This article was originally published on 05/12/2022.
Explore our top five best-rated picks for applicant tracking software in the UK. Each tool has a minimum average overall rating of 4.5/5 stars and over 20 reviews over the past two years.
What we will cover
Applicant tracking software (ATS) is designed to streamline the work of recruiters through automations, candidate progress tracking, customisations, integrations, and analytics. Such tools are suitable for various kinds of enterprises and industries, including banking, healthcare, education, and government organisations. Some common features of these tools include:
- Sourcing qualified candidates
- Collecting, filtering, scoring and matching applicant data against skill requirements
- Enhancing candidate engagement and improving the application experience
- Optimising the onboarding process and reducing employee turnover
- Helping remove unconscious bias and improve diversity through tools such as automation
- Streamlining assessments and background checks
- Improving visibility and collaboration across human resources (HR) departments and teams
In terms of adoption and industry outlook, a MarketsAndMarkets report forecasts a global market size worth US$3.2 billion for ATS tools by 2026. This growth is likely spurred on by automation, artificial intelligence (AI), investment in information technology (IT) infrastructure, and other factors.
To help users choose the most appropriate ATS tool for their business, this article reviews five of the best-rated applicant tracking software tools on Capterra UK, listed alphabetically. Each has a minimum average overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars and comes with key ATS features, such as job posting and candidate tracking. You can find the full methodology at the bottom of this article.
1.
Applied is an ATS recruitment software solution that aims to reduce bias in the hiring process and provide a more inclusive experience for candidates. The system anonymises applications and automates assessments while also enabling recruiters to take control of the review process. The product also includes a centralised database to store and manage resumes.
This information was sourced from verified user reviews of Applied
Aside from some add-ons, like cognitive and numerical skills tests, Applied offers essential recruitment features, including:
- Application and job management with skill-based shortlisting
- Job board integrations
- Candidate sentiment and review scoring
- Gendered language detection
- CV anonymisation and scoring
- Automated feedback for every candidate
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) funnel data and reporting
- Structured scheduled interviews with job simulation and automated feedback
Interested users can visit Applied’s website and book a demo for more information on features and pricing.
2.
Eploy is an ATS and talent acquisition system that can be used by HR professionals and recruiters. The platform helps users manage applicants, schedule interviews, and enable collaboration within teams on a centralised hub. It connects with over 1,000 job boards, integrates with various networking tools, and helps users follow up with applicants through personalised emails and SMS texts.
This information was sourced from verified user reviews of Eploy
The tool’s ‘Talent Pools’ feature enables recruiters to create and manage a skills library of desired skills, and then match candidates against these skill sets. Search queries can also be saved and shared with colleagues for better collaboration. The platform also comes with a recruitment campaign manager to launch campaigns and measure results according to pre-determined metrics.
Additional features include:
- Mobile-first hiring manager portal
- Application management
- Candidate portal with a profile page, the ability to upload documents and utilize digital signature tools
- CV storage capabilities
- Recruiter module with analytics, job applicant tracking, and a quick match tool
- Agency supplier portal
- Interview scheduler and job offer sender
Interested users can visit the platform’s website for pricing information.
3.
EVA-REC is an ATS recruitment software that can be used by recruiting businesses in virtually every sector to leverage AI tech in their hiring processes. The platform enables users to automate various hiring tasks such as filtering resumes and scheduling interviews. Candidates in the hiring process can be automatically kept updated via automated triggers that are dependent on pre-determined criteria. Users can also create multiple customisable hiring pipelines per open job vacancy to ensure a more bespoke approach towards hiring for key skill sets.
AI tools within the platform help users shortlist and rank candidates based on specific criteria to save time spent on manual resume parsing. The platform also allows users to create a centralised resume database with filters to match candidates against open positions.
Via this tool, users can also conduct the following tasks:
- Posting job ads on the business’s branded career page and on over 2,000 boards automatically
- Application management
- Sourcing, reviewing, and scheduling of interviews, as well as sending job offers and accepting the signatures of candidates in one place
- Optimising keywords and tweaking candidate preferences using AI-powered filters
- Checking references
- Ranking and sorting candidates from the highest to least fit using AI-enabled matching
- Integration with Coursera and Udemy to enhance candidate’s skill sets
- Collaboration with colleagues using built-in chat, Gmail, and Outlook synchronisation
For information on pricing and to book a demo of the software, interested users can visit the vendor’s website.
4.
With this tool, HR specialists can identify market trends, as well as monitor the status of clients, candidates, recruiters, and jobs on an ongoing basis. Firefish users can set up their dashboards for access to the following tools:
- AI-based job generator
- Application management
- Resume storage and management
- Graphs for visualising the status of ads, candidates, and sales
- Metrics and reports for tracking business key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Two-way SMS texting, email tracking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling, and interview scheduling and management
- Candidate alerts, plus engagement tracking and support for receiving speculative CVs
- Graphs to compare team activities and performance
This information was sourced from verified user reviews of Firefish
Firefish offers a pricing scheme with three subscription plans, starting with the Basic paid package. While it features a basic customer relation management (CRM) and ATS package with a LinkedIn Chrome extension and multi-job posting support, it only comes with two reports dashboards. By comparison, the Professional plan comes with ten dashboards, while the Enterprise plan grants users access to 20 reports dashboards in all.
The Basic plan also excludes a candidate portal, hiring manager portal, forecast manager, eSignature, talent pool, and potential matches. There is no free trial or freeware version of Firefish, but on-demand demos are available online.
5.
Using Talos ATS, recruiters can invite candidates, manage interviews, access analytics, utilise integrations, and benefit from free job ads. Via this platform, users can advertise on job boards, share vacancies on various social media platforms, and even build their own talent pool.
Users can create their own careers page via a drag-and-drop editor which also features an advanced search facility. The platform allows users to create custom workflows for vacancies and generate their own intake and application forms via the in-built form builder which comes with pre-built templates. In terms of candidate management, the platform offers CV parsing, scorecards to rank candidates, SMS and automated emails, and more. In addition, it offers the following tools:
- The creation of a branded jobs page with CV uploads, one-click application, and video playback
- Resume storage and management
- Custom templates for interviews and job offers
- Candidate scorecards, reference uploads, disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks, demographics, and hiring reports
- Candidate pipeline with built-in profile, screening, and video interviewing tools
- Self-select interview slots and SMS interview reminders
- Onboarding website with downloadable induction material
This information was sourced from verified user reviews of Talos ATS
The platform is available via two different plans: TalosPro and TalosEnterpise, both of which can be opted for without needing to pay set up fees. The Pro plan offers free job advertising, video interviews, automated workflows, and more. The higher tier Enterprise plan offers an onboarding suite, tools to enable unbiased hiring, and video screening, amongst other features.
How to choose the right applicant tracking system for your business
To determine the best applicant tracking system software, HR professionals should not only consider how user-friendly and feature-rich the software is, but they must also evaluate how well it matches their budget, market, and hiring needs. For example, it’s important to consider how factors such as the set-up fee cost, add-on costs for essential features, such as texting, eSignature, or API support, or limited access or paywalls for specific job boards could affect the usability of the tool in question.
Methodology
To be considered for this report, products had to justify the following criteria as of September 2023:
- The tools in our list justify Capterra’s definition of applicant tracking software: ‘Applicant Tracking Software allows organisations to manage the hiring process by maintaining a database of applicants and job information. Applicant Tracking solutions can be used by organisations to collect applicants' information and then filter, grade, and match candidates' skills against job requirements. Many Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) include an interface that allows recruiters to manage all of an organisation's job openings.’
- All five software companies have their headquarters in the UK.
- They have the following core features: candidate profiles, candidate tracking, and job posting.
- They have a minimum average overall rating of 4.5/5 stars over the past two years (18th September 2021 to 18th September 2023).
- All tools have had over 20 user reviews over the past two years (18th September 2021 to 18th September 2023).
From there, the five products with the highest average overall rating were selected for inclusion.
