The New Age of Applicant Tracking Systems

My 19-year old son was recently applying online for a department store position. In discussing the outcome of his pursuit for a coveted job, I found it interesting that he applied at only two of the four companies he was targeting. When asked why, he said two of the employers had outdated steps that made the process too long and too much of a hassle. 

Wow! A 19-year-old eager to find a job forewent two opportunities because they were not worth his time to print, sign, scan, and email an application. That was eye-opening to me, and it made me wonder if other companies are losing good candidates because they are performing 2005 practices to perform 2015 HR duties.

So, I started my own un-scientific study, asking job seekers I know if they, too, gravitated towards the easiest application processes. The answer was nearly always “yes” — even for higher-paying jobs. (Admittedly, a wave of relief came over me: I know my organization’s applicant tracking software comes with an online application that auto-populates most of the fields based on data extracted from the resume, making the application process for candidates easier.)

Further curious to know if my organization’s clients were aligned with my views, I investigated the integration activity in the client base and found a big trend among the clients. Many have either moved to or are moving to online document signing to streamline sales, simplify onboarding, support compliance, provide great candidate experience, and enhance their employer brand. 

Online document signing is a great idea for a few reasons:  

1. It is more secure. Online document signing reduces the number of people with access to a candidate’s private information. Printed copies are easy to lose or accidentally destroy, and they run the risk of being stolen. Think paper is safer and easier to control than electronic media? Think again: many companies who receive fines for not properly storing sensitive data, such as I-9 forms, are faulted for improperly storing paper documents.

2. Online documents are easier to track. If you send multiple documents to multiple people to sign, follow-up becomes a real task. A good ATS will have reports, alerts, and notices that allow employers to build signing needs into their sales, recruiting, and onboarding processes through automated tasks.

3. Employers want offer letters to be signed in a timely manner. A well-designed system will not let the end-user sign after the offer letter expires.  

4. It creates a better experience for the user. Most signing services now allow the end-user to sign from a phone or tablet using his/her finger, or just by typing a signature.

Many ATSs will offer a standard integration with a document signing company as a starting point, but it’s recommended to work with more than one online signing service, which gives you choices. 

So, as you’re shopping for an ATS or any HR software that will require integration with other software suppliers, ensure the ATS provider does not get a finder’s fee or revenue share based on the software integration. It’s important to know that your providers only integrate with companies that have the clients’ best interests in mind. 

Regardless of which applicant tracking system you use, online document signing is a great investment and one that will more than pay for itself in many ways!