Photo credit: Brooks Elliott

Hiring new employees can be a complicated process. From writing job descriptions and determining salary range to holding interviews and extending an offer, there’s a lot to think about. Thanks to social media and cloud-based computing, the recruitment aspect of bringing on new employees has been simplified. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) allow HR departments to be more organized and automated from beginning to end by providing a central location and database for a company’s recruitment efforts.

An ATS is similar to a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System, but is designed for recruitment purposes. It makes finding, keeping track of, and managing applicants easy and ensures that positions are filled as quickly and efficiently as possible. It can be implemented on an Enterprise or small business level and enables the electronic handling of a company’s recruitment tracking process. Almost all major corporations use an ATS and the use of these systems is expanding into small and medium sized businesses through Software as a Service (Saas).

In a recent interview with Kyle Lagunas, HR Analyst at Software Advice, Mark Dresser was asked what trends he sees as having the largest impact on the ATS market. Dresser commented:

With the recession and the tight financial market of the past few years, I think companies have realized that they needed to start doing more with less. What they used to do with 10 people, now they’re trying to do with 7 or 8 – and they need to attract and retain the best quality people. These companies need a system that can automate the process – that helps them find ways to attract the best candidates. Where once it was only large companies using these systems, we’re now seeing more of the smaller companies tapping into ATS in order to improve their hiring processes and stay competitive.

Read the entire interview with Mark Dresser of Dresser & Associates, Jason Barnett of EON Applications, and Susan Vitale of iCIMS.