When you have a good flow of applications pouring in, it’s time to AUTOMATE by using the best recruiting systems. This article shows you how.

If you are a founder in control of job postings, the following information is essential. If not, then ask your hiring managers or HR teams to read it.

The entire hiring process so far…

So far, the hiring process has been as follows:

• You have determined you have open positions in your company
• You have determined how to write the characteristics of a good employee
• You have then written a good job posting
• You have successfully posted it to recruitment sites / various job boards, and will have caught the attention of job seekers

This article is the fourth step in our seven-step system to hiring applicants that turn into A-Players.

Hiring a team of A-Players is your surefire way of unplugging from daily micromanaging in your company.

The result is more free time and a better work-life balance.

And who wouldn’t want that?

Why an ATS is one of the best recruiting systems

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is candidate management software that uses automated intelligence and algorithms to collect, process, and store applications.

For this reason, an ATS is one of the most powerful recruiting tools out there.

Think of it this way – if you have written a good job posting and successfully posted it to some good job boards, you will have tons of qualified candidates applying for your job.

An ATS is a recruiting solution that will allow your hiring team to track and manage these applicants with ease, particularly if you have thousands of applications.

The upshot of using an ATS is that your hiring teams don’t get overwhelmed, as they can easily sift potential A-Players from the possible time wasters.

This will save your hiring managers / hiring team a lot of time and will save you money.

Interestingly, Applicant Tracking System software is used by a reported 99% of Fortune 500 companies, but currently only around 35% of small businesses choose recruiting software for their recruiting efforts.

Which ATS software makes for a good applicant hiring system?

You can find both basic and advanced Applicant Tracking Systems.

The most advanced systems allow you to establish an automatic rejection process to weed out certain candidates during the recruiting process. Think of it like the gatekeeper to your application process!

More basic systems may not have this function, but they will still make it easier to process, store, filter, and search for candidates.

Depending on your budget and volume of applicants, here are three ATS options that can help you manage your candidate pipeline:

Basic ATS

Not sure where to begin with Applicant Tracking System software? Start with Google Forms, which is free, basic, and will do the job for many small businesses.

It allows you to create a simple applicant tracking system with a no-nonsense landing page and collect data from candidates using either drop-down menus or open answers.

The data is stored and can then be exported for your analysis.

Intermediate ATS

For something more advanced, you can try project management platforms like ClickUp or Airtable.

Note that these are not dedicated recruiting software solutions. Instead, they are free productivity tools (although they do have premium plans, should you wish to go more advanced).

In them, you can set up an application form, filter candidates, and move them through the application process in stages for easy candidate tracking. Plus, you can use the platforms as a communication tool.

Advanced ATS

For top results, try dedicated ATS platforms including Taleo, Workday, Zoho Recruit, and Greenhouse. These platforms are used by both SMBs and enterprises.

They will help optimize your hiring and onboarding processes with a complete suite of software and tons of automation.

For example, they will have features such as resume parsing, which allow you to extract data – including work history, educational background, and so on – from resumes.

Using an advanced ATS will be overkill for many small businesses and they do come with a considerable price tag. Some will have a free trial, but you will have to fork out at some point to get the most from this applicant tracking software.

However, it’s a great call if you want your HR teams to be able to enjoy blissful automation and make the best hires.

How much does a good ATS cost?

The answer: it completely depends on the software you choose and how you use it!

For example, there are many pricing models to consider, including:

• Pay per recruiter
• Pay per employee
• Pay per job vacancy
• One-time fee

Don’t forget that you will also have to factor in addition costs for implementation, training, and support for the ATS.

Some recruitment software providers can be transparent with their pricing, while others can be very secretive – only offering you a quote upon request. The short of it is there is no one right answer.

However, the reported average cost of an ATS is around $200 per month, although you can expect to pay considerably more for some systems.

Keep in mind that if you are signing up to a year-long or multi-year contract, then you can usually negotiate with the best recruitment software companies.

Do you NEED recruitment software?

Ultimately, the choice is yours.

Most recruitment software such as an ATS is very beneficial, regardless of the size of your organization.

However, as we have established, the best recruiting software is not free (aside from the occasional free trial).

You therefore have to determine whether or not your recruiting teams can do their job without it.

The truth is that many recruiting software for small businesses – while useful – can often be more cost than they are worth.

If you are worried that is the case, then you can take advantage of the free recruiting software solutions out there, such as ClickUp and Airtable, as outlined above.

Want more advice on the best recruiting systems and best HR recruiting software?

We know… this kind of stuff can be confusing for both new entrepreneurs as well as experienced hiring managers.

If you want to learn how to implement these systems in your company and hire more A-Players, then please reach out to me directly at success@wholefounder.com. 

What is the next step?

In our seven-step system, we are looking at the entire recruitment process in detail. This article was Step #4 in the process.

Next, we will move onto Step #5 in our system for hiring A-Players for your company, where we look at streamlining candidate outreach before you begin to schedule interviews.