Best Applicant Tracking System in 2021

Businesses are finding themselves more engaged in hiring than ever due to the evolving business model and changing work structure. To keep pace with the modern business culture, organizations are continuously seeking talented people with unique skill sets. However, with the large volume of candidates and the conventional recruitment approach, it becomes difficult for recruiters to select the right candidate for the position. Besides that, the traditional approach for recruitment is time-consuming and not efficient. It fails in delivering end-to-end candidate experience and sets challenges like a slow hiring process, high attrition rate, high operating costs, etc.  However, there is one solution to mitigate all these recruitment issues - Applicant Tracking Software.  The top-rated applicant tracking systems provide exceptional features to overcome the drawbacks of the traditional recruitment process. It ensures that recruiters remain laser-focused on the hiring quality, enhance their recruitment speed, spend less time on administrative work, and get maximum ROI. 

Selecting an applicant tracking software could be overwhelming, especially when there are plenty of options available.  The recruiting agency can enhance its success ratio only by selecting the right and best applicant tracking software that matches their business goals.

This buyer guide is designed for recruiters and professionals associated with the recruiting industry to get better insights on the best applicant tracking software and make an informed decision on software selection. It sheds light on various aspects of applicant tracking software like features, pricing, and the latest trends.

• Low hiring rate:  The hiring rate of recruitment could be low due to lack of coordination among team members and the slow hiring process. The traditional recruiting process often leads to poor communication and inefficient hiring decisions.
• Finding the right candidate: The traditional recruitment system involves manual work, and parsing the right candidate from the bulk could be a daunting task. Also, for immediate recruitment, the organization might often settle to hire the local talent, which further limits the organization’s access to the cohort of talented people.
• Lengthy hiring process:  The traditional hiring process is time-consuming as it involves more steps like filing the resumes, contacting the candidates, scheduling the interview, taking follow-up, etc.
• Poor candidate experience:  Candidates expect personalized service from the recruiter and want placement on an early basis. But the traditional approach is quite disorganized, and it fails to deliver quality service to the candidates.
• Recruiting passive candidates: Passive candidates are those who are currently working and do not look for any jobs. With the traditional approach, it is difficult to reach out to such candidates for new job opportunities as they cannot be traced.
• Paperwork: There is an incredible amount of paperwork involved in the traditional recruiting process, from resumes to cover letters and drafting contracts.  With so many candidates, it becomes overwhelming to handle and manage the information correctly.

Applicant tracking software (ATS) is a set of human recruitment tools that helps recruiters to track, organize, and connect with a huge number of applicants. The ATS system automates the hiring and recruiting process.  The applicant tracking software generally has two variants- one is dedicated only to screening and tracking the candidate’s profile, while the other deals with the complete recruitment cycle.  Applicant tracking software is also referred to as a talent management system. 

The primary function of applicant tracking software is to act as a central location to facilitate the recruitment process. The system uploads the applicant’s information in the database and allows recruiters to filter the resume as per the set criteria. The best ATS software makes it to search and access the applicant’s information easily.

The applicant tracking software is used as a standalone ATS or as an integrated ATS.

• Standalone ATS: The users that are keen on using advanced features of applicant tracking software usually choose standalone ATS. The standalone applicant tracking software supports third-party integration and allows users to take advantage of the entire software stack.
• Integrated ATS:  The applicant tracking software solutions are also available as part of the HR software, where users can use additional features like payroll, document management, performance management, etc.

The applicant tracking software is used to search, track, screen, and identify candidates in conducting the recruitment process seamlessly.  The software uses an algorithm to parse the resume based on keywords and pattern matching. The resumes are either collected from internal applications via the applicant tracking software installed on the company website, or are extracted from the candidates requests on the job portals.

Step 1) Job Created: The hiring managers raise the job requests as per the requirements.

Step 2) Job published to company website or job boards: The job gets published on the company website or job boards.

Step 3) Candidates apply for jobs: The candidate uploads their resumes into the database and applies for the relevant jobs.

Step 4) Filter/shortlist candidates:  The applicant tracking software shortlist candidates as per the set criteria and retrieves the best candidates from the pool.

Step 5) Forward shortlisted candidates to hiring manager:  The system forwards the potential candidates to the hiring manager, and the manager reviews the candidate profile.

Step 6) Schedule interview:  The final candidates are scheduled for an interview, and based on the eligibility, the candidates get hired.

Having a good understanding of the applicant tracking software working mechanism could make it easier for the recruiter to comprehend how ATS can facilitate the recruitment process.

Technology has changed the way people do their jobs, and it has also changed the way people search for jobs through job portals and social networks.  In this technology-driven job market, the applicant tracking software acts as the connecting bridge between the organization and potential candidates.  It helps recruiters to target more qualified candidates by searching them with keywords and increasing the spectrum of their reach. If certain job-requests are frequently raised, then the best ATS software even allows users to reuse job descriptions for multiple positions, saving time and money. An applicant tracking system can post job openings to several platforms with a single click, including the social media network. For candidates, it becomes easier to keep track of openings in various organizations and apply for the same. Some applicant tracking software also supports CRM tools, which makes them efficient in capturing candidates’ information and pushing relevant jobs to them. The applicant tracking software jet propels the entire recruitment process.

The organization can also use robust ATS software for marketing purposes to engage future job applicants by conducting social media campaigns, CRM campaigns, and mass mailing. It makes the recruitment process quite easier. Automation is another time-saving feature of applicant tracking software that makes ATS software efficient in handling the recruitment process. 

There is no doubt applicant tracking software has a positive impact on the recruitment process, but for its optimal use, it is essential users know the top applicant tracking software benefits.

• Easy team collaboration:  Recruiting agencies can easily collaborate with their team members with an applicant tracking tool It allows sharing candidates profiles with team members and staying organized with their tasks like scheduling interviews, screening candidates, and follow-ups.
• Streamline hiring process:  The recruiting agency can streamline the hiring process with the best ATS software.  It helps them to organize all the applicants’ information from one place and reduce the workload due to the large pool of candidates.  Besides that, it does not keep candidates waiting long for their hiring status.  The recruiters can send instant messages or mail to candidates about the acceptance of their resumes and interview schedule.
• Better ROI: The recruiting agency can target more recruitment in less time.  The applicant tracking software allows the applicant to upload their resume from a mobile device, which attracts more candidates.
• Reduce administrative tasks: Applicant tracking software can help to reduce administrative tasks like manual filing of resumes, sending follow-up emails, posting resumes manually on job boards, and so on.
• Better reach: The best ATS software brings benefits to both; recruiters and job seekers.  It enables job seekers to view their resumes by the maximum number of recruiters while the recruiters can have a large pool of talented applicants to offer the job.
• Quality hiring: The automated screening of a candidate’s profile based on the employer’s requirement helps the agency to get quality candidates.
• Improves candidate experience: Candidate experience is essential for sustainability of the recruiting agency.  
• Updates on regulatory compliance:  The top-rated applicant tracking systems keep recruiters updated about the hiring laws and keep human resources in sync with regulatory compliance. It protects recruiters from lawsuits.
• Reduces cost per hire:  Recruiter can reduce the cost per hire by cutting the expenses on the hiring process.  The user can use the automation process for shortlisting candidates and reduce the labor costs per hire.
• Faster and better decision: Applicant tracking system software enables recruiters to make quicker and better decisions. With all the information about the candidates available in the software, it becomes quite easy for recruiters to make a hiring decision.
• Easy evaluation of applicant:  The evaluation of applicant becomes easy with standardized rubrics ranking system. 
• Detail insights:  The report and analytics can help recruiters to optimize the existing hiring process. They give a clear view of the loopholes in the system and areas that need the recruiter’s attention. 

Small recruiting agencies have to manage more work with less manpower, and in such a scenario, applicant tracking software could be boon for them. Small-scale recruiting agencies generally don’t have a dedicated HR system, and applicant tracking software could fit well in their unit.  Hiring via applicant tracking software brings a gamut of advantages and helps recruiting agencies to hire the best talent in the industry. They can free up staff for more productive work and automate repetitive tasks. It helps small organizations to organize the work right from the beginning, so when they expand their operations, they don’t face complications in managing the large volume of candidate’s profiles. The other advantages of applicant tracking software for small recruiting agencies are that they don’t have to invest in infrastructure as there are applicant tracking software solutions that operate on the cloud. Some applicant tracking software also provides API for smooth integration with career websites and job portals. It means the small recruiting agency can get real-time updates on the job market and attend more candidates. It also helps to cut the labor-cost that hiring agencies incur for collecting such information. The applicant tracking software comes in many price variations and features; the small-scale recruiting agency can choose the software based on their requirements and budget criteria.

• Applicant verification
• Social media recruiting and employee referral programs
• Automated emails
• Resume management and candidate portal
• Customization
• CRM
• Real-time data analytics
• Resume harvesting
• Third-party integrations
• Candidate sourcing
• Video interview
• Team collaboration
• Advanced searching
• Customizable career pages
• Robust security standard
• Scheduling interviews
• Support for mobile devices
• Referral management
• Workflow management
• Pre-screening
• Intelligent candidate matching
• Regulatory and compliance management
• Support services
• Approval
• User permission

• Customization:  The customization feature could be a virtue for recruiters.  They can create additional fields for application submission or collect more details about the candidates.  Some top rated applicant tracking systems even allow changing the interface of the software according to the brand.
• Integration: Integration of applicant tracking software with other applications like HR and payroll systems is essential. It keeps an end-to-end track of the candidate's boarding process and improves the efficiency of the HR department.
• Flexible: The top-rated applicant tracking systems are scalable and easily adapt to new changes.  The recruiting agencies, and the HR team should always choose the applicant tracking software that is flexible and that aligns with the organization’s future goals. This can save a lot of cost and time for the recruiters.  
• Support multiple languages:  The top rated applicant tracking systems should support multiple languages for better candidate experience and should target candidates from all the regions.
• Recruiting workflow:   Before finalizing the applicant tracking system software, the users must see that the tools facilitate the workflow that aligns with the organization’s hiring process.
• Pricing: Pricing is one of the most crucial factors to choose an applicant tracking software. In general, applicant tracking software comes in different price slabs, and depending on the recruitment business scale, the recruiters should choose the best applicant tracking systems. Besides various pricing models, features, and support services, the users should also check for any hidden charges.
• Simple interface:  One of the identifications of the top-rated applicant tracking systems is their simple interface. It could add value to the recruiters as well as to the employees. Easy to use interface enables quick upload of resume and better candidate experience. The recruiters, on the other hand, can access the resume quickly or retrieve essential information in a couple of minutes.

The above-mentioned factors could decide whether the applicant tracking system software is a best fit for an organization or recruiting agency. But besides that, the recruiters should also keep watch on the latest trends and updates on the top rated applicant tracking systems.

The most popular applicant tracking systems are bracing up for new technology and trends for fast hiring and better candidate experience.

• Video interviewing:  With high internet speed and better computing power,  video conferencing technology has become the emerging trend in the recruiting process.  It is cheaper and paces-up the recruiting process. It allows communicating with the candidates from anywhere in real-time. 
• Chatbots: With the overwhelming amount of job applications, practically it is impossible for recruiters to give a prompt reply to all the candidates. In such a scenario, chatbots are proving productive in delivering better responses to the candidates. It can also be helpful in answering frequently asked questions, updating user application status, and scheduling an interview.
• Social media recruiting: Social media has propelled communication to another level, and people can connect via social media easily.  The most popular applicant tracking systems can integrate with almost all leading social media channels, which help recruiters to reach the right candidates.
• Predictive analysis: The ability to identify and predict on the existing data helps recruiters in making important decisions and taking the guesswork out of hiring decisions.  Predictive analysis can assist with faster and targeted hiring.

One of the key concerns for recruiting agencies when they buy applicant tracking software is security.  Since the software holds personal information about the candidates, like profile information, email addresses, and contact information, there is a risk of exploitation if it goes in the wrong hand or hackers. Applicant tracking software with strong security features not only protects the candidate’s confidential information but also safeguards the organization from security risks like distributed denial of service attacks.  With the growing importance of security in applicant tracking software, most ATS software vendors are incorporating robust security features in their systems. They ensure that the best applicant tracking systems are laced with encrypted data, data backup, runs on HTTPS (online ATS), secure password policies, GDPR compliance, two-factor authentication, etc.  Further, the recruiters can protect their best ATS software from cyber-attacks by following preventive measures like conducting a regular audit by security consultants, monitor the system for intrusion, or update security patches regularly.  With all these security features implemented, the applicant tracking software becomes reliable and hack-proof. 

There are a lot of variations observed in the applicant tracking software pricing. The variation could be due to various pricing models or sets of features the software offers. Different software vendors follow different pricing models like; pay per recruiter, pay per employee, pay per applicant, flat rate, etc.  However, the average cost of applicant tracking software could be as low as $2/month or as high as $1000/month or more. 

• Applicant Tracking Software for startups: The startup recruiting agency thriving business on a low-budget can pick the applicant tracking software with a low pricing option. WebHR offers the basic features at a starting price of $2/month per user. The cost further reduces as the number of users increases. The key attractions of the tool are the robust security feature, API access, and customer service. Another top-rated applicant tracking system for startups is Zenefits, which comes at a starting price of $8/month. It provides functions like core HR, time scheduling, third-party integrations, etc. The other top-rated applicant tracking systems include Tmetric, Proven, Plutio, Manatal, Zoho Recruit, etc.  These cost-effective tools can turn out as the best applicant tracking systems for small businesses and startups.

• Applicant Tracking Software for mid-size and large scale businesses:  All those mid-size recruiting agencies looking to harness the top applicant tracking software can think of investing in solutions like; Transformify that comes at a starting price of $50/month. The software offers features like unlimited candidates, passive candidate outreach, GDPR compliance, third-party integration, self-billing, and payment automation.  If you are planning to envelop CRM features along with the top applicant tracking software benefits, then Recruiterflow can be the best choice as this comes at a starting price of $69/month. The tool offers unlimited job openings, robust customer support, field customization, etc.  It also offers a 14-day free trial.  The other tools that qualify as the most popular applicant tracking systems for mid-size and large-scale businesses include RECRU, CleverStaff, Better Chains, etc.  The premium tools like Kaizen Recruit with a price of 999/month equip users with the top applicant tracking software features. Besides that, the recruiters can automate the screening process, schedule interviews, and manage referrals.  All those planning to harbor enterprise-level features but at the same time want to go little light on their pocket, can consider WizeHire as a good option. The software comes at a starting price of $199/month.  It has an easy-to-use interface, unlimited job ads, expert support, support for automation, etc.  There are other premium tools that render the top applicant tracking software benefits, which include Beetween, ApplicantStack, ResuWe, Zoniac Swift, etc.

• Free and Open Source Applicant Tracking Software: Applicant tracking software solutions are versatile in its features list, but recruiting agencies looking to further enhance its performance can tap on the best free and open source applicant tracking software. A major advantage of these versions is that the software can be modified as per the users’  requirements. The free and open source applicant tracking software solutions pose to be the good options for startups and small businesses.

GoodFirms is a noted review and rating site for IT solutions.  It has been listing software solutions from various industries. The GoodFirms’ team follows an unbiased review and rating process to help the customer in buying the best software product for their company.  The customers can shortlist software on various parameters like features, price, services, deployment options, reviews, etc.

Technology has a deep impact on all the sectors, including the recruitment sector. Recruiting and talent acquisition sectors that are inefficient due to the traditional approaches should opt for a  smart technology like applicant tracking software. The applicant tracking software has been helping recruiters to reduce their hiring costs and increase efficient hiring process. Most popular applicant tracking systems offer features like intelligent resume search, auto-screening, job management, hot leads, mass mailing, etc., and assist recruiters in delivering better service and cover the maximum job market.  Recruiters who wish to deliver better candidate experience and get a strong foothold in the job market should not miss the list of best applicant tracking software specially created by GoodFirms.