Industry Research: The State of Applicant Tracking Systems 2019

How are ATS platforms adding value to organizations today, and what separates top talent acquisition organizations from the rest?

      

The unemployment rate as of September 2019 stood at 3.7%, a mark that some economists deem “full employment.” This period brings new pressures on organizations looking to grow and expand. Job openings are at historically high levels. And, the average corporate job posting yields hundreds of applicants, many of whom are simply not qualified for the jobs to which they apply. 

The bottom line is that qualified candidates are hard to find. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) have become more important tools than ever as recruiting teams look for qualified candidates among the flood of applicants.

But are recruiting teams seeing their technology tools yield better talent acquisition (TA) results? To learn more about the state of ATS in terms of adoption, effectiveness and possible futures trends, HR.com’s HR Research Institute surveyed the human resources (HR) community during the summer of 2019. 

Below are the key findings:

A substantial majority of HR professionals (77%) say their organizations use an ATS. Forty-five percent use stand-alone solutions, and 32% use a solution that is part of a larger integrated system such as a human resource information system (HRIS). Nearly three-in-four of those without an ATS are either planning or thinking about acquiring one.

Only about half (52%) of HR professionals say that talent acquisition in their organizations is good or excellent. But those organizations that say they’re good at talent acquisition (i.e., high-performing TA organizations) use an ATS at a higher than average rate: 90%. In contrast, only 61% of those with lower-performing TA functions use an ATS. 

A majority of HR professionals describe their ATS as being good at tracking the progress of candidates through the process and at customizing the process based on the needs of specific jobs. Most respondents also say their ATS is good at routing offers and postings to executives for approval. 

Just 30% of HR practitioners say their ATS is good or fair at automatically matching candidates to the right job postings and then alerting the recruiter. Moreover, only 33% are good or fair at offering candidates a personalized experience. Most do not view their ATS as being good at integrating with other systems. They integrate best with HRIS but are poor at integrating with workforce planning, video interviewing and advanced sourcing tools.

Nearly a third of HR professionals agree that their ATS is good at locating internal talent (32%) or helping reach candidates who are passively looking for jobs (30%). Almost half (47%) say their ATS offers no way of gauging job candidate experiences. Among those with systems that can gauge such experience, 58% describe that experience as good or excellent.

To learn much more about The State of Applicant Tracking Systems 2019 and to gain 8 key strategic takeaways from this exclusive HR.com industry research, feel free to download the complete report here: