Recruiting, or more commonly known as hiring, is a very complicated process. It requires managers to understand the needs of open job requests placed by various hiring managers and interact with hundreds of candidates at any time. It goes without saying that manual hiring processes are not efficient in this scenario.
Spreadsheets and emails are not just enough for this process. Hence an efficient Applicant Tracking System (ATS) should be in place to ease the hiring process. But, how do you know that your company needs an applicant tracking system? To find this out, you need to look for some warning signs in your organization that indicate the need for an ATS.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 indicators on why your organization needs an Applicant Tracking System:
1) Your website’s ‘career’ page appears to be built ages ago
Nowadays almost everyone applies through the Career page. There is a saying “First impression is the best impression.” Even though your company might be doing extremely well, if your career page doesn’t look good, there might be second thoughts from the applicant before applying for a position in your organisation.
Your company might receive applications based on its popularity. However, for first-timers and newcomers, the career page makes its first impression. Hence it is very important to build and continuously maintain a beautiful, fully branded career page – up and running at all time.
2) Complex, long, non mobile-friendly application systems
With the latest advancements in technology, candidates prefer searching and applying for jobs on the go. If the candidate application process to apply for your organization is too complex and long, one might not like to complete the processes time and again to apply for a job role.
Mobile technology and user-friendly navigation systems on the mobile has minimised the needs to login from desktops to apply for a job position. They can access the requirement, anywhere and at any point of time right from their mobile devices.
Mobile friendly applications and one-click application systems makes it easy for first-time applicants and for your organization as well. At the crux of it, if your organization’s applicant system isn’t mobile-friendly, it is a sign that you need to purchase an ATS!
3) You still use Email and Spreadsheets for Hiring Management
An average job opening receives at least 250 applications. Imagine checking 250 emails and listing them in spreadsheets manually, shortlisting qualified candidates and mailing each applicant an interview schedule. This is such an exhausting, mundane, and lengthy Recruitment process
To reduce the work of hiring managers, these tasks can be automated using an ATS that helps find qualified candidates easily through keyword search and other options made available by the Applicant Tracking System.
4) Finding a needle in a haystack?
Do you feel like your talent hunt to find the most suited candidate for the job role, is like searching a needle in a haystack? Sorting qualified and unqualified candidates is a very important process in hiring. If you don’t find the right fit, it’s like opting for oranges when you needapples.
If you find trouble choosing the right candidate, then it’s time you choose an efficient applicant tracking system in place. The system should have an advanced search functionality wherein it identifies the candidates based on application information.
It also searches candidates based on commute radius, skills, qualifications, current or past employers, salary history, candidates’ notes/comments/ interview feedback, etc.
See: HR Tech: Improve Background Checks with Next Generation Applicant Center
5) Scheduling interviews is like herding cats
Short listing candidates are long, tedious exercise that bring with it throbbing headache to hiring managers. And if you are someone, who can relate to this feeling of scheduling interviews to seem more like herding cats, then it’s time you shift to an Applicant Tracking System.
Without ATS, hiring managers are required to find candidates and then adjust to their availability for an interview. Further which, they are required to manage the calendar to map both candidates and interviewer availability to set up a fixed interview schedule.
Later, its expected of a hiring manager to write emails to all parties involved into hiring decision making to intimate them just about everything during the hiring activity – be it a call letter, an offer letter, candidate feedback, rescheduling an interview or anything else in this regard.
Hence, an interview scheduling tool such as applicant tracking system facilitates automating these mundane recurring tasks to relieve hiring managers of their recruitment hassles, time-consuming activities and makes the process a lot more simple and stress-free.
6) Follow-up is messy
Interview confirmation, feedback, directions to the office, request for references are all part of the hiring process. Every candidate should be treated with dignity. Every candidate needs interview closure which includes feedback and updates regarding any further processes.
However if applicants to your organization, do not never receive any communication once the interview is completed, it could well be treated as a warning sign for you to soon implement an applicant tracking system. Manual process can never keep track and maintain timely records. An ATS comes to your aid here.
7) Compiling status reports leaves you dumbstruck
The top management or the leadership always wants numbers. This helps them quantify your value in the organization. Top employees are always marked by their ability to quantify values. If you are not using any tool for analysis and compiling reports, then it is a warning sign that you need to embrace an applicant tracking system.
8) Compliance is complicated
Dealing with compliance is not much liked since the beginning. Hiring in itself is a complicated process. Compliance in hiring could leave managers’ awestruck. EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) compliances are related to hiring.
Is your current hiring system designed to deal with these two compliances on its own? If not, then you must definitely purchase an apt Applicant Tracking System.
9) Job posting is manual and mundane
It is very important for hiring managers to post new jobs and update the status of the posted jobs regularly. This is usually done manually one job site at a time. It is a mundane and a lengthy process.
Posting and advertising open positions should be an exciting thing for the hiring manager. If this is not exciting and makes them feel drained out of all energies, then you need an applicant tracking system in place.
10) No consistent process for sending Job Offers
Making an offer is a cumulative process. You have to combine all the work done by you for weeks during the interview process. No manager would be ready to just let go off all the efforts invested into hiring a right candidate, just because the process seems like calling for a strenuous headache.
Manual processes such as mailing or faxing offer letters are now a thing of the past. Even sending out PDF attachments is not always feasible, to seek acceptance of the job offer from a candidate with no accurate signature or a date stamp.
Digital offer letters allow both the job seeker and the organization to easily communicate. If this is not implied by your organization, then you need to switch to an applicant tracking system soon.
If your company’s hiring managers’ are experiencing any or all of the hassles indicated above, then its time you implement an efficient applicant tracking system in place. This seems like the only best solution to turn the odds in your favour and make the hiring process, much simpler, interesting, quick and effective.
Author credit:
Sanjay Darji, COO at TopTenInsider, is an avid Digital Marketeer. He loves crunching analytics and comes up with innovative ways for boosting Page Rankings. When free, he loves listening to rock music and spend time with family. Follow him on twitter @sanjaydarji01
Also read: 34% Fortune 500 Companies Use Recruitment Marketing Practices to Attract Top Talent
Image credit: Freepik
