What is the difference between ATS and CRM?

Aviahire
Aviahire
Published in
4 min readJul 7, 2020

The ATS vs CRM debate is not new, but if it is for you, then this is the time to make sure you understand this difference and be completely clear on what both products can offer.

What is the difference between ATS and CRM?
CRM and ATS: Knowing the Difference

Owing to the growing demand for quality candidates in today’s employment market, HR professionals worldwide are perpetually striving to identify the right talent to fill vacant posts. With the arrival of new recruitment technologies in the HR software market, implementing digital solutions has become a necessity for the company. With over 70% of the workforce comprising of passive candidates, companies are now readily using advanced Applicant Tracking System(ATS) and Customer Relationship Management(CRM) tools to uncomplicate the entire hiring process and find the right talent.

To make the most of it, it is very important for the company to choose the right HR tool which aligns with your hiring needs and existing recruitment processes. To make the selection process easy and to make an informed decision, it is critical to understand what these terms represent and learn their strengths and differences.

What is the CRM system?

The CRM(Customer Relationship Management Tool) is used for managing and maintaining long-term relationships with people who are in pre-applicant stages of their candidate journey. It is used for engaging and delighting your social media audience and contact lists to keep them ready to come on board when the right opportunity arrives. Similar to a CRM system, a CRM treats candidates as customers and requires a substantial amount of effort to convince them using personalized candidate experience.

What is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?

Managing relationships with the candidates are only one part of the entire recruitment process. ATS goes beyond CRMs by offering features like maintaining a talent pool, automatically posting job ads on multiple job boards, scheduling interviews with the candidates, shortlisting candidates, and managing their onboarding process. It channelizes the whole recruitment process from start to finish. It allows recruiters and hiring managers to automate monotonous manual talent acquisition tasks so that they can free up their schedules and dedicate more time to fulfilling important business objectives.

Key Differences between ATS and CRM
Key Differences between ATS and CRM

Benefits of ATS over CRM

Human resources personnel can make use of valuable data to recruit more effectively in the present-day job market which is mainly driven by candidates. Applicant tracking systems also help recruiters to increase the speed of hire as inadequately qualified candidates are eliminated during the preliminary screening process. Since applicant records are automatically created and maintained by the ATS, hiring managers do not have to indulge in complex paperwork for the same. Most ATS software solutions are GDPR-compliant, and hence, this allows companies to ensure that their hiring practices do not go against the recruitment laws of the country.

Strengths of ATS that are not addressed by an old fashioned CRM
Strengths of an ATS
Strengths of CRM that are not addressed by an old fashioned ATS
Strengths of CRM

Every ATS software and CRM have their advantages and disadvantages, using an ATS tool is more preferable because it allows companies to manage all their recruitment automation efforts through a single platform. If you use a CRM, then you would need another tool to automate and tailor it according to your needs in other parts of the hiring process.

AviaHire’s ATS is a complete end-to-end HR recruitment tool that can streamline all the processes related to recruitment activities in your organization.

Contrary to popular belief, ATS and CRM solutions have different recruiting functions. Applicant tracking systems are designed to automate tedious administrative tasks, reduce hiring costs, and accelerate the recruitment process, thereby preventing the wastage of valuable time. Since most repetitive recruitment activities are streamlined by ATS solutions, recruiters are left with ample time in hand which they can use to formulate strategic hiring plans for producing phenomenal business outcomes in an instant.

On the other hand, a customer relationship management platform is more like a pool comprising both passive and active job applicants who can be approached at short notice whenever there is an open job position within the organization that needs to be filled at the earliest. ATS solutions are chiefly focused on boosting the candidate sourcing efforts of recruiters to help them stand out in the current hot labor market this feature is known as nurture. Apart from all this, new-age AviaHire’s ATS technology also possesses nurture as a feature that has the potential to supercharge the overall candidate engagement to a great extent.

This is why applicant tracking systems and customer relationship management tools are both crucial for ensuring the long-term success of modern recruiting teams. Therefore, make certain that you purchase a sophisticated all-in-one ATS to fulfill the unique hiring requirements of your organization in less time with the utmost efficiency.

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