--- title: Why All Businesses Can Benefit from Applicant Tracking Systems description: The majority of businesses use an applicant tracking system (ATS) for their hiring and recruiting needs. Here's why. --- [HiringThing Blog](https://blog.hiringthing.com) # [Why All Businesses Can Benefit from Applicant Tracking Systems](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use) Written by [Pat Brothwell](https://blog.hiringthing.com/author/pat-brothwell) | January 25, 2022 ## Most Professional Organizations are Using Applicant Tracking Systems for their Recruiting The majority of businesses—75% of recruiters and hiring professionals and 98.5% of Fortune 500 companies—use an [applicant tracking system](https://www.capterra.com/recruiting-software/impact-of-recruiting-software-on-businesses) (ATS) for their hiring and recruiting needs. Now, we realize “just because everyone is doing it” is one of the weakest arguments in the book. Still, in this case, most businesses are using applicant tracking systems because they automate and streamline the hiring process, help businesses find more qualified [job candidates](https://blog.hiringthing.com/what-do-job-candidates-want), and make a universal business challenge (hiring and recruiting) easier. However, if for some reason [you’re a naysayer](https://www.hiringthing.com/applicant-tracking-systems-arent-excluding-qualified-candidates) or are just unfamiliar with the benefits an ATS can bring an organization, here are ten reasons applicant tracking system acquisition should be a business priority. If you're in charge of hiring for your business, feel free to sign up for a free trial of HiringThing's applicant tracking system. ## Ten Reasons All Businesses Can Benefit From an Applicant Tracking System 1. [Hiring is a Universal Business Need](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Universal-Business-Need) 2. [Remain Competitive](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Remain-Competitive) 3. [Grow Your Business](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Grow-Your-Business) 4. [Shorter Time-to-Hire](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Shorter-Time-to-Hire) 5. [Save Money](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Save-Money) 6. [Better Quality Hires](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Better-Quality-Hires) 7. [Improve Candidate Experience](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Improve-Candidate-Experience) 8. [Increase Applicant Traffic](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Increase-Applicant-Traffic) 9. [Remove Bias and Increase Diversity](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Remove-Bias) 10. [Reclaim Employee Time](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Reclaim-Time) [\*Downloadable List](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Downloadable-List) [\*What Can an ATS Do for Your Business?](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#What-an-ATS-Can-Do) [\*\*Related Resources](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Related-Resources) ### Hiring is a Universal Business Need No matter the industry, size, or demographic, every business must have a hiring or recruiting strategy. Hiring has been the biggest business challenge over the past few years. Applicant tracking systems ensure recruiting and hiring aren’t an afterthought but a streamlined, efficient, strategic business priority. [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Remain Competitive If your ATS is improving the candidate experience, increasing applicant traffic, saving time and money, and getting better quality hires, then it’s not only helping businesses be competitive recruiters, it’s helping them become more competitive in their respective industries. [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Grow Your Business Applicant tracking systems help a business grow by finding team members who come up with great ideas, execute company visions, and ultimately increase an organization’s revenue and reach. However, an ATS can help businesses grow in other ways. #### Private Label Applicant Tracking Systems Can Take Your Business to the Next Level Private-label software is purchased by a company from a SaaS provider and customized with robust, user-friendly solutions. In the case of applicant tracking systems, this could include tailored workflows and single-sign-on capabilities. Businesses ranging from franchises to HR Solutions to [vertical SaaS](https://blog.hiringthing.com/vertical-software-trends) companies are private labeling applicant tracking systems and using them to expand their teams, remain competitive, extend their market share, and grow their revenue and businesses by offering a branded solution to meet their customers’ needs. You may have also heard private labeling called “white labeling.” Though many use private labeling and white labeling interchangeably, a [white label applicant tracking system](https://blog.hiringthing.com/private-label-applicant-tracking-system) is purchased from [SaaS provider](https://blog.hiringthing.com/vertical-software-trends) and rebranded, while a [private label applicant tracking system](https://blog.hiringthing.com/private-label-applicant-tracking-system) goes one step further with the aforementioned customizations. Click below if you want to learn more about private labeling your own applicant tracking system.  [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Shorter Time-to-Hire Companies that successfully utilize an ATS can save up to 20% of their time on the hiring process, and [86% of ATS users](https://www.getapp.com/hr-employee-management-software/applicant-tracking/#guide) say the software helped them hire faster. [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Save Money An ATS can speed up [time-to-hire](https://blog.hiringthing.com/fill-job-faster-with-ai), and if you’re hiring faster, you’re saving money. Every day a job post sits open, companies lose money. SHRM reports that it takes an average of 42 and costs $4,129 to fill an open position—estimates say it [costs $454 every week](https://gtrjobs.com/true-cost-open-position/) a job sits vacant (that’s $1800 a month). [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Better Quality Hires Toxic hires can have a huge impact on an organization—a [Harvard Business Review study](https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/16-057_d45c0b4f-fa19-49de-8f1b-4b12fe054fea.pdf) found a toxic hire can reduce productivity by 80%.  78% of [ATS users](https://blog.hiringthing.com/2024-applicant-tracking-system-stats) told software review platform GetApp that ATS use improved the [quality of their hires](https://www.getapp.com/hr-employee-management-software/applicant-tracking/#guide). That’s huge. Improving the quality of new hires helps boost retention and avoid toxic hires, saving companies money. [The 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics report](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf) says that the annual [turnover rate](https://blog.hiringthing.com/employee-retention-statistics) for 2020 was 57.3%—turnover costs US businesses *trillions* of dollars every year, and [according to the World Economic Forum](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/12/how-much-are-toxic-workers-costing-your-company/), a company can save $12,489 by avoiding a toxic hire. [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Improve Candidate Experience In today’s competitive hiring environment, [candidate experience](https://blog.hiringthing.com/revolutionizing-candidate-experience) is more important than ever. [According to CareerBuilder](https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/technology/pages/study-most-job-seekers-abandon-online-job-applications.aspx), 60% of job seekers quit in the middle of filling out online job applications because of length or complexity. That’s a bad “customer” experience. An ATS can streamline the application process to be quick, efficient, and candidate-friendly.  Additionally, a competitive ATS can offer options that appeal to [today’s job seekers](https://www.hiringthing.com/what-do-job-candidates-want), from QR codes that cater to mobile-phone job seekers, custom application forms that cut down on unnecessary questions, the ability to post to social media, and other features that leave end-users delighted with their job application experience, whether they get the position or not.  Lack of transparency and communication are two significant gripes of today’s job seekers. An ATS can solve transparency and communication issues by automating communications for every stage of the hiring process and lets employers craft encouraging, professional messaging to candidates, even when it’s bad news (they aren’t moving forward).  If candidates do move forward, [HiringThing’s Schedule Sync™](https://support.hiringthing.com/support/solutions/articles/3000106093-scheduling-an-interview-let-your-candidate-choose-the-time) takes the back and forth out of scheduling, allowing candidates to access the interviewer’s calendars in real-time to select an available time that works best for them. [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Increase Applicant Traffic The goal of any recruiting strategy is to increase applicant traffic. Increased applicant traffic means companies have more high-quality candidates to choose from and a more robust pipeline to find and nurture talent. Applicant tracking systems can increase applicant traffic by: [78% of companies](https://financesonline.com/hiring-statistics/) using an ATS say it makes recruiting easier. - Providing a job distribution platform to reach candidates through a robust network of integrated [job boards](https://blog.hiringthing.com/seven-step-to-selecting-the-right-job-board), social posting capabilities, and the tools to build a referral program. - Widening their talent pool and pipeline. - Ensuring vacancies get filled without wasting unnecessary time and money. - An ATS helps companies standardize job titles and descriptions across the company to optimize for visibility across the internet. Check out [The HiringThing Guide to Increasing Your Applicant Traffic](https://blog.hiringthing.com/hiringthing-guide-increasing-applicant-traffic) for a full reimagining of your hiring strategy. [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Remove Bias and Increase Diversity An ATS streamlines the recruiting cycle with [features that find](https://www.hiringthing.com/collaborative-unbiased-candidate-selection) the best-matched talent without giving importance to gender, race, nationality, etc. Features like [scorecards](https://www.hiringthing.com/interview-scorecards-help-eliminate-hiring-bias) could further help eliminate the inherent bias we all have, which can help companies improvise the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that can help make businesses [more productive](https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion) and which today’s job seekers want. HiringThing took a step to further eliminate bias from the recruiting process by [removing profile pictures](https://www.hiringthing.com/collaborative-unbiased-candidate-selection) from our platform. You can also [read about](https://www.hiringthing.com/building-recruiting-diversity) how one of our [private label partners](https://blog.hiringthing.com/private-label-vs-white-label-ats) used their ATS to decrease [hiring bias](https://blog.hiringthing.com/scorecards-eliminate-hiring-bias).  [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ### Reclaim Employee Time Small business owners spend up to [40% of their working hours on tasks that don’t generate income](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217866), and that’s just a stat for owners. Hiring is a collaborative experience, and if an organization doesn’t have a dedicated HR department or employee, other members of your team must pick up the slack and potentially work overtime, which can negatively impact productivity (studies show that [productivity drops drastically at 50 hours of work a week](https://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/26/working-more-than-50-hours-makes-you-less-productive.html)).  An ATS streamlines and automates the recruiting process so employees can focus on meaningful tasks and leave the repeatable hiring tasks to the ATS. [Back to Top](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use?hs_amp=true#Table-of-Contents) ## What Can an ATS Do for Your Business? Now that you know why an applicant tracking system is worth the investment, here’s a closer look at the features that deliver those benefits. ### Save Time Constantly balancing a wide variety of work tasks, HR managers know the meaning of “busy.” An elegant ATS provides a variety of options and features that save time thanks to automated workflows, convenient integrations, and automated solutions. #### **Automated Workflows** Why use manual processes that waste valuable time? HiringThing provides many automation options to help streamline and optimize hiring. Save time by including key qualifiers in applications or knock-out questions that disqualify unfit candidates. From smart forms to applicant ratings to a multitude of customizable options, automation provides flexibility that hiring managers value. #### **Convenient Integrations** Without ever leaving the HiringThing HR platform, you can simplify the process with integrations to the software your business operations already rely on, such as communication tools like [Slack](https://slack.com/). #### **Automated Solutions** ##### **Job Boards**  Avoid wasting time posting positions to individual job boards and social media sites — each with different logins and requirements. Instead, effortlessly [post to multiple platforms](https://blog.hiringthing.com/applicant-tracking-system-vs-job-board) with a few clicks, allowing job hunters to easily see your jobs. ##### **Communication**  Say goodbye to endless email chains, miscommunications, and scheduling snafus. With our messaging and calendar options, communicating with candidates via SMS texts or customized email templates is simple. Integrations with popular calendar apps, like [Google](http://www.google.com/calendar) or [Outlook](https://outlook.live.com/owa/), easily coordinate and schedule interviews between candidates and multiple team members. Plus, keep key stakeholders informed by sharing information and assigning specific permission levels by user. ### Hire Better An ATS provides processes for wading through stacks of unqualified applicants and detecting the best people available. Find candidates who not only possess the needed skills and traits but are less likely to contribute to the turnover rate. #### **Organize Job Candidates**  To access new applicant sources, use innovative in-app feature options. Take advantage of applicant pooling — a unique source for local, high-quality talent. Once applications are submitted, a keyword rating system will quickly sort and rate candidates, omitting unqualified applicants. #### **Integrate Background Checks**  Don’t make decisions in the dark. Bad hires not only threaten your reputation and waste money but can also endanger staff. An integrated and FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) [compliant background check](https://blog.hiringthing.com/prioritize-references-background-checks) will help you hire with ease. #### **Give Pre-Employment Assessments** Predict job performance and fit by using a variety of tools that help managers hire the best. Whether you’re evaluating personality or cognitive ability or simply ensuring employees will stick around, our [pre-employment assessments](https://blog.hiringthing.com/pre-employment-testing-benefits) can help you make informed hiring decisions and reduce the cost of employee turnover. ### Experience Customization Why settle for an out-of-the-box solution? Instead, seek an ATS with the ability to import and store files, as well as an [API integration](https://blog.hiringthing.com/harness-power-apis-white-label-ats-integration-path-product-expansion) to provide [intuitive hiring](https://www.hiringthing.com/features/customized-hiring-software) that adapts to unique business practices and objectives. #### **Branding** Clearly communicate brand values with a custom [careers page](https://blog.hiringthing.com/why-your-company-needs-a-careers-page) that incorporates logo, color palette, and messaging. #### **Form Builder™** Customizable application forms target the specific skills and experience you seek thanks to knock-out questions, qualifiers, and the ability to add the necessary details (such as salary history or prior work experience). #### **Offer Letters** Offer letter templates utilize digital signatures, automatically save to the applicant’s profile, and can outline specific benefits and policies for each candidate. Plus, set up [hiring workflows](https://blog.hiringthing.com/empowering-hr-leaders-the-strategic-value-of-customizable-workflows-in-hr) to acquire approval from other team members before sending out letters. #### **Onboarding** Uploading [onboarding](https://www.hiringthing.com/private-label/employee-onboarding/)documents (or choosing from our standard options for forms, such as W-4 or direct deposit) is an easy way to make the experience convenient for candidates. ## Conclusion Online software marketplace Capterra found a whopping [94% of ATS](https://www.capterra.com/recruiting-software/impact-of-recruiting-software-on-businesses) users say it positively impacted their hiring. After reading this post, that shouldn’t surprise you. Hopefully, we’ve given you enough information to become an ATS advocate. However, if a decision-maker at your organization is still wary, we hope you share this list with them—hiring and recruiting shouldn’t be stressful. It should be a meaningful, enjoyable business endeavor that helps propel an organization forward, and ATS use can help that happen. ## Downloadable List Need to convince someone at your company that you need an ATS, but short on time? Feel free to download and share this succinct list of Ten Reasons All Businesses Can Benefit from an Applicant Tracking System:  ## Related Resources - [An Alternative to Building Your Own Applicant Tracking System](https://blog.hiringthing.com/an-alternative-to-building-your-own-applicant-tracking-system) - [Applicant Tracking Systems Aren't Excluding Job Applicants—People Are](https://blog.hiringthing.com/applicant-tracking-systems-arent-excluding-job-applicants-people-are) - [What is a Private Label Applicant Tracking System?](https://blog.hiringthing.com/what-is-private-label-applicant-tracking-system) - [What a Private Label Applicant Tracking System Does for End Users](https://blog.hiringthing.com/what-a-private-label-applicant-tracking-system-does-for-end-users) ### About HiringThing HiringThing is a modern recruiting and employee onboarding platform as a service that creates seamless talent experiences. Our white label solutions and open API enable HR technology and service providers to offer hiring and onboarding to their clients. Approachable and adaptable, the HiringThing HR platform empowers anyone, anywhere to build their dream team. [View full post](https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Pat Brothwell" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-21T18:33:49.903Z", "datePublished" : "2022-01-25T11:37:00Z", "headline" : "Why All Businesses Can Benefit from Applicant Tracking Systems", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 420, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/9445952/man-talking-phone-medium-shot.jpg", "width" : 760 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.hiringthing.com/all-businesses-benefit-from-ats-use", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60.0, "url" : "https://9445952.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/9445952/HiringThing_Logo_TealGreen.png", "width" : 227.58621 }, "name" : "HiringThing Blog" } } ```