The Top Applicant Tracking System(ATS) in UK

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An applicant tracking system enables recruiters to manage candidate sourcing, evaluation, and hiring. It allows recruiters to track each aspect of the hiring process – from start to finish. 

98.2% of Fortune 500 companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS). 24% of agencies with less than ten recruiters use ATS. 

Now the question is, why do companies use ATS? And what are some of the top applicant tracking systems in the UK right now? Let’s take a look at them. 

Why Do Employers Use Applicant Tracking Systems?

Scanning through hundreds (or thousands) of resumes can be overwhelming. ATS allows employers to ask pre-screening questions to separate the candidates who don’t even meet the most basic criteria. 

With modern ATS, you can significantly accelerate the recruiting process and increase candidate satisfaction. Here are some more reasons why employers use an applicant tracking system.

• It reduces recruitment costs
• Provides a better overview of applications
• Makes it easy to post jobs on various career sites
• Improves the quality of hire
• Streamlines the recruitment process
• Automates interview scheduling

Now that you know what ATS is and why you need it let’s look at the top 13 applicant tracking system.

13 Best Applicant Tracking Systems in the UK

1. Kallidus Recruit

It is a cloud-based ATS system. Kallidus Recruit allows you to automate various recruitment processes, such as candidate engagement campaigns, talent pool management, and approval and rejection emails. It can be integrated with DBS Check for candidate background verification. 

Features

• CRM
• Approval process management
• Candidate management
• Candidate screening
• Candidate tracking
• Careers page
• Candidate self-scheduling
• Compliance tracking
• Customizable onboarding platform
• DBS Check integration
• Email and SMS integration
• Job posting
• Job requisition
• Resume storage

Pros

• Configurable and adaptable to the complex recruitment requirements
• The self-scheduling feature saves a lot of time for recruiters
• Support is readily available

Cons

• Reporting features could have been better
• The filters option automatically gets cleared as soon as you click on the back button

Pricing

You will have to contact Kallidus Recruit for pricing details. 

USP: Kallidus Recruit has a Talent Bank that allows you to source and nurture the best candidates for future vacancies, thereby saving your time and cost to hire. 

2. Pinpoint 

It is designed for companies with 100+ employees that want to reduce their dependence on recruitment agencies. Pinpoint helps you source, select, and hire the best candidates while reducing recruitment costs. It allows you to create branded career pages, email templates, and customize hiring workflows. 

Features

• Automated recruitment advertising
• Job board integrations
• Employee referrals
• Multilingual candidate experience
• Job requisition management
• Video interviewing
• Candidate communication management
• Blind recruiting
• Offer management
• Employee onboarding

Pros

• Easy to use interface
• Allows you to set up pre-screening questions to shortlist candidates quickly
• Lets you personalize onboarding experiences

Cons

• The interview scheduling feature is not robust
• Chats sometime get missed 

Pricing

Pinpoint has not provided any information regarding its pricing. You will have to contact them. 

USP: Pinpoint has a team of experts who can help you optimize your recruitment ads, improve job descriptions, and retain the best talent. 

3. JobAdder

It is designed for both in-house recruitment teams and staffing agencies. JobAdder has advanced job posting technologies so that you won’t need any third-party job posting provider. It also has a mobile app for recruiters to work on-the-go.  

Features

• Applicant tracking
• Approval process control
• Automated scheduling
• Bulk resume import
• Calendar management
• Candidate management
• Resume parsing
• Job posting
• Built-in background checks
• Social recruiting

Pros

• Allows you to communicate with candidates in batches
• Has native iOS and Android app
• Excellent customer service

Cons

• Lacks edit option to make any corrections or updates to the submission
• Doesn’t allow you to import all of your database records for free

Pricing

You will have to contact JobAdder for pricing details. 

USP: JobAdder uses AI to help you streamline the recruitment process. It can find automatic matches, show the top ten similar candidates, and fills candidate details automatically. 

4. Freshteam

It is more than just a recruiting software. Built by Freshworks, Freshteam helps you recruit, onboard, and manage employee information and HR workflows. It allows you to create an employee directory, organizational charts and handle employee time-off. 

Features

• Applicant tracking
• Recruitment CRM
• Personalized employee engagement
• Collaborative hiring
• Interview feedback
• Job posting management
• Interviewing and collection of structured feedback
• Searchable talent pool
• Organization chart
• Employee database

Pros

• Easy to use and navigate
• Sends email alerts for scheduled interviews, so you don’t forget upcoming appointments
• Free plan for small businesses

Cons

• At times, the system fails to load the CV
• Each user needs an individual email account to access the tool

Pricing

Freshteam has four pricing plans: 

• Sprout: Free
• Blossom: $50/month/50 users
• Garden: $100/month/50 users
• Estate: $200/month/50 users

USP: Freshteam is an all-in-one employee management software that helps recruit, onboard, and manage staff efficiently. It is one of the best free applicant tracking systems in the UK. 

5. BambooHR

It is designed for small and midsize businesses. BambooHR offers an HRIS (Human Resource Information System) that includes ATS, time tracking, payroll processing, and workforce data analytics. It streamlines the whole recruitment process – from applications to orientation. 

Features

• Applicant tracking system
• Basic and advanced recruiting features
• Job application management
• New hire onboarding/offboarding
• Employee directory
• Payroll management
• Employee satisfaction with NPS (Net Promoter Survey)
• Time and attendance management
• Employee compensation

Pros

• Sleek and intuitive user interface
• Helps create a simplified onboarding process
• Employee directory makes it easy for you to find staff contact details

Cons

• Reports functionality is somewhat limited
• Automation features are quite limited

Pricing

You will have to contact BambooHR for pricing details.

USP: BambooHR is a complete HRIS platform that helps you manage all the aspects of the employee lifecycle. 

6. CakeHR

It is an end-to-end recruitment software that lets you automate repetitive tasks, such as application tracking and onboarding. CakeHR offers a pipeline tool to help recruiters organize, track, and streamline the whole recruitment process. 

Features

• Friend referral
• Applicant import
• Unlimited applicants
• Unlimited pipelines
• Custom pipeline stages
• Pipeline stage triggers
• Application form builder
• Careers page
• Detailed reports
• Interview scheduling

Pros

• Shows “history of changes made” to facilitate tracking of changes made in applications
• You can generate detailed reports with a single click
• Lets you create custom scorecards so that you can make better hiring decisions

Cons

• No synchronization with Google Calendar
• Lacks a recruitment model 

Pricing

CakeHR recruitment software’s price starts at $200. For the exact pricing information, please visit CakeHR. 

USP: CakeHR automates your onboarding process by assigning predefined tasks to new employees. You can also check where each new employee is in their onboarding process. 

7. Recruitee

It is a cloud-based recruitment management and applicant tracking system. Recruitee helps reduce hiring costs, improve your workflow, and make the right hiring decisions. As your company grows, you can scale your hiring processes with Recruitee. 

Feature

• Candidate tracking
• Interview scheduling
• Background screening
• Internal HR
• Job posting 
• Careers site editor
• Resume parsing
• Workflow management
• Tailored onboarding and rollout strategy

Pros

• Provides you a bird’s eye on where each candidate is in the hiring stage
• Provides regular consultations to help you improve your recruitment process
• Enables you to source candidates from major websites with their integrated Chrome sourcing extension

Cons

• No option to send links to candidates for them to schedule an interview
• Customer support needs improvement

Pricing

Recruitee offers three pricing plans:

• Launch: Starts at $109/month
• Scale: Starts at $399/month
• Lead: You need to contact Recruitee for custom pricing

USP: Recruitee is highly-customizable, with options like API support and tailored onboarding strategy.

8. BizMerlin

It is designed for organizations of all sizes. BizMerlin offers a simple and intuitive way to evaluate applicant information. It has a candidate applicant portal to give your applicants a great experience. 

Features

• Centralized applicant tracking system
• Interview scheduling
• Onboarding
• Resume parsing
• Self-service portal
• Job posting
• Workflow management
• Document management
• Electronic signatures

Pros

• Alerts you every time there’s a notification so that you don’t miss anything
• Allows you to conduct assessments from within the tool
• Lets you customize the entire hiring process flow  

Cons

• Lacks advanced recruitment features like automation

Pricing

You need to contact BizMerlin for pricing details. 

USP: BizMerlin provides a “control” access feature to ensure people access information only relevant to them. It also allows you to hire internally based on skillset, availability, and project needs. 

9. PCRecruiter

It is a recruiting solution for various verticals, including staffing agencies, professional employer organizations, maintenance, and property management. PCRecruiter offers a comprehensive solution for applicant flow and contact management. 

Features

• Applicant tracking
• Interview scheduling
• Job posting
• Resume search and parsing
• Assessments
• Interaction tracking
• Onboarding
• Workflow management
• Job requisition

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• You can source potential employees from LinkedIn and save their information (including their picture)
• It offers tremendous flexibility options

Cons

• Transferring data to PCrecruiter could feel cumbersome
• Lacks options to pre-qualify candidates

Pricing

You will need to contact PCRecruiter for pricing information. 

USP: PCRecruiter offers tools to manage on-line job inquiries, customize candidate assessments, and requisition submittal. 

10. Bullhorn

It is a cloud-based applicant tracking and customer relationship management software built for recruiting and staffing agencies. Bullhorn helps streamline the recruitment process via job board data capture, resume parsing, and candidate search options. 

Features

• Candidate tracking
• Interview scheduling
• Job posting
• Resume parsing
• Feedback notes
• Onboarding
• Job requisition
• Self-service portal
• Business intelligence and reporting
• LinkedIn integration

Pros

• Allows you to customize individual views at the consultant level
• Supports a good number of third-party integrations
• Notes help communicate with the team and track applicant’s progress

Cons

• The interface could be improved
• The search function isn’t very robust

Pricing

Bullhorn has not provided any pricing details. You will have to contact Bullhorn for pricing information. 

USP: Built especially for recruiting firms, Bullhorn supports 100+ pre-integrated solutions to help you manage all the elements of the recruitment life cycle. 

11. Jobtrain

It is a cloud-based applicant tracking system designed to help you manage and automate corporate recruitment processes. Jobtrain is suitable for companies of all sizes. It allows you to create and manage talent pools and reach potential new hires via branded candidate portals. 

Features

• Candidate tracking
• Interview scheduling
• Onboarding
• Job posting
• Background screening
• Resume parsing
• Self-service portal
• Workflow management

Pros

• Easy to use and navigate
• Endless customization options
• Great customer support

Cons

• The application is a little slow
• Too many customization options can confuse users

Pricing

Jobtrain plans start from $600 per month. Contact the vendor for accurate pricing. 

USP: Jobtrain’s Smart Search and Smart Match feature allow you to find the best candidates in your own database and on LinkedIn. 

12. GoHire

It is a cloud-based human resource management solution suitable for single stores and companies with multiple locations. GoHire identifies qualified applicants based on job-specific screening questions. It also provides a job-template library and one-click advertising options. 

Features

• Customer Relationship Management
• Candidate management
• Job posting
• Job requisition
• Reporting/Analytics
• Interview management
• Unlimited numbers
• Questionnaires
• Evaluations

Pros

• Stores previous interviewee’s information so you can reach out to them in regards to new positions as they open up
• Allows you to post to any job search site from within the tool
• Sends email alerts for every activity 

Cons

• Needs a little time and practice to understand and use the tool efficiently
• Limited branding options for careers landing pages

Pricing

GoHire offers three plans:

• Starter: £49/month
• Growth: £99/month
• Pro: £199/month

USP: GoHire helps recruiters choose the scale of importance for each pre-screening question to filter the talent pool further. 

13.TargetRecruit

It is a cloud-based ATS that is built on the Salesforce platform. TargetRecruit is fully customizable and is a part of an ecosystem of integrated apps (marketing, talent sourcing, accounting, reporting, and more). It helps reduce recruitment costs, reduce time to hire, and enhance workforce retention. 

Features

• Candidate tracking
• Interview scheduling
• Onboarding
• Job posting
• Resume parsing
• Reference checking
• Job requisition
• Interaction tracking
• Background screening

Pros

• User-friendly interface and is easy to use
• Provides onboarding module that assigns predefined tasks to new employees
• Sync email exchanges to keep you updated with the last message from the candidate (or your team member)

Cons

• Customer support is not great
• Technical glitches are a little common

Pricing

You will have to contact TargetRecruit for pricing details. 

USP: TargetRecruit provides resources to help you configure third-party apps (like Amazon, DocuSign, ADP, and Paychex) as per your needs. 

Wrapping it Up

The applicant tracking system helps recruiters hire top talent, reduce time to hire and decrease recruitment costs. However, to reap the maximum benefits from your ATS software, you must choose the right tool based on your company size and requirements. 

Have you used any of the tools mentioned above? Did we miss any of the best applicant tracking systems in the UK? Let us know in the comments.