Why an ATS Matters for Recruitment Agencies

An applicant tracking system (ATS) matters because it lets recruiters find quality candidates faster, cut the admin that slows every role down, build a talent pool they can come back to, measure what is working and give every candidate a consistent experience. For most agencies, it’s the system the whole recruitment process runs on.

Automation is so common today that we barely notice it, and in recruitment many of us couldn’t imagine doing the job without it. Yet some businesses still rely on manual processes. They may have their reasons, but the benefits of an ATS are hard to ignore. Here are the main ones.

How does an ATS help you find quality candidates faster?

Securing your ideal candidate quickly is vital. If the process takes too long, they’ll likely be snapped up by someone else.

Carefully reading every resume that lands in your inbox takes time, so it makes sense to use software that can do the heavy lifting. By setting criteria and filtering applicants in your ATS, you can separate strong candidates from the “eh, it’s worth a shot” applications. A modern ATS will also rank candidates against the criteria you set. In Recruit Wizard, AI candidate matching and Talent Index ratings show the reasoning behind each recommendation, so recruiters can review the evidence and make the call.

How does an ATS save time and money?

Admin takes up a huge chunk of a recruiter’s day, so let your technology do the grunt work. By automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks, you can streamline the whole process and spend that time on high-value work. Instead of posting to each job board separately and handling every resume by hand, an ATS does much of this for you, reducing time to hire and, in turn, cost.

Recruitment is an unavoidable cost for growing businesses. From drafting the job ad to the point a new starter becomes productive, the clock and the costs are running. Speeding up the process is the best way to reduce them, and a smooth process also shortens the time a team is understaffed.

Why does an ATS help your talent pool grow?

There are some seriously talented people out there, and just because someone isn’t the right fit for one role doesn’t mean they won’t be perfect for a future one. That’s why an ATS with a built-in CRM is so valuable. When an applicant comes through your ATS, their details are stored securely (in line with privacy law) so you can contact them when the right opportunity comes up. A large pool of high-calibre candidates is a recruiter’s dream, and an ATS makes it easy to build.

What can you measure with an ATS?

What can be measured can be improved. A good ATS has built-in analytics, so you can report on key metrics such as time to hire, cost per hire, source of placement and conversion between stages. That shows you where you’re excelling, where you’re losing time and where you can improve.

How does an ATS improve candidate experience?

It’s easy to focus only on the numbers, but candidate experience is often neglected. Negative experiences travel far through social media and employer review sites and can damage your pool of future candidates. That’s why a great experience at every touchpoint matters.

An ATS with an integrated CRM closes the loop with unsuccessful candidates through automated, personalised follow-up, so nobody is left in the dark. You can also gather candidate feedback through surveys to keep improving your process.

To see how an ATS and CRM work together in one platform, explore Recruit Wizard’s recruitment CRM and ATS.