How to Choose the Right Applicant Tracking System : A full Guide

Think about looking through hundreds of resumes, taking note on each and every potential hire only to struggle with the next steps when it comes time.. It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? Now imagine automating all these mundane tasks and processing your entire hiring workflow digitally with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The right ATS can have a monumental impact on the way you attract, assess and recruit top talent. However, with countless options on the market today–how do you select one that fits your brand appropriately?

Selecting an ATS is more from just finding a platform to manage applications, but also to align with your recruitment strategy, grow as the business grows and provide both candidates and recruiters with an engaging experience. We will be looking at the important elements you ought to know in selecting an ATS, as well providing a sneak peek about why choosing right might make all the difference.

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Understanding the Importance of an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

However, before going to the selection process it is important for us to understand why ATSs have become essential in today's competitive job market. As per research done by Capterra, 75% of recruiters and talent managers use some version of an ATS to manage their hiring. Given that the average job posting gets more than 250 applicants, manually handling all of those applications is borderline impossible without losing top talent in the process.

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a system and provides recruitment needs of an organization by handling applicants in the form submission process. Its functionalities allow it to administer resumes, arrange interviews, collaborate with hiring teams and even onboard new employees using one tool. This saves time and leads to a better experience for the candidate.

Our ATS is tailored to be simple and scalable. peopleHum provides custom workflows, deep analytics and seamless integrations with ease so as to manage your recruitment environment whether you are a small business or an expanding enterprise.

Identifying Your Business Needs

The first step in choosing the right ATS is identifying your unique business needs. Consider the following:

• Size of The Company: It is a very crucial factor that plays an important role while you choose the best applicant tracking software for your company. For a small business that only occasionally does hiring, simplicity may be priority #1, while an enterprise managing many hundreds of openings in multiple states (or regions) is likely to require more robust and scalable software solutions.
• Industry-Specific : Each industry encounters its own unique recruitment hurdles. For instance, if you work in tech, you may require an ATS with niche functionalities like coding assessments. Some industries, such as retail or healthcare, may also value high-volume hiring tools more than tech-driven documentation.
• Hiring volume and frequency: How many people do you hire every year? High-volume hiring needs an ATS for handling massive candidate volumes, automating mundane tasks and taking seconds in sorting out hundreds of resumes through quick filters.

The truth: SHRM reports that companies who use an ATS see a 20% reduction in hiring time due to overall better candidate management and you guessed it — automated workflows.

Key Features to Look for in an ATS

You need to use specific features of an ATS depending on your hiring objectives. If you're overwhelmed, here are a few characteristics to at least keep in mind:

1. User-Friendly Interface

If a system is too complex, might it be possible to create a disincentive for the recruiters and hiring managers to actually use the tool? Find something simple that is relatively easy to navigate and minimizes the amount of training required. The objective is to streamline recruitment, not complicate it.

2. Customizable Workflows

Each business is going to have differences in their hiring processes. A top-notch ATS will have flexible workflows to let you customize stages, approvals and communication templates exactly as per your requirements.

What peopleHum Offers: The process of shortlisting the candidates can get manipulated with highly customizable workflows in ATS that integrate seamlessly into your recruitment style as and when you want. Whether it is about setting up automated communication flows, customizing the interview processes or configuring approval hierarchies; this system enables users to shape their hiring pipeline based on what suits you better for your team.

3. Integration Capabilities

Some tools that your ATS should seamlessly integrate with include payroll systems, job boards and HRIS platforms. This means all your data is at one place which results in less information gaps and manual mistakes.

According to LinkedIn, 78% of recruiters think that linking an ATS with some other HR tools can greatly increase recruitment efficiency.

4. Analytics and Reporting

In today's recruitment landscape, data-driven decisions are a must. An ATS that comes with comprehensive analytics reveals the key metrics such as time-to-hire, source effectiveness and candidate drop-off rates to refine your hiring strategy.

5. Mobile Accessibility

Let mobile is the new norm: adoption by necessityWhen you are a world where remote work and recruitment on-the-go, making your product available over mobile devices can not be seen as ah extra. Make sure your ATS has mobile apps or at least a great interface for the same.

Budget Considerations

USPs alone cannot stand ground if the cost is high. There are many types of pricing models that the ATS platforms offer – right from a pay-per-hire or based on subscriptions to tiered accordingly, for example based on number use cases (users) you might have. Know your price points and what features you can get for each one. However, keep in mind that just because a service is more expensive does not necessarily make it better — you should focus on getting the best deal for your business application(s).

The ROI on proper ATS investment is evident with a 15% decrease in overall recruiting costs according to this Bersin by Deloitte Report.

Scalability and Future-Proofing

Today, your business is small but tomorrow? Go for an ATS that will grow with you. If you have plans to go global or introduce larger scale changes, your ATS should be future-ready for the years ahead — from multi-language support and compliance in different regions, all across with advanced reporting as recruitment data expands.

Customer Support and Training

The best ATS experience is nothing without the right guidance. Factor in the quality of customer service and training given by the vendor. How much onboarding are they able to give you, ongoing training and 24/7 support? These can be the difference in how soon your team gets up to speed on the new system and how well you use it moving forward.

We stand with you at all times to address your queries and give you prompt responses to solve all your problems 24/7, that’s peopleHum.

Conclusion: Making the Right Choice for Long-Term Success

It is more than just an application managing system, they are strategic decision for your business. It all boils down to bettering your hiring process — in ways that positively affect candidate experience and eventually improve bottom lines. If you think about what your specific requirements are, which key capabilities the software needs to feature for today and how it will scale moving forward then Software  Solution should find something that meets both those long-sighted goals.

This is where you can look up to peopleHum, as not another software but an ally in progress! With configurable workflows and powerful data insights, peopleHum works around your hiring needs without compromising on the candidate experience to streamline recruitment.

A future-ready human resource software  that adapts, that knows what you will need and gets it ready for your arrival before your struggle can begin, winning the race-of-talent because every employee performance evaluator should aim at peopleHum

Take your hiring game to the next level.

Opt for peopleHum and transform your recruitment process as a standout pillar!

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