How to Foster a Culture of Feedback Using ATS Data

In today’s competitive hiring environment, fostering a culture of feedback is crucial for continuous improvement, both in recruitment strategies and overall organizational growth. Feedback is essential not only for hiring teams but also for candidates, helping them understand where they stand in the recruitment process and how they can improve. One powerful tool to facilitate feedback is an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS), such as Exelare’s ATS, which collects vast amounts of valuable recruitment data. This data can be harnessed to build a feedback-driven culture that benefits both your team and potential hires.

The Importance of Feedback in Recruitment

Feedback is one of the most effective ways to optimize recruitment practices and enhance candidate experience. When used properly, feedback can:

• Help hiring teams refine their processes.
• Guide candidates through their growth and development.
• Improve team collaboration and transparency.
• Contribute to better candidate retention and engagement.

Using an ATS to collect and analyze recruitment data allows for consistent and actionable feedback to be provided throughout the hiring cycle.

Leveraging ATS Data to Provide Actionable Feedback

An Applicant Tracking System, like Exelare’s, centralizes all recruitment-related data, offering insights into the performance of job postings, candidate sourcing, interview processes, and more. This data can then be used to provide timely and relevant feedback at different stages of recruitment. Here’s how you can use ATS data effectively to foster a culture of feedback:

1. Gathering Insights from Candidate Interaction

ATS systems capture detailed information about how candidates interact with your job postings. You can track metrics such as:

• Application completion rates: Are candidates abandoning the process at any particular point? Feedback can be used to optimize job applications for better candidate engagement.
• Time spent on application forms: If candidates are spending too long, it may indicate that the process is too complex or unclear. Use this data to provide candidates with feedback on how to streamline their applications.

This data allows recruiters to give constructive feedback to candidates, whether it’s encouraging them to complete the application or highlighting areas where the process could be improved for future applicants.

2. Utilizing Screening and Selection Data

During the selection process, an ATS tracks the progress of each applicant and provides insights into candidate screening. Metrics such as how candidates scored in pre-screening tests or how quickly they advanced through different stages of the recruitment pipeline can be invaluable in providing feedback.

• Candidates who advanced: Provide feedback on what they did well and what made them stand out.
• Candidates who did not advance: Offer specific feedback based on the skills or experiences they lacked and encourage them to improve for future opportunities.

With Exelare’s Applicant Tracking System, recruiters can leave notes for candidates at each stage of the process, helping them understand exactly what influenced hiring decisions. Feedback can be made part of the decision-making process, allowing candidates to continuously grow from each interaction.

3. Candidate Feedback for Continuous Improvement

A culture of feedback shouldn’t only apply to candidates; it should also benefit your recruitment team. Using ATS data, you can conduct performance reviews based on key metrics, such as:

• Time-to-hire: How long does it take to hire candidates from the moment a job requisition is posted? If the process takes too long, feedback from the ATS can help optimize workflows.
• Quality of hire: Are the candidates who were hired meeting expectations? If not, feedback on candidate sourcing, job descriptions, or interview techniques may need to be adjusted.

Exelare’s ATS also provides the ability to track individual recruiter performance, which helps you see how each team member is contributing to the hiring process and where there may be opportunities for improvement.

4. Enhancing Collaboration Across Teams

Recruitment is rarely a one-person job. It requires effective collaboration across hiring teams, including HR professionals, department managers, and team leaders. ATS platforms like Exelare allow feedback to be shared across teams and used as part of the decision-making process.

• Collaborative feedback: By collecting feedback from different team members throughout the process, you ensure that all perspectives are considered when evaluating a candidate. This feedback also allows for more consistent evaluations.
• Performance tracking: Using ATS data to assess how different team members contribute to the recruitment process, you can identify areas for improvement and offer feedback on how to enhance collaboration.

Exelare’s ATS helps centralize feedback, making it easier to spot areas of misalignment between hiring teams, as well as identifying best practices that can be replicated across the organization.

5. Improving Candidate Experience with Feedback

Incorporating feedback into your ATS processes can significantly improve the candidate experience. Candidates who receive feedback, whether they are hired or not, feel valued and are more likely to have a positive view of your organization. Exelare’s ATS allows for automated feedback delivery to candidates at every stage, from application receipt to post-interview evaluations.

• Personalized feedback: Acknowledge candidates’ efforts and highlight the strengths they brought to the table. Even if they weren’t selected, positive feedback can encourage them to apply for future positions.
• Post-rejection feedback: Provide specific feedback to rejected candidates on what they can improve on. This not only helps candidates grow but also leaves a positive impression of your organization.

By offering structured feedback, you turn every recruitment interaction into a learning opportunity for candidates, building goodwill even if they aren’t selected for a role.

Creating a Feedback Loop for Recruitment Strategy Improvement

One of the most powerful ways to use ATS data is to create a continuous feedback loop that informs and improves your overall recruitment strategy. With Exelare’s ATS, you can aggregate data and generate reports that provide insights into which hiring strategies are most effective, including:

• Candidate sourcing strategies: Which job boards or channels provide the best candidates? ATS data can show which sources yield the most qualified applicants.
• Interview and assessment performance: How well are interviews and assessments working to identify the right candidates? Data can reveal whether interview questions are effective or need tweaking.

Use this data to refine recruitment methods, improve future candidate engagement, and even adjust your employer brand messaging to better attract talent.

Conclusion

Using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) like Exelare to facilitate feedback creates a more transparent and efficient recruitment process. The data collected by the ATS can help your team enhance their hiring practices, foster candidate growth, and continuously improve recruitment strategies. By creating a culture of feedback, not only will you improve your hiring efforts, but you will also contribute to an environment where candidates and hiring teams alike can learn, grow, and thrive.