Cost & Features: Develop A Scalable And Customizable Applicant Tracking Software

How much do you consider the usefulness of an applicant tracking system? Are they really helpful in recruitment? 99% of Fortune 500 companies as well as growing small and mid-sized companies filter resumes using applicant tracking software (ATS).

In this article, we will learn how ATS recruitment software helps companies in streamlining their end-to-end hiring process, right from requisition to offer. Additionally, you will learn that using an ATS can tremendously reduce the time to offer by at least 39%, reduce your cost per hire, and gain actionable reports and analytics.

The widely used tool by the recruiting team, an ATS, is a true example of product engineering services that can track applicants through the entire recruiting process – beginning from a resume (interviewing) to a cover letter (hiring) sent.

Processing hundreds and thousands of resumes for a given opening at a time is arduous, applicant tracking system helps by keeping these resumes in one place for the recruiters and hiring managers. ATS is usually an EEOC complaint that helps professionals to narrow down the application pool. The system automatically surfaces the top candidates, saving a lot of time for shortlisting while staying organized.

How do Application Tracking Systems Work?

Applicant tracking system gathers and stores all resumes in a database that professionals can access. The ATS offers both manual as well as automatic comparisons of the resumes concerning the job description. ATS allows the recruiter to focus squarely on candidates instead of spending time reviewing every application.

ATS filters the resumes through key skills and titles. For instance, a company using an ATS and hiring for an ‘Administrative Assistant’ position has gathered 400 resumes. The resumes are distinguished, and the candidates are listed based on the exact job description match.

Since the software works on keyword match algorithms, candidates who are looking to grab the opportunity first will have to predict the correct resume keywords. Brands such as Amazon, General Mills, Comcast & more continue to use the old, outdated, and unintelligent parsing algorithms. This sometimes leads to the slip of an efficient and qualifying candidate as well.

However, modern ATS is designed in a better way to analyze and create a list of efficient candidates. Yet, the candidates must optimize their resumes by keeping headings simple, use consistent formatting, avoiding use of tables, and use .docx or .pdf file format.

So, if you are looking for an applicant tracking system development, it is important to evaluate a few points that are mentioned below.

  • Are you unable to reach your hiring goals?
  • You cannot find quality candidates.
  • The references from the employee’s side are limited.
  • Candidates face poor experiences with the application process hence abandon them.
  • Lack of sincerity and improper information found in interviewers.
  • Time-consuming administrative & strategic tasks.
  • Less visibility to hiring managers about talents.
  • Slow hiring process leading to candidates dropping out.
  • Poor reporting capabilities and lack of process optimization.

If these are the pain points that you have been experiencing lately, a modern application tracking system can help. In order to get an ATS developed, make sure you have partnered with an appropriate product engineering services provider.

Features to Incorporate in an ATS

Companies can always customize their applicant tracking system. But, a few basic features that any ATS must-have are mentioned below.

A business interview

Candidate Sourcing Capabilities

Companies do not rely on inbound applications recommendations from careers’ sites every time. They need to work on developing modern sourcing strategies, which include LinkedIn postings, passive candidate sourcing, and referrals. Integrating a modern ATS must ease up candidate’s sourcing, through –

  • LinkedIn Integration.
  • Google Chrome extension.
  • Easy referral access for all employees.
  • Recruitment marketing automation (or integrating CRM solutions).
  • Intelligent candidate recommendations.

CRM Integration

Earlier applicant management software used to dispose of the candidate information when the requisition was closed. The recruiting team had to use spreadsheets to track the candidate’s details, which was an add-on task. With the integration of CRM solutions, companies no longer have to rework on candidates’ information. Modern ATS could easily store & sync data with CRM to deliver an organized, searchable database for quick and easy access to past and present candidates. Key benefits of integrating CRM are –

  • Visibility of all candidates’ history on one centralized profile.
  • Profile check for duplicacy.
  • Source of the candidates.
  • Track passive or sourced candidates.
  • Comprehensive information of past silver-medalists.

Candidate Engagement

The hiring process is considered efficient when more and more candidates are engaged and satisfied including successful onboarding of quality employees. A modern ATS encourages positive candidate experience by offering –

  • The quick application process.
  • Better organization of hiring teams.
  • Intuitive careers page.
  • Support for careers page design.
  • Self-scheduling process.
  • Candidate communication tracking.
  • Easy internal notes location.

Detailed and Customized Reporting

Large organizations as well as scaling companies exercise deep analysis and reporting on a weekly and monthly basis. Even in a human resource department, to offer better candidates’ experience and hire the right people for the open seats, reporting is the key to making informed decisions. A modern ATS highlights actionable areas of improvement for the recruiting team and hiring process of the company. Key reporting features a modern ATS offers are –

  • Full customization options.
  • Automated distribution of reports.
  • Visual dashboard (can be integrated with Tableau).
  • Predictive analytics.
  • Both requisition and candidate life-cycle report.

Designed for Company

The ATS must fulfill the company’s needs and goals, which is hiring quality candidates while streamlining the hiring process. Additionally, a modern and customized ATS must improve and simplify the communications between stakeholders, recruiters, and a hiring manager while engaging every employee. For effective communication, an ATS must include –

  • Google chrome extension (for referrals).
  • Integration with email providers ( be it Slack or other platforms).
  • Custom feedback forms.
  • Referral access to all.
  • Security & compliance to keep candidate’s data safe.

Welcoming a candidate to a job interview

Some common functionalities are recommended to make an applicant tracking software optimum.

  • Nurturing Tools to engage passive talent with personalized & automated email campaigns.
  • Interview Kits for interviewers to prepare themselves for the interview (with custom instructions, questions, and scorecards).
  • Diverse Hiring Support with passive candidate sourcing tools.
  • Talent Reporting Time to hire by role & function.
  • Customizable career sites options.
  • LinkedIn Recruiter Integration Connects for streamline sourcing.
  • Bookshelf Scheduling Links for candidates to book their interviews.

Cost for Applicant Tracking System Development

Depending on different requirements, the pricing models have been explained below.

Pay per recruiter

This is one of the common pricing models, where the organization pays a fee each month based on the number of employees using the system. The price range may vary from $60 to $100 per user, per month.

Pay per employee

Based on the size of the organization and the number of employees, the price for using ATS is measured. Regardless of users using the system, the charges will be depending on the number of employees in the company. The price range for this model may range from $4 to $7 per month, per employee.

Pay per job opening

This type of pricing model is based on the number of applicants or resumes a company has in its system during job openings. This type of pricing model ranges from $5 to $19 per job opening and $0.01 to $0.20 per resume per month.

Flat Fee

Some companies purchase a white-labeled solution, which is called a flat fee. The price range for this one may typically begin from $200.

Free and OpenSource

There are many open-source ATS platforms that demand no amount of money for using it. But there are some drawbacks, such as no tech support when there is troubleshooting in the system. However, you may have access to only limited features, and to use advanced features, you may have to pay some fees.

Additional Costs

Companies opting for a patent software solution have to pay a one-time development fee and use it for a lifetime. However, costs, such as maintenance of software, are attached with both white-labeled and a developed product. Other than purchasing a white-labeled solution, development & maintenance costs, there are other factors, such as –

Customization – Companies looking for additional features, such as onboarding or background checks, may have to pay additional costs.

Implementation – Implementation of application tracking systems varies from vendor to vendor. Additionally, the integration to other software (HRMS), installation, software customization, data migration, and much more may have separate costs.

Training – For training, you may have to pay an additional cost. However, there are a few vendors who offer training for free.

Support – This is also a part of development when a company is looking for a robust ATS development from an enterprise software development company. However, support cost is inclusive of the development price but, for advanced support, such as priority support or access to a dedicated customer service manager, you may have to pay some additional cost.

Key Takeaways!

  • 75% of large companies use ATS to review companies.
  • 70% of the resumes are not seen by employers.
  • Rare keywords are the secret weapons in beating the ATS.
  • The page or content length does not matter in ATS.
  • Acronyms are the key to get a resume pulled and ranked.
  • ATS saves tons of money and time for the company.

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