10 Benefits of an Applicant Tracking System
10 Benefits of an Applicant Tracking System
What Is an Applicant Tracking System?
An applicant tracking system, or ATS for short, is a recruitment tool used by the HR departments throughout the hiring process. It is a file kept in the database of the company; a digitized collection of resumes provided by job applicants, allowing employers easy access through computers rather than inconvenient papers. While the complete format of the ATS varies between companies, common information includes the name, contact information, and other relevant information of the job applicants. Its purpose is to record and update the recruitment status of those who applied for a certain position in the company.
How Does an Applicant Tracking System Works?
When potential employees see a job posting set up by the recruitment team, they would come to their office with the intention of applying for the position. The HR staff then collects their resume and input the relevant details of the applicant into a file on their computer. Said file gets an update after the interview as to whether the applicant passes or fails. One of the most important aspects of an ATS is the fact that it’s an automated system. That means that even with the manual encoding and updating, it is still capable of organizing itself with little necessary input from users. This spares the recruitment team from extra work and makes their jobs far easier.
The 10 Ways ATS Help Employers
Was that last explanation not enough? Well, you’re in luck. Here are ten specific ways that employers can benefit from utilizing ATS for recruitment.
Saves Time for Recruitment and Hiring
One of the biggest benefits of keeping an ATS is the fact that employers are spared from some of the more time-consuming activities of recruitment. Recruiters have almost everything they need on the system, negating the need to collect and keep track of physical resumes. With all that time spared, HR becomes freed up to devote time to other–and more pressing–concerns.
Streamline Application Process
Using an ATS allows the recruitment team to hire a candidate in a more organized manner. With a systematic process in place, they can work efficiently and interview more applicants, which in turn increases the chances of finding the right candidate for the job.
Communication with Candidates Consistently
Ever need to invite a candidate for another interview? All you need to do is take a look at the ATS, find their name and look at their contact information. One of the benefits of utilizing an ATs is that it makes communication with applicants a lot easier.
Increases Visibility on Social Media
With ATS, their automated system can help you organize your social media accounts. Suppose you choose to use them to hire employees through it too. You will have an easy time handling applicant responses to your job postings in social media, allowing you to organize information on the candidates and getting them ready for the next step in the process.
Save Money
One of the more inconvenient aspects of carrying around resumes is the fact that you need actual physical places to store them in. Having an ATS will save you money from having to purchase those storage places. The more your company grows, the more you will have to spend, which makes this tool even better to have.
Improve Hiring Quality
Don’t just love it when an interview for a job goes perfectly fine like a well-oiled machine? Thanks to the organized nature of the ATS, the recruitment team will have an easier time with the interview processes. The hiring experience of the applicants becomes far more efficient and smooth sailing. An effective form of employee management since the ATS reduces most of the workload of the hiring staff, this gives the employers time to plan out effective ways to make it all go in an efficient manner.
Interview Scheduling
The ATS can also give the recruitment team an easy time to organize the scheduling of the applicant’s interviews. You won’t have to worry about accidentally scheduling several interviews at the same hour. Its automated system allows employers to keep track of scheduled interviews without the risk of human error.
Standardize the Interview Process
No one likes it when the way things are done at work is disorganized and erratic. With the help of an ATS, the HR team is going to have an easy time carrying out the recruitment process. With its automated system taking care of the extra workload, and the easier way for the management team to organize everything else, a standardized interview process can be developed to make every day as easy and convenient as possible. And when everything is organized and efficient, this will lead to a boost in productivity and employee engagement.
Reporting and Analytics
With the ATS, HR can easily organize data and information to run an analysis on the results of the recruitment process they have done. Similar to how surveys and evaluations are used to determine the effectiveness of something, the ATS can be potentially used to see if there is any room for improvement in the company’s current recruitment process.
Boosts Employer Branding
With all the optimization and efficiency provided by ATS, this can enable the HR team to boost and spread the brand of their company to a wider demographic. This can lead to opportunities both related and unrelated to HR. Not only that but with its features on social media, the HR team doesn’t have to spend too much effort in promoting the brand of their company online as well.
There you have it. After reading all of that, there should be no doubt in your mind regarding the effectiveness and importance of an applicant tracking system. Now that you’ve learned as much as you need to, put it to good use and make sure your company utilizes it from here on out.
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