Good news: Chief Executive reports growing optimism among the (largely US-based) middle market CEOs they surveyed. Their confidence comes despite persistent geopolitical issues, inflation, and partisanship that’s impeding much-needed policy. AP News concurs, citing analyses by multiple professional forecasters: they expect the economy to beat earlier growth estimates.

The stats also indicate a robust job market. The economy added more jobs than expected in recent months. Even if the pace of job growth slows in 2024, Morningstar and others expect it to remain healthy, returning to pre-pandemic rates. We’ve moved from the Great Resignation or Reshuffle to the “Great Stay.” All of this begs the question:

If the business outlook is so good, why is finding or filling jobs so hard?

First introduced decades ago, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have since evolved beyond simply tracking large numbers of resumes. Today, they aim to find qualified talent quickly. Most promise to streamline the talent acquisition process and improve communication between employer and applicant.

Instead, executives and job seekers alike lament the slow speed and lengthy process of hiring. And both employee and applicant experience suffer. Having too few people stresses every part of the organization and impedes performance. Companies aren’t meeting customer expectations, delivering the value they promise, or honoring the people they do have. Overworked and understaffed teams burn out and there’s no time or energy left to find and secure new talent quickly enough.

Job candidates apply for open positions, only to land in a black hole receiving no information about the status of their application. Many organizations are trapped in an infinite loop. Qualified candidates are “out there,” yet the chasm between finding and adding new talent seems only to grow wider. It’s time to consider:

Is your ATS actually blocking talent?

On paper, your talent acquisition system and process may well be simple, streamlined, and helpful for tracking candidates. Yet are the metrics telling you the whole story? Applicant and employee stories suggest not.

By its very design, an ATS takes people out of the people process. Understanding the algorithms and how they work becomes the real success factor for jobseekers. No wonder a plethora of systems or programs have emerged to help candidates to “beat the ATS!”

Employers may also lose, in part because they don’t know what (or who) they’re missing. Of course, hiring managers must define what they need and capture this in a compelling job description. Equally important, however, they must understand how the ATS will interpret their need when screening candidates.

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