building blocks showing an applicant tracking system

Applicant Tracking Systems

6 Proven Ways an Applicant Tracking System Drives Efficiency

April 18, 2022

Tima Rassool

Tima Rassool

Content Writer

How wonderful would it be if you can take back all the time wasted on admin tasks? How great would it be if your team can have an extra 800 hours of efficiency and productivity each year?

And no, you don’t need to pull all-nighters or sleep on your desk to get that.

All you need is one thing: an applicant tracking system!

Can an applicant tracking system really help your recruiting team find and recruit top talent efficiently, productively, and cost-effectively?

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: An applicant tracking system is the hub for all things hiring. In today’s recruiting world, an applicant tracking system does more than just track candidates. Think of it like a virtual team member that helps you streamline processes, eliminate admin work, build better connections with candidates, and save valuable time.

So if you’ve been on the fence about leveraging an applicant tracking system, this blog post is for you.

Here are 6 proven ways an ATS can dramatically improve your efficiency!

Automate workflows with bulk actions

recruiter using an applicant tracking system

One of the best advantages of an applicant tracking system is that it effortlessly helps you set up automations that spare you from doing routine tasks. Want to set up a screening filter that automatically rules out candidates based on specific requirements? An ATS can do that. Want to set up the ATS to automatically archive candidates for future job openings? It can do that too.

An applicant tracking system can essentially help you work smart and automate workflows through bulk actions. Whether it’s by automatically sending candidates interview invitations or updating teammates through push notifications – an applicant tracking system helps you get more work done in a fraction of time.

Finding and recruiting top candidates is only the start of the hiring process. At one point or another, you’ll need to involve other teammates to help you review resumes, participate in interviews, and give their two cents on prospective candidates. Since your company already has established hiring workflows, an applicant tracking system will support and streamline them further. So for example, let’s assume your hiring process consists of a phone screen, then a phone interview with the manager, followed by a video assessment interview. An applicant tracking system helps you set up and automate these workflows, as well as assign each stage to specific teammates. This means, your entire team will continue collaborating the same way they did before – but this time more efficiently.

Facilitate collaborative hiring

team collaboration through an applicant tracking system

Team collaboration is a critical aspect of hiring. Naturally speaking, teammates formulate specific thoughts and opinions about candidates. This means that their perspectives can help drive better talent decisions. But all too often, teammates don’t have a centralized communication hub. They either rely on back-and-forth emails or some free time in their packed schedules. On the bright side, an applicant tracking system acts as an internal communication hub for your team.

In one centralized place, teammates can communicate in real-time and receive automated notifications when they’re invited to a stage, need to get involved, or are given feedback. So in one system, teammates can leave notes, comments, ratings, and discuss candidates in discussions that flow in real-time. For example, teammates can even reply by email and their comments will be instantly imported into the candidate’s profile in the ATS. Essentially speaking, all teammates can check in, collaborate and share up-to-date information on candidates without any delays in the process. Let’s dig in a bit deeper. How can an applicant tracking system really facilitate collaborative hiring?

First, it becomes far easier for teams to share candidate profiles and documents. This incredibly slashes down the time spent transferring such information. Plus, it gives them more time to collaboratively review interviews, applications, and candidate profiles thoroughly and effectively. Which will enable them to reach a consensus on top candidates.

Second of all, it enables more transparency and open communication. Simply because through one centralized portal teams are empowered to share opinions and solicit feedback from managers in less time. What’s more, everyone will be in the loop on how the recruitment process will be managed.

Last but not least, an applicant tracking system creates a smooth hand-off of tasks for different stages and processes. Which means, everything will be pretty clear from the very start and everyone will know what to do.

Easily post jobs without the hassle

posting jobs through an applicant tracking system

Job posting can be a hassle. We know.

Just thinking about having to post jobs individually and manually on each job site, can be an extremely tedious process. Especially when you end up opening numerous tabs all at once.

Luckily, if you’re looking to cast a wide net on candidates, you don’t have to write or rewrite job posts. An applicant tracking system like EVA-REC will help you save time and money and post your jobs on a global portfolio of 2,000+ job boards.

For example, our applicant tracking system is integrated with a large selection of free and paid job boards! From Careerjet, Monster, Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – you name it, we got it. Which means, you can post your jobs on all your favorite job boards with one single click. Ultimately, this makes cross-posting on different channels easy and hassle-free.

From one tab only, you can cast a wide net on candidates from all around the world. Even better, you can easily select the best channels to post your jobs on, without the need to do any extensive research. An ATS like EVA-REC offers accurate job board recommendations based on actual performance data and your job vacancy. Say goodbye to gut feeling and transparency – and say hello to the smart way of posting jobs.

Manage candidates in one place only

talent acquisition specialist managing candidates

When it comes to hiring, it can become quite challenging to manage and track your entire talent pool, especially when you have numerous applications for every vacancy. In fact, it becomes even harder to keep tabs on candidates.

This is why having one centralized place for all your candidates keeps your hiring process efficient and well organized. For example, an applicant tracking system allows you to group candidates based on categories and their stage in the hiring process. So in one single dashboard, you can get an at-a-glance view of where each candidate is, at any time. But seeing all your candidates at a glance is just a small slice of the pie. An applicant tracking system also enables you to see patterns in your recruitment through advanced reports and analytics that show you where your best candidates are coming from, and which job postings are yielding the best results.

What’s more, an applicant tracking system gives you fruitful insights into the status of job openings and the candidates that applied to them. Which means, you can easily drill down to the candidate level and see the positions candidates applied for at every stage. This functionality will help you effortlessly identify the hiring stages that are stalled, and what needs improvement to keep your hiring moving forward.

Make faster and more informed decisions

recruiter using an applicant tracking system

We all know how one bad hire can cost your company thousands of dollars. It’s how the cookie starts to crumble.

But that’s not only it. Without the right tools, resources, and information it can be relatively hard to make the best talent decisions.

An applicant tracking system like EVA-REC which is powered by AI, helps you make better hiring decisions by finding the best-fit candidates for the position, every time. First of all, it allows you to allocate weights to the criteria most important to you. Such as location, skills, gender, willingness to travel, experience or industry – and much more.

Do you care more about recruiting a candidate that is willing to travel, rather than where they’re located? With an ATS, you can assign the weights to all the criteria that you care about the most. Then, the applicant tracking system will filter through the candidates and rank them according to their qualifications. In addition, it will even create a matching percentage for each candidate, which signifies how closely the candidate matches the criteria and requirements. So in a matter of seconds, you can instantly pinpoint the most qualified candidates without the need to spend weeks – or even months – pre-qualifying them yourself.

An applicant tracking system also allows you to filter through resumes by keywords. Which significantly slashes your screening time in half and makes it easier for you to spot the candidates you’re looking for with one single click. Not only will you be able to rank candidates, but you’ll also be able to spot the best candidates and make more informed decisions confidently and accurately.

Boost your employer branding like never before

Laptop showing a branded career page

In today’s job market, having a super-strong employer brand cannot be emphasized enough. It’s no longer just a nice-to-have. It’s crucially important if you’re looking to attract the industry’s best talent in 2022. Today’s candidates look for two important things: opportunity and a place to grow. If your employer brand doesn’t communicate that, you could be risking it and detracting top talent without even knowing it.

So what’s the easiest way to boost your employer brand?

Your career page!

Think of your career page as an open book that gives candidates a good peek into your company.

In fact, an applicant tracking system allows you to build and craft a branded career page from scratch, without the need to write a single line of code or recruit a whole bunch of developers. In a few minutes, you can add graphics and content that highlight your company culture, perks and benefits, values, vision, and jobs in a super attractive and visually appealing way. All while ensuring brand alignment!

Bottom line

A next-generation applicant tracking system will do more than just turbo-charge your hiring process. It will completely revolutionize the way you hire top talent.

An applicant tracking system is an essential tool in your hiring team’s arsenal, as it’s your easy ticket to recruiting quality talent, reducing time-to-hire, saving money, and ultimately, crushing your hiring goals.

EVA-REC is an award-winning applicant tracking system that helps small businesses to corporate giants build skillful workforces and hire top talent at scale. It makes it far easier for recruiters to find, attract, and hire the right people, every time. With world-class integrations and AI features, EVA-REC creates a rich and immersive hiring experience for HR teams and candidates alike. Request a free demo today, and get to see our next-generation ATS in action!

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Hire, assess, onboard and manage top talent for every job. See how Elevatus streamlines everything; from acquire to new hire.

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Author

Tima Rassool

Tima Rassool

A wordsmith, storyteller, and content strategist – Tima is an MBA graduate with 6+ years of experience in the world of HR. With over 2,000 blogs under her belt, Tima's expertise and insights have helped businesses across the globe take their recruitment to the next level and stay ahead of the curve.

Turn top talent to employees fast

Hire, assess, onboard and manage top talent for every job. See how Elevatus streamlines everything; from acquire to new hire.

Request a demo