6 Benefits of an Applicant Tracking System

Talent acquisition has always included many responsibilities: writing and posting job descriptions, evaluating applicants, conducting interviews, organizing recruitment events, negotiating compensation packages and onboarding new hires. How can technology aid in these tasks?

Here are some types of talent acquisition software that can help hiring managers with their talent searches:

1. Nearly 41% of recent hires found their current positions through a job board, also known as a job aggregator, such as ZipRecruiter or Glassdoor. These services rely on artificial intelligence and proprietary algorithms to connect applicants with jobs that suit their skills and needs.
2. Gig apps have made it simpler than ever for companies to find freelance and on-demand workers. Mobile services like Uber, TaskRabbit and their countless imitators are cost-effective options for hiring managers looking for casual help.
3. Recruitment marketing software automates the process of posting jobs. A good modern system finds the sites where top candidates are looking and gets your ad in front of the right people.
4. An applicant tracking system manages the application process, becoming a digital repository for applications. That makes it easier for candidates to apply and accept offers. Because ATSs automate many steps of the process, they give companies more time to focus on reviewing applicants. An ATS also can increase retention and streamline the onboarding process.
5. Recruitment candidate relationship management systems operate as databases where information about all applicants — past and present, active and passive — resides. When a position opens up, you can turn to that database instead of starting from scratch with a job ad.
6. Human resources analytics leverage HR data to draw insights from hiring processes so they can attract higher-quality candidates. HR analytics help companies craft job descriptions, establish applicant requirements and gain insights about which recruitment channels have performed best and which schools the best candidates come from.

Looking at the cutting edge of HR technology, we can get a good glimpse of the future of the field. Today’s automation of manual routine processes such as prescreening, monitoring applicants’ satisfaction and communicating via email can be taken a few steps further with artificial intelligence. AI can create job advertisements, arrange appointments with applicants and even assess footage of video interviews with speech and facial expression analysis. An early screening interview can even be conducted entirely with a chatbot. Virtual reality glasses have been used at career fairs. They can be used to offer virtual office tours and share impressions of the working environment.

In a not-too-distant future, hiring managers may actively source candidates from social media and use VR to give job seekers a tour of the company, using gamification elements to make the whole process more fun, offering objective evaluations and a peek into what a typical workday is like. Job seekers could use their mobile devices to create and submit videos about their motivation for the position, leading to an appointment you make with the candidate using the same tool.

In short, better technology means reduced costs, shorter processing times and better impressions of potential employees, who want the application process to be simple and fast. Learn how to implement future solutions now to create an advantage in your competition for job seekers.