7 Benefits of an Applicant Tracking System

In today’s job market, it’s quite important for you to effectively and easily discover top-notch talent. (Did you know that having a better quality team can boost your company's productivity up to 8 times?)  And it’s definitely not an easy job. That’s where an ATS comes in handy! 

An applicant tracking system is like your trusty recruitment sidekick, a tool that helps you simplify your hiring process, as well as easily identify and assess the best candidates. Who doesn’t want to have a great team surrounding them? 

In this blog, we’ll dive into some of the main advantages of using an ATS, so you can streamline your hiring, upgrade your recruitment game, and have an all-in-all improved quality of hiring.

Time is of the Essence ⏰

One thing we can all agree on is that time is one of our most priceless assets. It’s no different when it comes to recruiting and growing your team. Hiring teams know that talent acquisition and the hiring process can be pretty long (not to mention, very expensive) so any time-saving and cost-effective tips really help out.

Wondering why hiring takes so much time? To begin with, your HR team needs to:

• track all open positions,
• go through stacks and stacks of CVs to determine qualified candidates, 
• stay in the loop with the rest of the team,
• schedule countless interviews, 
• send quite a few emails, and so on. 

An applicant tracking system can automate a lot of these tasks, allowing your team to focus more on other work. By quickening your hiring processes with an ATS, you can shorten the time it takes you to find new team members and have an all-in-all improved candidate screening and efficiency. A win-win if you ask us! 

Everything in One Place 🪢

Organized workplace = effective workplace. 

Picture this: centralized candidate data in one place. That’s precisely one of the most important features of an ATS. It’s able to collect and centralize all info, like a database of sorts. It’ll make you say bye-bye 👋 to digging through all those job applications you got via email, printed-out CVs that are a headache to organize, or even worse – multiple spreadsheets. Ouch. 

A great ATS steps in with one centralized database that makes it easy to search and find any info or a candidate you’re looking for in just a few clicks. This helps you and your team save time and never lose track of great candidates. That’s music to any recruiter’s ears.

Collaboration & Communication 🎙️

Hiring should always be a team effort. It often requires collaboration and communication among hiring managers, recruiters, team leads, and other team members included in the hiring process. It’s the only way everybody can make completely informed hiring decisions.

From the beginning – deciding what new role you’re looking for, setting requirements, drafting and proofreading the job post descriptions. Next, we have other manual and repetitive tasks, like going through CVs, motivation letters, and portfolios. And finally, all the way to choosing the perfect candidate and beginning the onboarding process. Effective communication helps keep everyone on the same page through the entire recruiting process. 

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Fortunately, that’s where a good ATS really helps out! When your team has the option to leave comments, share their thoughts and feedback, and discuss candidates directly within the platform – it’s a game changer for a seamless selection process.

Tailored Workflows 🛠️

You know it, we know it – every company has its unique hiring processes. They’re often not easy to apply on hiring platforms because you need to make many adjustments. And that takes a lot of time!

Well, a good ATS software (such as Along, a great applicant tracking system for small and medium businesses) allows you to create customized workflows tailored to your needs, so it fits you, simplifying your recruitment processes. Whether it’s setting up specific stages in the recruiting process, determining what candidate information you need, or automating follow-up emails to eliminate routine tasks, an ATS should adapt to you. 

Cost Savings 💸

We get it – just the thought of implementing one more tool is sometimes a headache. And having to use yet another tool may seem like just an extra expense, but think of it as a savings investment in the long run. Because it is! 

Finding the best ATS tool for your company will help you have a quicker and more efficient recruitment cycle, and reduce the time, effort, and money spent on each listing. You’ll also lower costs for job postings and onboarding. A bargain, really.

Publishing Job Listings 💼

Discovering top talent while maintaining the company’s public career page is another advantage of using an ATS. It gives HR managers the option to effortlessly post open positions, edit job boards, and keep track of the company page by themselves. Another big plus for all HR teams is that they can swiftly make any necessary changes without needing additional help or unnecessary steps, from tweaking job descriptions to even showcasing company culture.

For example, a public page for a company using Along will look something like this:

Candidate Journey 🚶

With an ATS that has a good-looking UI, you can create a better candidate experience. From a simple application process to email automation features. Applicant tracking systems can often automate emails and send them in bulk. That way, you can speed up not just the process for your team, but also make it more efficient for candidates too. Plus, it helps companies maintain a professional approach and reduces any chances of slip-ups.

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Finally, we can see that using an ATS offers quite a few benefits for companies and HR managers looking to streamline their recruitment process. All from saving time and centralizing your candidate data, to easier collaboration and customization, and finally – lowering the overall costs of recruiting. An applicant tracking system can also give an enhanced candidate experience, but more on that topic some other time.

Today, efficient hiring is a necessity, and to us, the advantages of using a great ATS are as clear as day! 🌞