6 Ways ATS Can Improve Hiring Efficiency

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have the potential to boost hiring efficiency.

In fact, 90% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS. And nine out of 10 employers wouldn’t be using a system that helps them streamline the recruitment process — from job postings to candidate screening and communication — if it didn’t help HR pros manage applications more effectively.

“For recruiters, the consequences of using an ATS are that their manual work is reduced, technical work is reduced, and attention is directed more toward analyzing data for predictive analytics,” say researchers from University of National and World Economy “The process of improving ATS will continue, working towards simplifying the process of recruitment and selection of personnel, respectively, simplifying the work of specialists in recruitment and selection of personnel, and focusing their efforts on data analysis and making informed decisions.”

ATS Benefits

As HR pros adopt and master using ATS, many have been able to free up time to create more engaging candidate experiences and focus in on hiring the right people for the right positions.

Here are six ways ATS can help improve the hiring process, plus tips on how to capitalize on each.

1. Streamline Recruitment Process

Most ATS let HR pros centralize recruitment activities so they can post jobs, track applications and manage candidate information all in one space.

The streamlining almost always reduces time-to-fill and time-to-hire metrics so teams can fill vacancies more quickly and with less administrative effort. Most ATS platforms let you automatically post jobs, screen resumes, and track candidates’ engagement.

Tip: While automation in your hiring process improves efficiency, it can accidentally create a mundane and less-than-ideal candidate experience. Try to add personal touchpoints throughout the recruitment process so candidates gain some connection to people.

2. Improve Candidate Experience

You want candidates to have a positive experience so you can attract more top talent. ATS helps the experience by providing a seamless application process, timely communication and easy access to job postings and application statuses. With that, you can reduce drop-off rates during the recruitment process.

​Tip: Timing is critical. Try to maintain a cadence of weekly contact with candidates — which you can set up with automation — for as long as they’re in your hiring pipeline.

3. Enhance Internal Collaboration and Communication

Like other workplace communication technologies, an automated applicant tracking system can help HR teams collaborate better. They can often use the system to communicate during the process with candidates’ information, timelines, real-time updates and more right at their fingertips.

Plus, ATS helps teams schedule interviews, automate email notifications and share access to candidate profiles.

Tip: As with most tech tools, the key is adoption and adaptation. You want to regularly retrain HR teams when there are updates to the applicant tracking system. Even better, ask team members to regularly share their best practices for getting the most out of the system.

4. Data-Driven Decision Making

Because of its oversight and management, ATS gives HR pros insights and analytics on nearly every step of the recruitment process. When HR teams dig into the data, they can uncover things such as the effectiveness of different recruiting channels, candidate sources and the overall efficiency of the hiring process.

Even better, when you leverage the analytics, you can make better decisions to tweak and maximize recruitment strategies and continually improve the quality of hires.​

Tip: The data that comes out of the system is only as good as the data that goes in. You’ll want to hold the HR team accountable for including the data they collect that’s beyond automation. You might consider setting up a schedule and reminders for data input and data scrubs.

5. Increase Diversity

Nearly every organization wants to increase diversity in hiring and an ATS can help with that. To connect with a more diverse candidate pool — especially those who are historically underrepresented — you can create job posts that target populations, focus more on skills and/or use bias-reducing features, such as real-time nudges and reminders, as well as resume anonymization.

Tip: Avoid analysis paralysis when it comes to diversity hiring — when companies get overwhelmed with the data and become afraid to make a mistake, so they do nothing instead. It’s more important to get started and make progress than to wait for everything to be perfect. Agility, thoughtfulness and open-mindedness are the keys to improving the diversity of hires, and ultimately, teams.

6. Integration with Other HR Tools

The good news: Most ATS integrate with existing HR tools and software, such as payroll, HR management systems and performance management tools. So you can create an ideal experience from the first interaction between company and candidate all the way to retirement!

Tip: When you integrate, remember security. You’ll want to set up permissions so each person on the team using ATS only has access to do things they’re authorized to do. For example, you’ll want to ensure that team members who don’t have access to confidential employee information still don’t when you integrate any systems.

Recognize, Overcome ATS Challenges

While there are benefits of using ATS in hiring, HR pros face a couple of challenges — No. 1 being adoption. Change management can be difficult, even when it helps the business and the return on investment is validated. Essential to managing changes are:

• Communication. You want to work with the HR team to decide on the technology that works best for your needs. Then, continue clearly communicating the needs ATS will fulfill, how you’ll manage them and the expectations for use and results.
• Training. It can’t be said enough how critical it is for the HR team to get continual training on ATS. The more people know about using it, and how to use it to its fullest, the more effective the system will be at improving the hiring process.
• Follow up. You’ll want to regularly audit how the HR team is using the ATS and how it’s performing for your recruitment efforts. If people share hiccups or struggles, you can work with vendors to adapt the system or train employees.