When shopping for ATS it’s near impossible to not get caught up in flashy features and beautiful dashboards, as time goes by they seem to be getting better and better.
It is crucial however that we don’t lose sight of the fact that the true value of any software boils down to one thing, ROI.
The best ATS providers don’t just offer bells and whistles. They deliver measurable outcomes that impact your bottom line: faster hires, lower costs, improved candidate experience, and smarter decisions – all that good stuff.
Simply put, if your ATS doesn’t pay for itself, then it’s not the right fit.
Here’s why ROI should be your north star, and how top ATS vendors make it their mission.
ATS should save you time (and money)
Every day that passes when a role isn’t filled, your business loses cash. And, as more time goes by, you end up with a lack of productivity, missed revenue opportunities and an overburdened team.
A high ROI ATS sets out to eliminate these phases. By automating job postings, screen processes and interview scheduling, the time to hire suddenly becomes much quicker. Additionally, your team has to spend far less time on boring manual tasks and instead space is made for them to focus on more in depth matters (building candidate relationships, making smarter hiring decisions etc.)
Lower costs, without cutting corners
When you consider agency fees, job ads and lost time, recruitment can become an expensive business. An ATS aims to reduce this by:
- Tracking the sources that produce the best candidates, so you stop wasting the budget in areas that lack a return.
- By building strong internal pipelines so you don’t have to rely on external recruiters
- Helping you hire perfectly from the first time which then reduces costly turnovers.
An ATS that cuts your cost-per-hire by even 15–20% pays for itself within months.
Make smarter decisions (with data you can trust)
Recruiters are expected to move fast, but also still produce the highest quality recommendations.
But without data, it’s easy to fall back on instinct or get swayed by surface-level impressions. That’s where a high ROI ATS makes all the difference.
With features like automated candidate scoring, interview analytics etc, you get a clearer, more objective view of who’s actually the best fit. Instead of guessing, you’re making informed, evidence-based recommendations that hiring managers can trust.
The result? More confident hiring calls, fewer bad hires, and a stronger talent pipeline you can stand behind.
Scalability that grows with you
Sometimes software can be a tad clunky but still works ‘fine’ for a handful of hires. But then, as you inevitably grow, the platform is completely out of its depth. The importance of scalability suddenly becomes very prevalent.
An ATS should have flexibility . It should have a bit of give and take going on and be ready to change and grow, with your demands.
Providers should be partners, not just vendors
When choosing an ATS provider, you’re not just buying a tool. You’re investing in something that has a direct impact on so many aspects of your business. Team performance, candidate experience and your brand overall. Find a provider who is going to enhance all of the above.
These kind of providers are the ones who provide:
- Dedicated onboarding and training that works to your timeline.
- KPI tracking and reporting so you can easily measure your teams performance
- Gives ongoing support and optimisation insights (not just basic troubleshooting when things go wrong).
With the right partner in place, you’re never left guessing. Instead, you have a trusted system that helps you improve results consistently, quarter after quarter.
Sometimes it’s hard to forget that often we don’t need all the tools, just the right ones. Focus on features that save you time. Improve candidate experiences and enhance your teams day to day.
In other words, the tools that deliver a real ROI.
The best ATS providers understand this and should be able to offer you features that all focus on you getting the best results and in turn, the best returns.
We all know that in recruitment, the results are the real differentiator, and the right ATS vendor should help you deliver them day in and day out.
A quick, responsive process is what you need to attract and engage the best talent.
At Rectec we help organisations to find the best Applicant Tracking System, best Recruitment CRM, or best HRIS to suit your needs, accompanied by our unique complementary technology marketplace, to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business.