they accomplish their magic.
What Is An Applicant Tracking System?
Applicant Tracking Systems Software can be defined as a software solution that stretches across various processes to manage recruitment and hiring needs. Essentially, this software serves as a data bank for several functions, like vetting applicants, interviewing them, and keeping track of the best choices.
This innovative piece of HR software has many benefits, but it comes with one startlingly helpful feature: it enables the automated tracking of applicants and stores the data in vast volumes, from which it can fetch and process the data instantly.
What Are The Applicant Tracking System Benefits?
Adapting your HR process to include one of these beneficial systems is the first step in driving an efficient recruitment strategy. Below, you’ll find 5 of the best benefits you can get from utilizing an Applicant Tracking System for your recruitment process:
- Reduces the Time Investment Required for Recruiting: Rather than manually publishing ads or sending follow-up emails yourself, you can use an ATS system to automate the processes with just a few clicks.
- Enables and Enhances Collaborative Hiring: An Applicant Tracking System has several features to allow collaborative hiring, empowering HR employees across different teams to quickly share notes, information, and ratings for different applicants.
- Massively Improves the Quality of Hiring: A recruitment software manages to improve hire quality by the automated matching feature, where employers are only shown the best candidates according to the criteria they choose.
- Provides Faster CV Screening: A corporate job gets around 250 CVs sent in on average, making it incredibly hard for recruiters to screen all of these CVs individually. On the other hand, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Software uses advanced algorithms to screen algorithms lightning-fast, showing employers only the candidates that fit their criteria.
- Enhances the Candidate Experience: A better, faster, and more centralized recruiting process means candidates don’t have to waste time sitting around for you to screen their CV or give them a rating since the system already does both of them!
Advice for Buying the Best ATS
Applicant Tracking Systems are inevitably the core system that most talent acquisition organizations function around. However, with the explosive popularity of these systems comes hundreds of choices, making choosing the right one for yourself extremely hard. To help you, here are three pro tips for when you’re selecting a new ATS:
- Much More Than Just A Database
The previous generation ATS systems were nothing more than a simple database, and today, you’ll find many systems that are the same. If you haven’t gotten the message yet, that’s not the sort you want to go for. Make sure the candidate relationship management software you’re considering has advanced features that make identifying, vetting, and hiring the top candidates for a position that much easier.
- Consider How It Impacts Your ROI
In the end, buying a new ATS system is an important business decision. You should ask the vendor you’re considering the same question you’ll ask before making a business decision: how will it affect your Return on Investment?
Sourcing tools and analytics, which are two-valued features of ATS systems today, both translate directly into ROI by allowing you to turn off redundant hiring channels and recruitment processes, actively saving you money in the process.
- Involve the Users
Your CFO might want a cheaper system, your head of security might wish for better firewalls, but ultimately, it’s your recruiters who will use the system day and night. If you want to optimize your HR process, make sure the recruiters, the actual users, have a say in which system you choose!
Key Applicant Tracking Features You Should Look For
Of course, there are also several features that you should be looking for in the ideal human capital management software. Different systems offer different combinations of features, but here are five qualities that we think are essential in a new ATS system:
- Career Page Hosting that you can access directly from the platform, used to display open positions in your company.
- Job Distribution that ensures your notices for available positions are posted across as many job sites as possible.
- Receiving and Sorting Applications and especially the ability to instantly weed out the applications that don’t match the required criteria.
- Resume Storage enables you to keep track of a highly qualified candidate long after they initially sent their CV in.
- Onboarding Tools for setting up resource pages that you can use to explain company policy and rules to new hires.
The Top 6 Applicant Tracking Systems Software Choices (And Why You Should Choose Them!)
We’re not going to mess you around after we’ve come this far together. Straight up, here are the top 6 Applicant Tracking Systems Software Choices, and what makes them a good choice:
- BreezyHR: Great applicant tracking software for SMBs
- VidCruiter: Best ATS with Native Video Interviewing
- Greenhouse: Great for companies looking for CRM + ATS
- Teamtailor: Best ATS with Employer Branding
- JazzHR: ATS for SMBs, transparent pricing
- Pinpoint: An innovative ATS tool with built-in talent acquisition features
Questions To Ask ATS Vendors On Demos
If you’re shopping for a new ATS, you’ll doubtless find lots of Applicant Tracking Systems Software Vendors who offer introductory demos to the software they retail. Don’t get dazzled by the flashiest demo you see, though: instead, ask them these questions to make sure you’re receiving all the information you can from the demo:
- Will this solution integrate easily with our current systems?
Why: Not all ATS systems are immediately compatible with different legacy software systems. Checking helps you avoid heaps of trouble later.
- Describe the approach your software takes to migrating candidate data from previous systems.
Why: A good ATS will always have in-built solutions for quickly migrating client data from legacy systems or older ATS systems.
- How often do you release software updates?
Why: No matter how good the performance management software is, it will ultimately get obsolete. Frequent software updates introduce new features to streamline processes while fixing existing bugs.
- Describe your support model.
Why: A surprising number of companies have abysmal support models, which means you won’t get help when you need it. Always check up on a company’s support model before making any HR software purchase!
- What reporting and analytics features are included?
Why: We talked about the importance of these specific features above, right? It just simply pays off to ensure your software has all the latest bells and whistles.
Conclusion
We’re going to end with a tip that you should keep in mind when considering investing in new Applicant Tracking systems: constantly think about the needs and wants of your recruiters since they’re the ones who’ll be using it day and night. Cultivating a healthy relationship between your HR team and the recruiting software they use is the easiest way to optimize most of your HR processes.