Over the past two years, remote working has become a norm across many industries. Most candidates now consider remote work to be a given, not a privilege. At the same time, recruiting has also begun adapting to a remote format; but if recruiters are not equipped to handle a completely (or at least mostly) remote hiring process, they may not be able to deliver on a sound talent acquisition strategy.
With the right tools, however, recruiters can strengthen remote hiring efforts and simplify the process for better results. Applicant tracking systems are one such tool for streamlining modern recruitment.
Read on to discover more about utilizing applicant tracking systems in a remote recruiting context.
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Reinforce Employer Brand Image
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) helps businesses codify and reinforce their employer brand. More than that, it allows businesses to achieve greater accuracy and cohesion. For example, an ATS is a great way for employers to create and share job descriptions, value propositions, and benefits plans. This offers a better candidate experience, encouraging cohesion across all recruiting touchpoints.
This is a critical step in ensuring a satisfactory candidate experience. Better hiring and onboarding practices offer an early boost to employee motivation. Once hired, this is a solid foundation upon which to build lasting loyalty and dedication to an organization. No employer should underestimate the importance of employee motivation.
Prioritize Mobile Users as Applicants
Thanks to apps and the convenience of modern technology, most job seekers search for open roles and employers using their mobile devices. These are features an employer can leverage for greater hiring success. An ATS allows businesses to create mobile-friendly applications with which candidates can interface privately and conveniently, on their own time.
With mobile phones being the predominant communication device today, recruiters will have an easier time reviewing incoming applications while applicants will no doubt have an easier time filling them out.
Emphasize Inclusion and Diversity
Inclusivity and diversity should not be the only impetus for diversity representation. Employers need to make every effort to make employees of every demographic class feel welcome, empowered, and included. In a remote hiring (and working) environment, this need for inclusivity increases substantially.
It can also become more challenging to ensure, particularly compared to conventional, in-person hiring. ATS tools can help with this, from posting open roles in different languages to removing outdated gender language from job descriptions.
Coordinate Remote Interviews
A huge challenge with remote recruiting models is coordinating interviews, especially those in the initial screening phase. With high-volume applications, the complexity of interviews can increase exponentially, and when hiring globally, different time zones prove to be an additional challenge.
However, ATS can handle such challenges with ease. Mortgage recruiters, for example, can schedule and complete more interviews in the same period of time than they normally would be able to. This translates to faster hiring times and reduced hiring costs.
Automate Candidate Pipelines
An important advantage that ATS offer is the ability to create an automated candidate pipeline. These systems were initially developed as candidate databases, and a good ATS still has many of those features, allowing for better candidate management.
An ATS can capture, retain, sort, and organize applicant data for later use. ATS databases are a valuable repository of information, growing with each new applicant.
With this in mind, recruiters don’t have to start the entire process from scratch when working to fill a new role. Rather, they can comb the database for candidates that are a close match to the role’s requirements. With modern ATS software, recruiters can even send automated messages to candidates in a pipeline and so get a head start on filling the role.
Communicate Effectively with Candidates
An ATS can help recruiters establish personal connections with candidates early on. It offers recruiters an integrated channel to create text message templates that can be personalized to each candidate. These texts can be sent en masse, addressed by name to the recipient, and can be vetted beforehand for conformity with a business’s value proposition and employer brand.
