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Why Using an ATS is Important for Your Hiring Process

by | Aug 12, 2020 | Corporate HR

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Overflowing email inboxes. Manual job postings. Multiple jobs on tons of job boards. Sorting resumes. Screening applicants.

We live in a world of overload…too many emails, too much work, too many priorities, too many interruptions. It’s getting harder and harder to get through the day feeling like you’ve made forward progress. Few professionals can appreciate this more than those responsible for recruiting and hiring.

This information and task overload can cause recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers to make mistakes, such as:

  • Casting too narrow a net
  • Skipping or neglecting pre-screening steps
  • Relying primarily on the interview for hiring decisions
  • Making the application process too cumbersome for the candidate
  • Losing great applicants!

What’s your company to do? Hiring more people to help you hire more people isn’t necessarily a smart business move. Thankfully, an applicant tracking system (ATS) can help manage today’s complexities around talent acquisition. 

The Importance of Using ATS Technology

With applicant tracking software, you can streamline your recruitment and hiring efforts. Automate certain aspects of the process so that you can spend more time cultivating candidate relationships and selecting the right hire. Best-in-class ATS features include:

  • A branded, mobile-friendly careers page
  • Job board integrations
  • Applicant management 
  • Job library
  • Advanced search capabilities
  • Communication management tools like email templates, auto capture of applicant responses, communications logs, and integrated calendaring
  • Reporting (KPIs and EEOC)
  • A passive applicants database
  • Onboarding tools
  • Job requisition
  • Detailed applicant profiles
  • Compliance features for capture and storage of confidential information
  • Custom workflows and user roles

While the above features sound terrific (if you’ve used an ATS before), thinking about the enormous benefits from using an ATS is bound to make your day!

Time savings 

Manually posting multiple jobs to tons of websites takes time. Promoting open positions on social media eats up precious hours of your day. Opening emails and responding to under-qualified applicants can steal many soul-crushing hours from your week.

ATS solutions automate mundane tasks like posting jobs, pre-screening applicants (so you only deal with those who are qualified) and facilitates faster communication via email templates, and takes the heavy lifting out of reporting.

Better communication & relationship building

An ATS provides recruiting and hiring professionals with relationship management tools to improve communications and set a great first impression with applicants. Engage applicants in a timely and professional manner using personalized one-to-one and mass email options, a communications log, notes, calendar integration, and other features that streamline communication.

More actionable data

Companies that use an applicant tracking system have a greater ability to mine applicant data to make informed recruiting and hiring positions. Effortlessly sort and compare applicants, merge duplicate contacts, and review passive applicant records for potential matches.

Users can also leverage easy-to-use tools for conducting background and credit checks, drug testing, reference checks, and personality assessments, all of which result in data necessary for the hiring process.

A better applicant experience

Today’s job seekers use technology in their everyday lives. They expect employers to make it simple for them to apply for a job.  Employers who don’t use technology send the message that they aren’t keeping up with the times – and may not invest in their people.

An ATS allows you to reach job seekers on the social platforms where they spend time and provide them with a mobile-friendly, branded careers page. With Google’s increasing emphasis on mobile-first experiences, a mobile-friendly experience can make or break your stream of applicants.

Choose the right ATS tool

As talent acquisition becomes more competitive and more technology-reliant, companies must evolve to meet the new challenges facing recruiting and hiring professionals. You have to be more effective and more efficient in attracting, screening and hiring the best. The right applicant tracking system can give your business the competitive edge when it comes to engaging and managing qualified job candidates.

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