6 ‘must-haves’ when purchasing an Applicant Tracking System

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software that facilitates the hiring process and makes it easier to hire eligible candidates. Thriving in the digital era is all about leveraging technology to automate tasks. The same goes for recruitment. When you have the right ATS, hiring doesn’t have to be a headache provided that you know what features to look for. Let’s take a look at 6 must-haves when purchasing an Application Tracking System.

1. Purpose Built

No user appreciates falling victim to “feature overload.” Traditional ATS platforms come from HRMS systems and are over-engineered. As a result, users barely use more than  5% of the features they pay for. It’s important  to remember that more features don’t necessarily equal a better user experience. An ideal ATS doesn’t have a steep learning curve and is easy to use and intuitive. 

2. A Talent Pipeline Approach

The cost of talent acquisition is a major expense in the recruitment area. Yet most recruiters tend to continue focusing on  fresh candidates every time they source for an open position overlooking past candidates who have been exposed to their company. 

A smart  move is to build a talent pipeline approach where past candidates are engaged with new job offers. This approach is an important  feature of a good ATS and allows  HR to dive back into a pool of candidates familiar with their brand and save talent acquisition costs over time.

3. Job Promotion

Recruiters tap into platforms such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc for posting jobs. But now that the virtual world has gained dominance, automation of job distribution is mandatory for saving time. Automated job postings on various online job boards are an essential must-have for a good ATS along with social media amplification to get you the most possible reach..

4. Intelligent Matching

Browsing through reams and reams of resumes can be an exhausting task. A great ATS leverages intelligent scoring models and the power of AI to identify best fit candidates . Since it connects eligible candidates to relevant jobs, it speeds up recruitment-related tasks and saves your time.

5. Video Interview Management

While telephone based  interviews can give you  information about a candidate, video interviews are much more personable and drive confidence in hiring decisions. This is not a new thing and most recruitment uses Video as a format for interviewing, but these interviews are once and done. However an ATS which allows video interviews as part of native functionality and records these for further reflection and sharing with team members can help accelerate collaboration and speed up hiring. This is a “must-have” feature for all future ATS’. 

6. Smarter JDs

A well described JD can make a huge difference when it comes to search results and matching, but companies rarely use technology to improve JD writing.  

An ATS with an Ai Driven  JD building tool covers the right keywords necessary to attract and matech the ideal candidate for a position. Such tools typically parse the JD and recommend additional keywords based on AI algorithms and are  a beneficial value-add to the recruiter..

Final Words:

Job postings, candidate communication, screening, and whatnot! Recruitment can be a roller coaster ride if you stick to the manual route. But  the right  Applicant Tracking System can make the process a lot easier. Not every ATS will make the cut though as we’ve described above. . 

Office Troops however is a modern ATS and designed with these features in mind. To see how this makes a difference to your hiring just get in touch or start a “starter” plan.

Tagged: ATS, Applicant Tracking System, Video Interviewing, JD Wizard, 6 must-haves for an ATS, Job Promotion, Intelligent Matching