applicant tracking system

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software for recruiters and employers to track candidates throughout the recruiting and hiring process. This software can come equipped with capabilities ranging from simple database functionality to a full-service suite of tools that makes it easy for businesses of any size to filter, manage, and analyze candidates. Every organization is unique, but each one thrives on attracting, hiring, and maximizing top talent. Many businesses face major challenges at some point in the hiring or onboarding process. An ATS can offer a variety of capabilities that can help the organization find, hire, and retain the best candidates. Some of the benefits of an ATS include the following: Some organizations lack the reach to connect with top job seekers or to a cast a wide enough net in the marketplace. Others are missing critical data on the right channels to find specific candidates; other organizations may lack brand recognition and the means to develop it. An ATS can help address these critical candidate challenges. Some systems can be enriched with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to create a profile of an ideal candidate, assess and identify skills, and predict success factors to maximize each hire. This helps organizations better understand candidate behavior, amplify brand recognition, and target specific job seekers on the platforms and channels they use most. Moving a candidate through the journey from first contact to start date can be a high-touch process. It can be all too easy to lose a top candidate because of slow response times or poor engagement around interview schedules. An ATS creates greater visibility across the applicant lifecycle, so touchpoints don’t fall through the cracks. A reliance on inefficient manual processes, poor collaboration across the recruiting team, and miscommunication with key hiring stakeholders means that applicants move slowly through the hiring process. This leads to high cost-to-hire and time-to-hire ratios. An ATS creates opportunities to automate manual processes, increase visibility into the hiring cycle for the entire recruiting team, and increase opportunities for communication throughout the candidate journey. As of 2019, 99% of the Fortune 500 companies used an ATS in their hiring process.1 These companies already have the brand recognition and resources to compete for top talent; an ATS can level the playing field by creating better, quicker access to candidates. The right ATS can also assist in onboarding, ensuring that candidates who accept employment have all the information they need to start making an impact from day one, increasing overall productivity and retention. In a competitive job market, recruiters and hiring managers look to leverage every potential advantage in the race for the best talent. As many organizations pivot to remote work, this need is even more critical. The competitive field has broadened: The barrier of geography has been removed, giving the best applicants even more choice. An ATS can be a key differentiator for discerning candidates. Here are a few of the benefits: 86% of recruiters reported that using an ATS has helped them hire faster.3 Low candidate engagement is often the result of disconnected recruiting teams that cannot collaborate effectively, lack visibility into where the candidate is in the hiring process, or can’t provide critical information to a candidate. This is a major frustration for top applicants, who make decisions on whether to accept a job or not based on every aspect of the experience. An ATS can help avoid any negative issues, getting applicants hired faster, and creating more positive word-of-mouth for the brand. The best people want to hit the ground running. An ATS not only assists in recruiting and hiring, but it also offers dozens of tools to streamline the onboarding process. This makes the transition from candidate to full-time employee a smooth one. Organizati