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Last Updated on July 16, 2023
Hiring and recruiting the right staff can be exhaustive.
However, modern versions of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) can automate the process to cut back the need for manual vigilance.
These tools can assure screening accuracy for the right candidates based on their skills and talents. There is a valid reason why ATS is also referred to as a talent management system.
The system can tackle the smooth operation of the entire hiring process from testing, interview
You just need to master how to incorporate the ATS advantage in the usual hiring approach of your company.
How ATS can ensure employers recruit the right talent
Organizations have to focus on various strategies to attract top industry talent. In this age of digital transformation, there is no space for physical job interviews.
Every company takes in resumes and profiles candidates via their digital profiles, be it websites, social media platforms, or virtual meetings.
An ATS absorbs this strategy quite seamlessly. The system works to create a full job induction process instead of just collecting applicant emails.
As per a Jobscan survey, currently, 99 percent of all of the Fortune 500 companies in the world now depend on ATS software to screen and hire a large collection of applicants.
However, the efficiency rate will depend on how you use the ATS in your recruitment strategy. Also, the type of ATS you use will also have a role to play in the process.
Here we have listed a few points to help you align applicant tracking systems with your hiring strategy to recruit the right staff for your company.
So let’s check the details!
1. Automates tracking of applicants
Tracking applicants is the cornerstone of an ATS. It is a tech tool for advanced recruitment solutions and it can help automate multiple processes to save more time and costs.
You have to use the automation feature in the right place to get the maximum benefit from it.
The major processes that the tool can automate include the following.
- Collecting all information from applicants through forms and documentation online
- Segmenting potential candidates on the basis of their talents, skills, experiences, and locations
- Actively tracking the application status as it moves through the recruitment protocols
- Archive promising resumes once the current vacancy has been fulfilled
The archived resumes can then be used for future recruitment searches.
The entire prospect of using an applicant tracking system is to help organize your recruitment process. You need to have all of the candidate information set within their profile when you are facing them for an interview. You also need to control the direction of the interview to find the candidate with the best character and competencies to join your
2. Screens resumes faster
One of the most time-consuming aspects of the recruitment process is screening through a large pile of resumes.
Regardless of having the luxury to delegate the task to assistants, often HR managers choose to work through the screening personally to minimize the risk of losing high-potential talent.
However, with an ATS you can automate the entire screening process quite methodically.
Even with almost 250 applications coming in for each job offer, you will have the resumes sorted into a diverse pile of qualifications and experiences.
The resumes that do not meet the minimum eligibility criteria are sorted into the rejected pile. The rest of the resumes are further ranked according to the highest skill level to the lowest match.
Recruiters can then start interviewing candidates in that order, to minimize the time required to find the right staff for their teams.
This allows the job profilers to stop wasting their time coordinating with bad applicants.
This also prevents them from getting too tired to go through huge resume pools and thus failing to identify promising hires in the sorting process.
However, modern versions of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) can automate the process to cut back the need for manual vigilance. These tools can assure screening accuracy for the right candidates based on their skills and talents. Click To Tweet3. Ensures collaborative hiring
Most companies have multiple members in the Human resources team to handle the recruitment process.
This means for every step of the interview, multiple team members have to be updated.
The input from all members will feature in the final decision for the hire.
However, manual updating can sometimes make the process too elaborate and often lead to some miscommunications if the chain of updates is broken at any point.
An applicant tracking system can help resolve this issue at its core. The updates for every step of the hiring process can be handled in real time while it is happening.
This can evoke positive discussions on the candidate profiles and lead to a more cohesive team decision for each hire.
4. Improves hiring quality
Automation at every step of the hiring process can relieve a lot of extra time for organizations to invest in the decision rather than the process.
Auto matching already screens for candidates with a high matching factor.
The ATS can check for differentiating factors in the resumes that determine the quality of the potential candidate. What makes them better than the rest of the batch?
Then the interviews can start with only the best candidates from the pile of applicants. The candidates with poor quality scores are weeded out even before the interviews start.
Further, the HR representatives can invest time in interviewing and engaging with each candidate.
The administrative tasks of shifting the resumes through each step of the recruitment process and updating the resume status to each team member can be handled automatically by the software.
You just have to program it with the combination of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and screening stages that announce the finishing of one aspect of the hiring and moving to the next phase.
This will trigger the ATS to update the current status and send an email to the team and the applicants to keep them in the loop.
5. Speeds up the hiring cycle
ATS can have all of the candidates’ information collected within a single central interface. There is no need for separate filing or multiple databases to maintain the changed status of each application as it passes through the hiring cycle.
This helps in minimizing the need for data entry at each step. It also reduces the confusion that arises from multiple parallel paperwork. ]
Instead, the automatic communication aspect of the ATS software keeps the process running smoothly with all necessary authorities constantly updated on the progress.
The tracking system also follows up with each of the candidates to continue the testing and scrutinizing process.
Even if each candidate has a different comfortable time for the test, the automation does not require manual invigilation. This gives complete flexibility to every candidate in choosing their own convenient testing times.
It can also conduct multiple tests simultaneously to save time and speed up the entire hiring cycle.
6. Improves candidate experience
Every potential candidate is valuable to the company.
Even if they are not hired in the first cycle, with a positive interview experience, high-quality candidates will reapply to your company for future positions.
More importantly, all applicants are word-of-mouth ambassadors for your company’s brand.
If they share their positive review about the interview sessions, it will positively affect the quality of applicants for your future vacancies.
An ATS can help automate the candidate replies for each stage of the interview. If the candidates are kept in a communication vacuum during the entire hiring cycle, more often than not it can have a negative psychological impact on them.
Many candidates might actually believe the interview is ongoing well enough and parallel apply to other positions where they have a better interview experience. This could be the most likely situation for losing a high-quality candidate to your competitors.
Instead, program your ATS to keep the candidates updated on the interview status and amplify the effect with direct communication regarding the next steps that they can expect in the hiring cycle. It’s better not to keep the candidates guessing the situation and instead automate the transparency of the hiring cycle.
7. Enhances brand visibility
A positive recruitment process helps to engage your candidates and strengthen your branding simultaneously.
If the buzz in the market implies that you have a transparent and engaging hiring process, more qualified candidates will apply for active positions in your company. The opposite will often stop the right candidates from choosing your profile from the available job offers.
It can also impact your branding in front of potential clients and investors if you are considered a brand that doesn’t score well in living up to the promises made to the candidates.
Instead, focus on improving your recruitment cycle by applying ATS automation for manual tasks and an engaging HR strategy for communications and interview processes.
This will help you improve your company’s brand standing and cultivate a better talent pipeline for future hires.
Conclusion
An ATS is a tech tool that needs to be implemented through a well-designed hiring strategy. It is important to allot the right KPI and transition points for the software to understand the different phases of your recruitment cycle.
Following up with real-time updates and communication within the interface is mandatory as well.
Remember, the ATS is an advanced mechanism but as an employer, you have to utilize it correctly to ensure you have recruited the high-potential and performing talent that can help your organization succeed.
