Organizations have been increasingly adopting applicant tracking systems to improve their recruitment, hiring, and onboarding processes. These tools have become essential to HR teams and recruiters because they allow companies to hire people based on potential and “adjacent skills.” And, they bring efficiencies to the processes they use, streamlining them from beginning to end by automating tasks that would otherwise have to be done manually.
“The applicant tracking system, which has traditionally been an immense TA [talent acquisition] filing cabinet, is being reinvented by innovative solution providers,” writes Michael Stephan, U.S. human capital national principal at Deloitte Consulting. “These providers are augmenting the ATS with other TA technologies,” he notes.
One of those innovations that is elevating ATS software is artificial intelligence. AI is having an invaluable impact on HR, particularly talent acquisition.
AI improves the quality of hires
Perhaps one of the areas most improved by artificial intelligence capabilities is the quality of hires. AI-powered software can complement an ATS by facilitating more accurate candidate searches. How? By moving beyond simple keyword filters to more relevant search models, such as a candidate’s performance potential.
Manually sifting through hundreds or even thousands of applications while giving each resume the attention it deserves is nearly impossible without an ATS. This deeper dive into candidate data made possible by AI improves the accuracy of searches and the quality of hires.
AI saves time in the hiring process
Incorporating AI-powered software into the tech stack also significantly improves the speed with which those quality hires are found.
Even with applicant tracking systems, screening and tracking candidates is time consuming. “The average recruiter spends nearly one-quarter of his/her time screening applications — and candidates must wait and wait for their applications to be screened,” writes Jackie Wiles at Gartner.
That is not only labor-intensive and expensive but can cause organizations recruiting candidates in highly-competitive labor markets to lose talent to companies able to respond more quickly.
AI can significantly speed up that process by automating some of the more repetitive steps and tasks, creating a more seamless workflow. Using an AI-powered tool that integrates with any applicant tracking system, HR teams can search an ATS and match candidates to vacancies as soon as roles open up. This allows HR to move more quickly in securing the best talent to fill open positions.
AI provides in-depth analytics for key insights
Another key benefit of AI-powered software is that it gathers and analyzes data that gives HR teams insights on candidates which can be used to recruit the best talent. AI tools can provide those deeper insights because they pull from a wider pool of applicant data than traditional ATS software and can be programmed to analyze that data so that HR can recruit higher-quality candidates more quickly.
Those insights can also be used to improve hiring processes, which in turn create positive candidate experiences. Knowing where inefficiencies exist is key to improving talent acquisition strategies. The analytics provided by AI allows HR to pinpoint those shortcomings so organizations can plan changes to their processes.
AI enhances candidate sourcing
Finding the best candidates can be difficult if the company is looking in the wrong place. AI-powered software helps HR teams overcome this hurdle by using data to intelligently source candidates based on each person’s potential, rather than finding someone with the exact title being hired for. These tools are capable of analyzing data such as the suitability of candidates responding to specific postings and the time it takes to fill positions posted to different sources. This allows HR to determine what the best options are for sourcing high-quality candidates.
All of this points to one simple fact: AI is making its mark in human resources.
When combining the power of AI-powered software with applicant tracking systems, organizations fortify their hiring processes to ensure they are hiring the best candidates for each opening in a timely manner. By creating greater efficiencies in talent acquisition, AI helps organizations stay competitive in a tight labor market.
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