In the fiercely competitive landscape of talent acquisition, the efficiency and user-friendliness of your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can significantly impact your recruitment success. A robust ATS is a vital asset that streamlines the hiring process, enhances candidate experiences, and ensures the best talent is hired swiftly and efficiently. However, many organizations overlook the importance of regularly auditing and enhancing their ATS and serve applicants with a clunky, outdated ATS that creates a frustrating experience for candidates, leading to drop-offs and a negative employer brand perception.
Regularly auditing your ATS is essential to ensure it meets the evolving needs of your recruitment strategy. An effective audit identifies inefficiencies, uncovers bottlenecks, and reveals opportunities for improvement. It also ensures compliance with legal and regulatory standards, enhances data security, and optimizes the overall user experience for both candidates and recruiters.
In this article, we’ll delve into the crucial aspects of auditing your ATS and explore strategies and techniques for making small yet impactful enhancements at every stage of the application process, including post-application and beyond.
Key Areas to Audit
Job Postings & Descriptions: Your job descriptions and how they appear as postings are often the first and only time a candidate will be exposed to your employer brand, what you offer, and even the fact that you exist at all. They are your most important asset and they need to be a priority focus.
- Ease of Creation: Your ATS should enable jobs to be created from templates by specialty and facility, and also from scratch. Your recruiters are the main users so their needs should be taken into consideration when updates are made or new features deployed.
- Platform Customization: Jobs should be customized based on where they are going to appear. Job boards and aggregators have specifications that can sometimes be altered based on the type of content you have on your job descriptions or the actions you want users to take.
- Content Flexibility: Recruiters should be able to easily update and modify job descriptions to reflect changes in the role or industry expectations (like salary information), ensuring content remains current and relevant. The ability to incorporate multimedia elements like videos, images, testimonials, maps, and other interesting and authentic content within job descriptions enhances engagement and provides candidates with a deeper understanding of the role.
- Personalization: Data personalization for job descriptions is an innovative approach that allows you to tailor job descriptions to candidates based on previous site visits, content that was engaged with, or actions taken on the site. With this strategy, you can use data points like content clicks, site searches conducted, or specialty-specific videos watched and remarket and deliver relevant job descriptions to visitors to increase the likelihood of converting. Adding a site visitors name, location, and messaging relevant to their inferred or implicit characteristics - or data they’ve given you - are additional great ways to enhance the candidate experience.
Application User Interface and User Experience: The User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) are critical components of an effective ATS. A seamless, intuitive interface reduces friction for candidates and recruiters alike.
- Simplify the Application Process: Ensure the application form is concise and easy to complete. Avoid asking for redundant information and provide clear instructions at every step. If your resume parsing works as expected, there is no need to ask applicants to enter the data any other way. Go through the entire application process yourself and take notes on the experience.
- Mobile Optimization: With an increasing number of candidates using mobile devices to apply for jobs (over 60%), it’s crucial to have a mobile-friendly application process for every step and add-on functionality. Go through the application process on your mobile device to see what candidates are experiencing.
- Personalized Candidate Portals: Allow candidates to create profiles, apply to multiple roles with ease, save progress, and track their application status.
Application Tracking & Workflow Management: Effective application tracking and workflow management ensure that no candidate falls through the cracks and that the hiring process is as efficient as possible.
- Customizable Workflows: Create customizable workflows that align with the hiring process for each individual role. This includes stages like screening, interviewing, HR Manager approval, and offer management.
- Automated Notifications: Implement automated notifications to alert recruiters about upcoming deadlines, time thresholds, tasks, application status changes, and candidate communications.
- Centralized Dashboard: Utilize a centralized dashboard to track the status of all candidates in the pipeline and identify any bottlenecks by stage, or caused by any third-party, technology, or hiring team member.
Candidate Sourcing, Filtering, and Resume Parsing: An ATS should facilitate efficient candidate sourcing and accurate resume parsing to streamline the initial stages of recruitment.
- Advanced Search Capabilities: Use advanced search functionalities that allow recruiters to filter candidates based on specific criteria such as skills, experience, and location.
- Resume Parsing Accuracy: Ensure your ATS accurately parses resumes to extract relevant information and populate candidate profiles correctly. Test this yourself.
- Integration with Job Boards: Integrate your ATS with popular job boards and social media platforms to broaden your reach and attract a diverse pool of candidates. Ensure formatting and messaging is specific to destination.
Communication & Engagement: Timely and transparent communication is crucial for maintaining a positive candidate experience and engagement throughout the recruitment process.
- Automated Email Templates: Use automated email templates for various stages of the application process, such as application receipt confirmation (Thanks for Applying email is a must!), interview scheduling, and rejection notifications. This also includes emails sent to candidates whose profiles fit future open requisitions.
- Two-Way Communication: Implement features that allow candidates to easily communicate with recruiters, ask questions, and provide additional information.
- Feedback Mechanisms: Provide candidates with opportunities to give feedback on their experience, helping you identify areas for improvement.
Analytics & Reporting: Leveraging data analytics and reporting capabilities can significantly enhance your recruitment strategy by providing insights into the effectiveness of your ATS and identifying areas for improvement.
- Real-Time Analytics: Utilize real-time analytics to monitor key metrics such as time-to-hire, candidate drop-off rates, and source effectiveness.
- Custom Reports: Generate custom reports that provide insights into specific aspects of your recruitment process, such as diversity hiring and candidate satisfaction.
- Predictive Analytics: Implement predictive analytics to forecast hiring needs, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
Accessibility, Compliance & Data Security: Ensuring compliance with accessibility, legal, and regulatory standards, as well as maintaining robust data security, are paramount in protecting candidate information and maintaining the integrity of your recruitment process.
- Accessibility: Conduct thorough accessibility audits and implement WCAG-compliant features. By doing so, you'll guarantee that all candidates, regardless of their abilities, can navigate and utilize your ATS effectively.
- Compliance Audits: Regularly audit your ATS to ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR, EEOC, and OFCCP.
- Data Encryption: Use data encryption methods to protect sensitive candidate information.
- Access Controls & Permissions: Implement access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel can access candidate data.
Enhancing the ATS Experience – Actionable Strategies at Every Stage
PRE-APPLICATION STAGE
- Targeted Job Descriptions: Craft clear, concise job descriptions that highlight the role's value proposition and what makes your company unique. Maximize design and content features to create an engaging experience.
- Career Site Optimization: Build a career website that showcases your company culture, benefits, and employee stories. Use keywords and content relevant to your target positions and audiences to improve SEO. Integrate ATS search and jobs into the career site experience.
- Social Media Recruiting: Leverage your social media channels to promote open positions and engage with potential candidates. Use compelling visuals and highlight diverse workplace experiences to direct candidates to job descriptions.
APPLICATION STAGE
- Mobile-Friendly Application: Ensure your application process is optimized for mobile devices. Candidates are increasingly applying via mobile, and a cumbersome mobile experience can lead to drop-offs.
- Streamlined Application Forms: Keep application forms concise, requesting only essential information. Offer the option to attach or link to resumes or profiles instead of lengthy text fields.
- Estimated Timelines: Provide candidates with estimated timelines for each stage of the process to manage their expectations.
- Automated Progress Updates: Set up automated emails that acknowledge receipt of applications and provide status updates at each stage of the selection process.
SCREENING & INTERVIEW STAGE
- Background Checks: Ensure this process is conducted early in the hiring process and is not a bottleneck to moving a candidate along quickly. Set the expectation up front that a background check will be required.
- Skill-Based Assessments: Consider implementing skills assessments that are relevant to the role to objectively evaluate applicants beyond years of experience.
- Structured Interviews: Develop a standardized interview format with clear scoring rubrics to ensure a fair and unbiased selection process.
- Prompt Communication: Inform candidates quickly after each stage of the interview process – whether it's a move forward, rejection, or waiting for a decision.
POST-APPLICATION STAGE
- Thank You Page and Email – Acknowledgement of Application Completion: Immediately acknowledging receipt of an application sets a positive tone for the candidate experience. Send automated emails – or create a custom Thank You page - confirming receipt of the application and outlining the next steps in the process. Personalize the confirmation email or page with the candidate’s name and the specific position they applied for.
- Feedback & Rejection Notifications: Providing personalized feedback and timely rejection notifications demonstrates respect for the candidate’s time and effort. Where possible, provide constructive feedback to rejected candidates to help them improve for future opportunities.
- Keeping Candidates Warm: For candidates who make it to the final stages but are not selected, it’s important to keep them engaged for future opportunities. Add strong candidates to talent pools for future openings and maintain regular communication with candidates through newsletters, company updates, and relevant job openings.
- Employer Branding Surveys: Use surveys to gather feedback from candidates about their application experience. Use this feedback to continuously improve your recruitment process.
Leveraging Technology for Continuous Improvement
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: AI and Machine Learning can significantly improve various aspects of your ATS, from resume parsing to candidate matching.
- Automated Workflows: Send emails, schedule interviews, or send notifications based on pre-defined triggers. This streamlines communication and saves valuable time.
- AI-Powered Resume Screening: Implement AI-powered tools to screen and parse resumes more efficiently and accurately.
- Predictive Analytics: Use machine learning algorithms to predict candidate success and retention based on historical data.
Chatbots & Virtual Assistants: Chatbots and virtual assistants can enhance candidate engagement and streamline communication.
- Automated Q&A: Use chatbots to answer frequently asked questions and provide information about the application process.
- Interview Scheduling: Implement virtual assistants to handle interview scheduling and reminders.
- Application Assistant: Humanize the application by using a virtual assistant to guide candidates through the steps through conversation and by asking questions, while still collecting necessary candidate data in your ATS.
Tool Integration: Integrating your ATS with other HR tools can create a seamless recruitment ecosystem.
- HRIS Integration: Integrate your ATS with your Human Resource Information System (HRIS) for seamless data transfer and onboarding.
- Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) Integration: Integrate your ATS with a CRM to nurture relationships with qualified candidates. This allows you to personalize communication and track candidate interactions throughout their journey.
- Employee Referral Programs: Integrate with employee referral platforms to encourage and track employee referrals.
- Skills Assessments: Automatically match candidates' skills to job requirements, leading to faster and more qualified candidate selection.
- Behavioral Assessments: Gain insight into candidate personalities and cultural fit.
- Gamified Assessments: Evaluate candidate skills in a creative and interactive way.
Metrics to Track Your ATS Effectiveness
Monitoring key metrics allows you to gauge the effectiveness of your ATS process and identify areas for improvement. Of course, you need to start with baseline data so you understand from where you need to improve. Here are some essential metrics to track:
Time-to-Hire: Track the average time it takes to fill a position from job posting to offer acceptance. A long time-to-hire indicates inefficiencies in the process.
Application Drop-Off Rate: Monitor the percentage of candidates who abandon the application process and at what point in the application they do so. This will help you understand where in the process applicants are having the most difficulty and where it needs the most attention.
Application Completion Rate: Monitor the percentage of candidates who complete the entire application process. A low completion rate can indicate a cumbersome or confusing application experience.
Source of Hire: Track where your top talent comes from – job boards, career website, or employee referrals. This helps you focus your recruitment efforts on the most effective channels.
Offer Acceptance Rate: Measure the percentage of candidates who accept your job offer. A low acceptance rate might suggest your offer is not competitive or the job description didn't accurately represent the role.
Candidate Satisfaction: Use surveys to gather feedback from candidates about their experience with your ATS and the application process.
Auditing your ATS and making small, strategic enhancements can significantly improve your recruitment process and overall candidate experience across all stages of the hiring journey. We can help you identify areas for improvement that focus on user experience, workflow management, candidate communication, data analytics, compliance, and leveraging advanced technologies, to ensure your ATS remains a powerful tool in attracting, converting, and communicating with current and future talent. You can also test your application in its entirety on multiple devices and browser types on your own - it will be helpful for you to understand the process first-hand. Regular audits and continuous improvements will not only enhance efficiency but also strengthen your employer brand, making your organization a preferred choice for job seekers.
The key to a well-run ATS lies in its ability to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of recruitment and technology. Invest the time and resources into auditing and enhancing your ATS, and you will reap the benefits of a more streamlined, efficient, and candidate-friendly hiring process.
