It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the end of the year. The onset of the COVID crisis sent shockwaves throughout the economy in early March, but several sectors have since made some incremental gains week over week. Despite the mostly positive economic outlook, the recruiting industry today has yet to fully bounce back, so organizations have had to find creative ways to keep the momentum going.
One way they’re doing that is by diving deeper into their Applicant Tracking Systems. After all, recruiters interact with this software every day, so knowing all the ins and outs is paramount. Companies like Bullhorn, Compas and TrackerRMS all boast an ATS with an incredible amount of customization, and there’s no better time than now for staffing professionals to master them.
We spoke with Courtney Harchak, a Senior Technical Account Manager at Tracker RMS and she provided some insight about the company’s ATS functionality, and how their clients are responding to the current climate. Here are a few key things to focus on to improve your ATS experience.
Reach out to your ATS provider about customized training
“We’re much more interactive with our clients than before,” says Harchak. “Firms are reaching out to us more frequently for demos and training to make sure they’re using the system the most effective way possible.”
“Several staffing firms we work with are asking about more advanced features and looking for training,” And these firms are looking for training on all kinds of features like how to implement custom fields for more refined data tracking, website integration and skills profiling that they may not have had time to set up prior to COVID.”
Streamline your video interviewing process
2020 has been a major disruptor in more ways than one, but it has forced many companies to adopt solutions that make us more efficient. One of those is video interviewing. Some Applicant Tracking Systems offer video interviewing capabilities right there within the platform, making it easier for recruiters to stay organized.
“Recruiters can send a link to potential hires with a list of questions through our ATS,” says Harchak. “Candidates can then record their responses in an allotted amount of time. And since the responses are recorded—as opposed to a live interview—recruiters can revisit their recordings to more effectively screen their candidates.”
Video interviewing is poised to become the industry standard, so getting well-versed in these kinds of tools now will help staffing professionals greatly moving forward.
Improve the way you handle onboarding support
Several Applicant Tracking Systems offer built-in onboarding support to simplify the hiring process. With an emphasis on speed, Bullhorn allows recruiters to track the onboarding status of a candidate’s documents all within their dashboard. Team members can access the onboarding status of a new hire and send reminders notifying candidates as to if they have any outstanding paperwork due.
Similarly, “TrackerRMS allows recruiters to create a checklist of everything needed to onboard a candidate,” says Harchak. “Recruiters and candidates can also upload any additional forms that a particular end-client might need all within the Tracker ATS”
It’s hard to say when the market will return to something resembling normalcy. But in the meantime, you can improve your processes across the board. The war for talent may look different than it has in the past, but retraining and setting ourselves up for success today will be key overcoming the challenges in 2021 and beyond.
