Want to improve job posting, candidate screening, resume parsing, and onboarding? Then you need an applicant tracking system.
This software platform is an essential HR tool. It can save you time, money and improve the quality of your talent pool.
You’ll find that it’s far easier to recruit outstanding candidates to help your business succeed.
Read on to discover our comprehensive guide to applicant tracking systems.
What Is an Applicant Tracking System?
An applicant tracking system helps companies collect and sort through thousands of resumes.
It is also referred to as applicant tracking software or ATS.
Instead of your recruiting team having to sort through these resumes by hand, this HR software can do it in a matter of minutes.
An added benefit is that with this software, only the top candidates will land up on your shortlist.
An ATS will eliminate human error. And the ATS algorithm will optimize the list of candidates.
It will also filter resumes based on your specific job requirements.
This feature allows your talent acquisition team to focus on scheduling interviews with only the best talent.
This could result in job openings being filled quicker with the right employees with the required skill sets.
A faster, more streamlined recruiting process is only one of the reasons why small businesses opt for applicant tracking systems.
How Do Applicant Tracking Systems Work?
Regardless of their pros and cons, all of the best applicant tracking systems work in the same way.
When job seekers apply online, they have to face a series of knockout questions. These can be pre-screening questions in either a short-style question form or simply checkboxes to complete.
When candidates answer any of the questions in an unsatisfactory manner, their resume is flagged or rejected by the system.
If they pass the set of questions, the ATS will store the qualified candidate’s information in a way that makes it effortless to filter and sort through.
An ATS will allow your hiring team to search for specific, qualified candidates by keywords. Such as job titles, job descriptions, or specific job requirements.
Why Do Small Businesses Use Applicant Tracking Systems?
It’s not just large Fortune 500 companies and enterprises that use applicant tracking systems.
Applicant tracking systems automate ordinary time-consuming tasks found in the hiring process. Thus, they’ve become popular tools for small businesses.
Automates Job Postings
For instance, most modern ATS software can assist HR professionals with automated job postings.
The ATS software will automatically post vacant jobs on several boards at once. This saves your HR professional going from job board to job board, advertising vacant positions by hand.
Improves Communication
It improves candidate communication. StaffingSoft allows you to stay in contact with potential candidates via SMS, MMS and email.
This personal communication is essential if your HR teams plan to build a loyal, quality candidate pool. And improve your company’s brand awareness during the recruitment process.
By building your candidate pool and having several applicants in the hiring database, you’ll find it quicker and easier to hire top talent in the future.
Hire The Right Candidate
It’s not just the recruitment process that will become optimized. In fact, recent studies on LinkedIn show that approximately 72.8% of companies struggle to find relevant, qualified candidates.
Employing the wrong candidate can become an expensive HR nightmare.
Instead of trusting your gut or allowing for human error, companies turn to applicant tracking systems to ensure their hiring needs are met.
The recruitment software is more than capable of screening candidates. And ensures that only the relevant, top talent ever makes it through to the interview stages.
Easier Reference Checks
Even background checks become streamlined, since an applicant tracking system can automatically gather references and ensure that your candidates are who they claim to be.
For example, with StaffingSoft’s Automated Reference checking, you don’t have to spend hours on the phone to chat about your new hire.
Instead, referees can answer your questions at their convenience, increasing the likelihood that they complete the reference.
Manage Employee Onboarding
Executing effective onboarding is imperative to ensure high levels of employee retention.
It is an essential HR task that has a direct impact on your organization’s success. Zippia reports that:
- Organizations with excellent onboarding systems can improve productivity by 70%.
- 69% of employees will stay with a company if the onboarding process is well managed.
- Only 21% of employers have an onboarding process shorter than one week.
- On average, it costs around $1,500 to onboard a new employee.
It pays to ensure that you have a smooth, efficient onboarding process.
StaffingSoft’s Employee Onboarding System improves the onboarding process with automated and customized workflows.
This feature allows you to effortlessly track and manage the new employee’s onboarding.
Not only will your onboarding process improve, but new employees will have an excellent experience. This ensures their loyalty in the long term.
Helps To Save Costs
Businesses of any size can save costs by investing in an applicant tracking system.
The system will cut down on expensive recruitment costs. And improve recruitment marketing and save valuable time when onboarding new hires.
When your HR department works faster, and more efficiently, your business saves money. It can then focus on what matters most – delivering exceptional service while improving your bottom line.
Conclusion
An applicant tracking system is an essential tool. This software can greatly assist by improving the productivity of your recruiting/hiring team.
Why would you do it the old-fashioned way, when you can use innovative technology to streamline your recruiting process?
Let the best recruiting software help your business find the right employees from the start.
If you’re unsure where to start with ATS software, get in touch with us, and we’ll gladly assist you.
