Applicant Tracking System (FAQ)

Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Answering the most frequently asked questions

Using an applicant tracking system (ATS) ensures not only that you find the right talent, but also that you provide them with the best possible experience.

But what is an applicant tracking system and how does it fit into the overall picture of recruiting software?

In this article, we answer all the important questions about an ATS, why you need one, and how to find the best system for your company’s needs. This way, you can provide candidates with an efficient, effective, and positive experience – regardless of whether they get the job or not.

What is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software application that allows you to digitally handle every phase of the hiring process. It allows you to manage applications, analyze resumes and rate applicants with one click. That is, if you use the right system.

What is an Applicant Tracking System in Human Resources?
It’s important for HR because a streamlined and effective applicant tracking system is essential to the growth of your business. Not only are you able to find the right talent, but you also guide them through a seamless process that helps strengthen your employer brand and increase your attractiveness as a place to work.

Additionally, a powerful ATS allows you to spend less time on applicant management and more time on strategic initiatives. These can be things that are directly related to your value proposition as an employer, which in turn strengthens your overall talent pool and your ability to attract and retain the best people.

So a proper ATS has a kind of holistic impact on your entire HR function and your business in general. It’s one piece of the puzzle, but can play a key role in the success of your business.

Why do you need an Applicant Tracking System?
For all the reasons we stated before and more. When you use an applicant tracking system, you can do more of the following:

• Store applicant information along with detailed notes and highlights
• You can access feedback from colleagues at any time (without tracking employees)
• Using templates to update candidates at every stage of the process
• Keep employee data secure and GDPR compliant
• Access to current analysis

All of this can help reduce time to hire, cost per hire, and overall cost of hiring because you can spend less time on manual processes and searching for documents and more time relying on the system to deliver To create a basis for growth.

How does an applicant tracking system work?
That depends on what type you want to use. With cloud-based HR software, your ATS is centrally available to every employee and all you have to do is log in and click a few buttons. When you use the right software, like IceHrm’s, you have access to all the information you need at a glance.

This allows you to seamlessly keep an eye on candidates, what stage they are at and what needs to happen next. Everything is available at a glance, and you can even turn candidates into employees with one click.

How can you tell if your ATS is working?

IceHrm can give you an overview of an applicant’s status and what stage of the hiring process they are currently in. This means you can quickly find out if there is a “problem phase” and ask yourself crucial questions such as:

• Are your job postings incomplete or ineffective?
• Are candidates rejected because the process takes too long?

Each of these questions can lead to new insights, but that starts with a solid foundation. This means you need to have an ATS that can keep all of this information secure so you can work with clean, meaningful data.

What type of companies use an ATS?
While smaller businesses can get by with spreadsheets or do everything via email, SMBs often need an ATS to be ready for growth. This is because with a large number of applicants, many things can go unnoticed. So you need a system that centralizes everything.

And you need the data to know if you’re spending your time on the right things. For larger companies, this means they need to have the data to support every single decision. You also need to know which channels work best and how to get your jobs in front of the best candidates.

How can you improve your ATS?
The first way to improve your applicant tracking system is to examine your options. Is your current recruiting software providing you with a seamless and successful candidate experience?

And have you already digitized your ATS? Often the first step is to introduce a solution to start the process, but you need to make sure it is the right solution for your needs.

Once you have an HR software and applicant tracking system in place, it’s helpful to develop a workflow that meets your needs. Then you can automate this workflow with templates and defined steps.

After that, you need to rely on the data to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and where you can improve something to make it work for your business. With the implementation of an ATS, your HR department now has the time to focus on these strategic initiatives.

Can an ATS improve your company’s talent?
Of course, because it can ensure that your jobs are exposed to the right people in the right way and that they have a great experience from the moment they click apply. This means you have more candidates in your pipeline, a higher level of talent in your company and a talent management system from the start.

An applicant tracking system can be the first step. Find out more today about how IceHrm can help you when it comes to digitizing and optimizing one of your core HR processes.