An applicant tracking system (ATS), also known as applicant trend analysis software, is an analytical tool that helps human resource managers and recruitment agencies manage their recruitment processes by using automated functions.

This not only frees the recruiters from many of the traditionally manual recruitment tasks, freeing them to concentrate on more important corporate matters. With ATS software, human resource management can perform its internal processes more efficiently.

Traditional applicant tracking systems include data entry, manual approval, and notification of candidates, which hinder efficiency and reduce employee productivity.

 
Because an  ATS  program performs so many of these functions for you, it becomes easier for you to perform your core responsibilities, such as onboarding, applicant screening, and candidate information management. By reducing the time necessary to perform each job-related task, an ATS software program makes your job simpler, allowing you to spend your time on the more important aspects of your business.

In the past, hiring decisions often depended on the human decision-maker's hunches and experience. Human resources relied on statistics and regression to predict who would not meet hiring expectations. While these methods worked in some situations, they often failed in others.

With an applicant tracking system, you can eliminate the subjectivity of human decision-making and concentrate instead on data-driven decision-making. Using ATS software eliminates the need for the hiring manager to take personal risks because of hunches or lack of personal experience.

Another advantage of an applicant tracking system is that it streamlines the hiring process. The hiring process typically includes multiple steps: screening applicants, evaluating the responses, and scheduling interviews.

Each step of the hiring process takes valuable time and energy, making it less likely that a candidate will be hired. A system also reduces the number of times that a person is on the hiring committee, reducing the potential for biases in the hiring process that could have an effect on the hiring decision.

A quality applicant tracking system allows recruiters to save time by focusing on the best candidates. Unlike recruiting staff members, recruiters typically only have a few hours per week to evaluate the skills of each candidate.

An applicant tracking system allows recruiters access to comprehensive profiles of the best candidates in minutes, rather than the days or weeks it would take for recruiters to evaluate the resumes of hundreds of applicants.

Furthermore, the information provided by ATS software can be shared with other recruiters, creating a pool of candidates that are more likely to be matched with job offers. Because the recruiters can access the same comprehensive applicant database available to ATS-enabled HR professionals, they can make more accurate assessments of a candidate's skills and qualifications.

When evaluating applicants, the last thing an employer wants to do is waste time on applicants who may not be the best. A quality applicant tracking system provides recruiters with the tools they need to quickly weed out those who are not a good match for the company.

By allowing the recruiter's an easy way to sort through the resumes and select those that best match their specific requirements, a CRM solution can help reduce wasted time and money on unsuitable candidates. By providing employers with accurate and complete data on every applicant, a quality ATS staffing software solution is making recruitment much easier than ever before.