Does your school or MAT’s recruitment process feel clunky? Does it take your HR team hours, if not days, to rifle through applications? Do you feel like you spend too much time chasing candidates for information?
If you can answer ‘yes’ to one or all of these statements, then your recruitment process needs a makeover.
Read on to find out how an applicant tracking system (ATS) makes the school recruitment process smoother for staff, and more attractive to applicants. We cover:
- What an ATS is
- How Every HR By IRIS’s ATS works and transforms recruitment
- Why an applicant tracking system is useful for your HR team
Let’s get started!
What is an applicant tracking system?
An applicant tracking system is a clever piece of software that supports your organisation’s recruitment process. It highlights aspects of applications your school or MAT receives to help you find applicants with the necessary experience and skills for the role you’re advertising.
By marrying data within applications to the post and role you’ve created, ATSs also reduce your recruitment team’s workload. For instance, it makes you aware if an applicant hasn’t uploaded documents needed to complete mandatory checks (such as their ID) rather than the recruiting manager having to carry out a manual check for every single applicant. And, thanks to all this recruitment data and tasks being centralised in one system, you’ve got continuity if a staff member is off sick or leaves.
How does an applicant tracking system work?
Applicant tracking systems can be customised to suit the unique hiring needs of your organisation, as well as meet the standard requirements. For example, if you’re needing to hire a teacher, the ATS will only provide you with applications that fulfil all mandatory requirements (like right to work in the UK), plus any additional ones you’ve set. That could be a particular qualification or number of years of experience. From the perspective of the applicant, they won’t be able to submit their application until they’ve fully completed it.
Does Every HR have an applicant tracking system?
Our school HR software, Every HR, has an ATS that meets the recruitment needs of the education sector. In the case of applications that are incomplete or missing mandatory checks (like a DBS), you can use the in-system messaging tool to communicate with applicants.
Whether that’s nudging them to complete the entire application or answering a question they have about the process, you’re empowered to make sure the maximum number of quality applicants can move forward and be considered for the role.
Why is an ATS useful for recruitment teams?
The more tasks your HR or recruitment team can automate, the more time they have for other areas of the process. For instance, role templates can be built once, then duplicated and customised every time you have a vacancy. You’re also reducing the chance of them being flooded by irrelevant, incomplete, or low-quality applications, which eat into administration time.
With Every HR’s ATS, all completed applications for a role are stored in one place. It’s simple for your recruitment team to view and compare applications, thanks to all application answers from all candidates being presented in a central area. Think:
- Pre-screening questions
- Personal details
- ED&I information
- Experience & qualifications
- Role-specific questions
From here, you can shortlist applicants who meet your person specification and move them onto the next stage of the recruitment process. We’ve also made sure you can reduce the risk of subconscious bias when shortlisting, with our applicant anonymisation tool.
Achieving end-to-end recruitment with an ATS
And it doesn’t stop there! The applicant tracking system is with you for every step of the education recruitment cycle, so you know exactly where each role and applicant are up to in the process. From interviews and job offers to the administration of onboarding a new starter, the ATS holds all the information you need to ensure recruitment is as smooth as possible, every time.
What’s more, Every HR removes the need to repopulate a candidate’s details into the HR system if they’ve been hired. We’ve automated the population of personal information (such as address, next of kin, and bank details) into their self-service employee portal, so you don’t have to spend time copying data from one system to another. You can also send out supporting documents and onboarding packs to successful candidates in a few clicks, so they’re ready to hit the ground running from the first day of employment.
How to get started with an ATS
Application tracking systems greatly reduce the workload and stress of your recruitment/HR team. They help you keep the hiring process on track, promoting a talent pool of only the highest quality applicants for you to choose from.
To see our ATS in action and understand the difference it could make to your school’s recruitment process, get in touch with the Every HR team.
