Application Tracking System

Applicant Tracking System... An applicant tracking system is essentially software that recruitment managers use to streamline their hiring process and make it more efficient. It creates a centralized repository of candidate data building a robust talent pipeline for your organization.The algorithms of the ATS software scan and screen the resumes and cover letters ensuring that only the candidates deemed as the best fit for the role you are hiring for, are shortlisted.Applicant tracking system (ATS) is hiring software that helps to organize and keep a record of all of the job opportunities, resumes, applicants, customers, and connections while letting the user create a great yet simple hiring process. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) have become an indispensable part of the hiring landscape. According to anbsp;research 75 percent of recruiters and talent managers use some form of recruitment or applicant tracking software.The data is either obtained from internal applications via extraction from applicants on job boards or the ATS software, located on the company website. Most career and resume boards like have partnerships with ATS software providers to produce parsing support and secure data movement from one system to another. More modern applicant tracking systems are platforms as a service, where the critical piece of software has integration points that enable providers of other recruiting methods to plug in seamlessly. It is ideal even for job seekers as they can very easily find a job based on their expertise.The adoption of applicant tracking system software among organizations has become a major part to facilitate the business process, due to the ease of usage and the flexibility it can provide and is anticipated to grow in the coming years.Some of the best applicant tracking systems for small businesses can automatically compare one’s resume to the job description. For instance, Taleo calls this feature “Req Rank.” It ranks each applicant depending on their resume scores based on the description of the job. Instead of reviewing all the applications, the recruiter can focus on candidates, the ATS has recognized as a great match.Why use an ATS?Posting of job listings online through job portals, career pages or even social media channels have resulted in a unique challenge for recruiters today. Online listings attract hundreds of applications and not all of them are qualified for the job.Sorting through thousands of data points in the quest for relevant candidates is a highly resource-intensive task and this is why you need to switch to an applicant tracking system.An ATS thoroughly scans and parses each application for skills and gives you a skill percentage match to support your decision making.Using an applicant tracking system can help in making your hiring process much more organized and effective while significantly slashing down the time and costs associated with recruitment at the same time.How does an ATS work?Every time an applicant submits the resume it gets uploaded to the ATS database. The storage of data continues even after the position applied for gets filled. This ensures that every job requisition gets matched with candidates with the required skill-set and qualifications.The applicant tracking systems use varying technologies to sort through the candidate data. It ranges from simple keyword matching to use of artificial intelligence algorithms into the candidate data. ATS creates a centralized data repository which allows the hiring managers to access candidate data and past communication at one location, irrespective of the stage of the hiring process. With so many options available at your disposal, choosing the top applicant tracking system for your company requires a significant amount of research and due diligence.A good ATS helps automate multiple aspects of the recruitment process right from posting of jobs, tracking of applicant information, and conduction of interview to offer and on-boarding. Here is a list of features you should be looking for when selecting the best applicant tracking system for your organization.1. Automated job listingsYour ATS should allow you to post job listings at multiple places including your career’s page, job portals and social media to attract a wide range of candidates.nbsp;Your ATS should be able to track which listing has been the most successful at connecting with the right candidates so that the data can be utilized when planning the next hiring cycle. This way your hiring managers can focus their recruiting efforts on the areas where the data shows they have the most success2. Integrated candidate databaseAn applicant tracking system should not only attract the best talent, it should also compel them to complete the application process. About 60% of the candidates fail to complete the application as they find it too lengthy. The ATS should facilitate the application process in the least cumbersome manner possible. Sometimes the candidates might be applying for different positions, being able to bypass the tedious process of retyping their information for every application is a valuable time saver which can boost the completion rates for your hiring process.3. Skill parser and ScreenerThe ATS needs to scan each application and individually parse it for the requisite skill set. ATS should give thenbsp;percentage skill match,nbsp;so that hiring managers can quantify their recruitment decision making. Your ATS should also make searching for information within the database seamless for your team. A mobile friendly ATS or one that comes with a mobile app adds an element of accessibility to it.4. Calendar integration for effective schedulingATS plays a crucial role in the interview process too. Having integrations with the calendar of your preference ensures that you never lose track of the scheduled interviews. An ATS that allows the recruiters to reschedule and cancel interviews within the system itself saves them from the hassle of juggling between different applications and makes the hiring process much more streamlined. Some ATS like also give the option ofnbsp;conducting video interviewsnbsp;and recording them from the application itself making it one stop destination for your entire hiring process.5. Harness the power of AIArtificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms have found widespread application in the hiring and recruitment landscape. Some ATS use chat bots to interact with the applicants and keep them engaged during the application process. The ATS also offers sentiment analysis of the applicant emails, ensuring that the candidate you hire is a cultural fit within your organization and has the right attitude.6. Analytics and tracking metricsThe age old advice of management guru Peter Druckernbsp;“What gets measured gets managed”,nbsp;holds true to this date. Knowing how efficient your hiring process is, knowing its shortcomings and improving upon the same is essential for building a robust recruitment plan. ATS and the analytics it offers helps to gauge the effectiveness of the entire process is crucial for bringing in process improvements in the future. Dashboards with clear visualization of your progress and regular reporting of the same is something you shouldn’t miss out on when selecting an applicant tracking system