Recruitment is only as effective as the ATS software that a company utilizes during the hiring process. Finding the best ATS for recruitment can be like looking through a needle in a haystack. However, we have the magnet that will attract that small needle out of the haystack for you to learn how to recruit talent effectively with quality ATS software.
What Is ATS Software?
An applicant tracking system is a recruitment tool that documents and tracks the entire hiring process for all candidates at an affiliated company utilizing the software. Automated workflows, applicant pooling, hiring management, screening, and onboarding are just some of the many functions of ATS software.
We will evaluate the best features of ATS software and also touch on features that they should have for different industry applications including recruiting agencies and the healthcare industry. We will also offer Cadient’s services as solutions for your company’s recruitment needs.
Features Of The Best ATS for Recruitment
Now that you know about the general mission of ATS software, let’s discuss some features of the best ATS software for a seamless hiring process.
User-Friendly Interface
The ATS software should be user-friendly with an easy-to-navigate interface for candidates and recruitment personnel. If the software is too complex to use, it could decrease efficiency in the hiring process therefore causing unnecessary bottlenecks.
A user-friendly interface benefits the company by allowing for:
- A seamless onboarding process.
- Lower training costs in teaching recruitment personnel how to utilize the software.
- Streamlining job postings, candidate screenings, and other recruitment tasks.
- Error reduction in data exchange as the best ATS for recruitment usually includes validation features when data is entered and processed.
- Easier accessibility for candidates and recruitment personnel.
- Higher satisfaction during the application experience for candidates and the hiring steps for recruitment personnel.
Integration Capabilities
Modern ATS software should include integration capabilities that are compatible with other HR tools that assist in the hiring process. Such integration allows for streamlined processes in transferring candidate data from the application process to payroll systems, HRIS, and job boards. This is an automated data transfer solution whereas manual data entry isn’t needed to achieve this successful transition to the other HR tools.
Job posting can be made easier with an ATS’s automated job posting feature. This means one job post can go live on multiple affiliated job boards at once with just the click of a button. An ATS that integrates with a Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) system can allow proper tracking of candidate relationships and communications to onboard potential hires in the future.
Customizable Workflows
Customizable workflows are one of the most important backbones of the best ATS for recruitment because they can be refined to fit any company’s recruitment needs. Each stage of the hiring process can be refined based on how you want to onboard new talent. You can customize how you want the job requisition, skills assessments, interview process, and candidate sourcing positions of the recruitment process to go.
Cadient’s Hiring Analytics feature can help your company evaluate the current flow of applications for your open position. From there, you can refine your recruitment approach to increase efficiency and attract more applicants to the pool.
Advanced Reporting
An ATS’s advanced reporting features will help your recruitment team evaluate current metrics to refine an improvement strategy for hiring going forward. Performance evaluations of your current hiring campaigns usually analyze candidate sourcing effectiveness, average number of applications per day, and other metrics to further understand its current high or low performance.
Let’s not forget compliance tracking and audit trails in the advanced reporting section. This means the company’s ATS software is ensuring all necessary paperwork is completed with each new hire based on state and national law. The audit trails will track all recruitment activity for each candidate for future reference if needed.
Benefits of Choosing the Best ATS and CRM for Recruiting
Choosing the best of the best for applicant tracking and building candidate relationships will propel your company to heightened success by onboarding new talent for your team. Here are the benefits they will give you. While ATS software is pretty similar to CRM ones, ATS is exclusively for tracking the hiring process while CRM systems work closer with maintaining relationships with candidates during each recruitment stage.
Enhanced Candidate Experience
An enhanced candidate experience is always a crucial goal in applicant tracking and building candidate relationships. Streamlining communications with candidates with automated email messaging or the Cadient Texting solution will keep potential hires engaged with quick replies from your company after submitting the application. This prevents the candidates from losing interest due to a lack of timely follow-ups
Improved Talent Pool Management
Refining talent pool management allows for higher engagement with passive candidates while maintaining a long-term relationship with them even when they are not actively looking for a job. This means sending these candidates updates about current job openings so they are aware in case they are looking for a new career opportunity. Sending company culture newsletters and other pertinent updates can keep the candidates informed about your business even when no openings are available.
Data-Driven Decisions
Data-driven decisions are thanks to objective analysis of current recruitment metrics. Collect data from the job boards in which your ATS is affiliated, employee referrals, and social media engagement from candidates on the company page. From there, you can find which one performs the best for candidate sourcing.
The sourcing effectiveness can be further analyzed with candidate quality and success metrics. Evaluate your current hires to see whether onboarding them was a good decision or not by taking into account performance reviews and employee retention metrics.
The Best ATS for Recruiting Agencies Should Focus On Multi-Client Management
Recruiting agencies need a refined ATS more than ever as they are working with multiple clients at once. All client-specific dashboards must be tailored with a user-friendly interface while embracing the company’s vision of its physical appearance. These clients will be from multiple industries, so the recruiting agency should keep this in mind while customizing the job boards.
Access controls and data encryption are especially vital since many clients’ data will be at risk if hackers get to it. Hence, applicant tracking should only be accessible to authorized personnel while continually safeguarding all information with data protection regulations.
The Best ATS for Healthcare Recruitment Should Focus On Specialized Job Boards and Candidate Credentialing
ATS software for the healthcare industry should focus on specialized job boards and candidate credentialing to onboard the best talent possible. Every candidate considered should have the credentials necessary to care for their clients’ lives efficiently and correctly.
Specialized Job Boards
Healthcare-specific job boards will attract the proper personnel in the field to apply for open positions at healthcare agencies like hospitals and nursing homes. Your ATS should further integrate with other recruitment boards for the healthcare industry like MedJobsCafe and Nurse.com to find the most qualified potential hires with candidate sourcing. Posting your job on professional healthcare associations’ websites or in person at their organization headquarters could also enhance candidate sourcing for this field.
Candidate Credentialing
Credentialing a healthcare professional ensures they have the proper medical experience necessary to treat patients at your facility. They should already have some training under their belt related to the position in question before being onboarded to treat your patients.
Background checking is essential when onboarding a healthcare worker. You don’t want to accidentally hire someone who has committed medical fraud or other serious crimes in the past that could potentially harm patients. Hence, verifying the candidate’s medical license(s), prior experience, and past job performance reviews is essential for the safety of your patients and the reputation of your employer brand.
