What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software application that helps an organization manage and automate their recruitment process. Importantly, since so much of the recruiting process has now become electronic, an ATS is important because it enables the electronic handling of recruitment needs such as submitting online job descriptions and capturing applications in and electronic format.
As such, Applicant Tracking Systems can be used by any organization that recruits permanent or temporary staff, including:

1. Independent recruiters


2. Staffing agencies


3. Executive search firms


4. Large enterprises


5. Small and mid-size businesses (SMB)

For large companies and SMB, an ATS is typically implemented and managed by the Human Resource (HR) group. However, in smaller companies that do not have a dedicated HR function the ATS system can be managed directly by hiring managers and without any technical knowledge.
The typical functions on an Applicant Tracking System include:

1. Creating job requisition


2. Job board posting


3. Online application


4. Applicant screening


5. Applicant scoring and knock-out


6. Workflow automation


7. Resume search


8. Self identification / EEO tracking and reporting


9. Standard and ad-hoc Reporting

One of the important characteristics of an ATS is the creation of one central location and database for a company's recruitment efforts. Having one centralized database enables companies to more effectively and efficiently organize resumes, rank candidates, and communicate with hiring managers internally as well as respond to applicants in an orderly and timely manner.
As example, a company can use online HR and recruiting software to create and then post jobs at online job boards such as Monster and Career Builder. In addition, the company can find resumes posted on resume boards, collect them in their database and determine if there is a potential match, or see if the candidate's information is already in the system. HR or hiring managers can conduct data-mining on the database and even set up workflow to automate some of the time-consuming tasks required to follow-up with all parties.

Trends are making Applicant Tracking Systems more attractive to businesses of all sizes. Historically, Applicant Tracking Systems have been expensive to purchase and implement, due to licensing, customization and management costs. As a result, they were mainly used by large recruiting firms and large enterprises. However, recent trends have made Applicant Tracking Systems more attractive to smaller recruiters and small and mid-size businesses.

Many systems are now offered using the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model with a low, recurring subscription fee rather than a large upfront license fee. This allows organizations to implement a system without making a major commitment to a product. Also, Applicant Tracking Systems have become more configurable, allowing users to self-implement their systems using internal resources, rather than incurring vendor customization charges.

If you are finding for a recruitment consultant Singapore job, you will need to obtain the CEI basic with efma to be qualified to operate as a license recruitment consultant in Singapore.