What is an ATS for the Staffing and Recruiting Business?
What is an ATS?
An ATS or Applicant Tracking System is a software application that enables the electronic handling of recruitment needs. An ATS can be implemented on an enterprise or small business level, depending on the needs of the specific Staffing and Recruiting Firm. An ATS is very similar to CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, but are designed specifically recruitment tracking purposes.
Most major corporations use some form of Applicant Tracking System to handle job applications and to manage their resume database. A dedicated ATS is not uncommon for recruitment specific needs. On the enterprise level, if may be offered as a module or functional addition to a HRIS – Human Resource Information System.
The principal function of an ATS is to provide a central location and database for a company’s recruitment efforts. ATS’s are built to better assist management of resumes and applicant information. Data is either collected from internal applications via the ATS front-end, located on the company website or is extracted from applicants on job boards. The majority of job and resume boards (Monster, Hotjobs, Career Builder) have partnerships with ATS software providers to provide parsing support and ease of data migration from one system to another. Modern ATS’s allow applicants to be sourced from the company’s own database of past job applicants.
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