An applicant tracking system (ATS) 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 company. An ATS is very similar to customer relationship management systems, but are designed for recruitment tracking purposes.
Nearly all major corporations use some form of applicant tracking system to handle job applications and to manage resume data. A dedicated ATS is not uncommon for recruitment specific needs. On the enterprise level it may be offered as a module or functional addition to a human resources suite or Human Resource Information System (HRIS). The ATS is expanding into small and medium enterprises through open source or software as a service offerings (SaaS).
The principal function of an ATS is to provide a central location and database for a company's recruitment efforts. ATSs 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 ATSs allow applicants to be sourced from the company's own database of past job applicants.
Functionality of an ATS is not limited to data mining and collection, ATS applications in the recruitment industry include the ability automate the recruitment process via a defined workflow.
Another benefit of an applicant tracking system is analyzing and coordinating recruitment efforts - managing the conceptual structure known as human capital. A corporate career site or company specific job board module may be offered, allowing companies to provide opportunities to internal candidates prior to external recruitment efforts. Candidates may be identified via pre-existing data or through information garnered through other means. This data is typically stored for search and retrieval processes. Some systems have expanded offerings that include off-site encrypted resume and data storage, which are often legally required by equal opportunity employment laws.
Applicant tracking systems may also be referred to as talent management systems (TMS) and are often provided via an application service provider or software as a service (SaaS) model. The level of service and cost can vary greatly across providers. In the UK and Ireland, Applicant Tracking Systems which are specifically for Agency Recruiters are often referred to as Recruitment Software and this is a term used mainly in the recruitment agency industry (representative bodies include the REC in the UK and the NRF in Ireland). Although proprietary systems dominate the ATS space, there are open-source alternatives. This table lists the available free and open-source ATS.
As the data held within recruitment software is predominantly personal data it is often tightly controlled by data protection legislation, preventing the data from being held offshore, which frequently places a legal restriction on the use of SaaS offerings.
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