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Applicant Tracking System

Jul 23, 2024

Jul 23, 2024

How to Calculate the ROI of an ATS

How do you convince your management team that your ATS is worth the investment? Sometimes, you just have to speak their language. That means proving the Return on Investment (ROI) of your ATS.

What is an ATS and Why is it Important?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software that automates the hiring process, helping organizations to streamline their recruitment efforts. An ATS adds tremendous value by:

  • Avoiding poor hires through better data and a wider candidate pool.

  • Reducing internal and external costs, including those associated with external agencies.

  • Increasing productivity for recruitment teams by automating mundane but manually intensive tasks.

Now, let’s look at ways to calculate the monetary value of each benefit.

Reducing or Eliminating Bad Hires

  1. Calculate Hiring Needs:

  • Estimate how many candidates will be hired in the next year (this in the current market is no easy task, so maybe take the quarter and time that out by 4).

  • Determine the average number of employees that leave within the first year and their average salary.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Suppose the company intends to hire 20 employees with an average salary of £75,000 per annum. Historical data shows that 10% of these employees leave within one year.

Formula: (Average salary) × (Average cost of bad hire) × (estimated number of hires) × (percentage of hires that leave within one year)

Calculation: (£75,000×30%) × 20 × 10% = £45,000


If your ATS can decrease the number of bad hires by 30%, the ROI of reducing bad hires through your ATS is:

Calculation: £45,000 × 30% = £13,500

Internal and External Cost Savings

  1. Quantify Savings:

  • Tally your annual external expenses, including agency fees, job board subscriptions, and other recruitment-related software.

  • Estimate the savings from eliminating or reducing these expenses.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Estimated Total Recruitment Costs: £72,000

    • Annual agency fees: £45,000

    • Job board subscriptions and supporting hiring software (e.g. video interviewing, background screening, survey tools, data analytics, LMS): £22,000

    • E-signature software: £5,000

  • If you can reduce agency reliance by a third and eliminate subscriptions and software, the savings are:

Calculation: (£45,000 × 1/3) + £22,000 + £5,000 = £57,000

Increased Productivity Within Talent Teams

An effective ATS empowers your team to achieve more, freeing up valuable time and resources. Rather than focusing solely on time saved, translate productivity gains into concrete financial terms to resonate with finance teams.

  1. Quantify Productivity Gains:

  • Calculate the number of recruiters, their average salary, and the estimated productivity increase due to ATS features like automation and AI.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Suppose you have three recruiters, each earning an average salary of £75,000 (including benefits). An ATS can boost their productivity by 20% by automating tasks and streamlining communication.

  • Number of recruiters: 3

  • Average salary (including benefits): £75,000

  • Productivity boost: 20%

Formula: (Number of recruiters) × (Average salary + benefits) × (% increase in productivity) = Total cost savings

Calculation: 3 × £75,000 × 20% = £45,000

This means an ATS can save you £45,000 annually, equivalent to over half the cost of hiring an additional recruiter, or a 60% reduction in the cost of adding one more recruiter to your team.

Calculating the Total ROI

Once the research and calculations are done, it's time to add up the savings and prove the ROI.

  • Reducing bad hires = £13,500

  • Reducing external costs = £57,000

  • Boosting productivity and reducing internal recruiting costs = £45,000


    Total savings = £115,500

Now that you have an idea of your total annual savings, simply divide the amount by the cost of the ATS times 100 to arrive at your ROI:

Formula: (Total Annual Savings) / (ATS Cost) × 100 = ROI

An ATS can provide a significant return on investment, without compromising the hiring process. The savings from reduced agency fees, eliminated subscriptions, and increased productivity can easily offset the cost of the software while enhancing your hiring success.

Additional Qualitative Benefits

And remember, there are also several qualitative benefits of using an ATS to take into consideration, including:

  • Improved candidate experience

  • Reduced time to fill each job opening

  • Reduced cost per hire

  • Increased quality of candidates and talent pool

  • Improved data and reporting

Ready to See the Benefits for Yourself?

Investing in an ATS is a smart move for any company looking to improve its hiring process, save costs, and enhance productivity. If you're ready to experience the significant ROI and numerous qualitative benefits, it's time to take the next step.

Contact us today to schedule a demo and let us help you make better hires, faster and more efficiently.

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How do you convince your management team that your ATS is worth the investment? Sometimes, you just have to speak their language. That means proving the Return on Investment (ROI) of your ATS.

What is an ATS and Why is it Important?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software that automates the hiring process, helping organizations to streamline their recruitment efforts. An ATS adds tremendous value by:

  • Avoiding poor hires through better data and a wider candidate pool.

  • Reducing internal and external costs, including those associated with external agencies.

  • Increasing productivity for recruitment teams by automating mundane but manually intensive tasks.

Now, let’s look at ways to calculate the monetary value of each benefit.

Reducing or Eliminating Bad Hires

  1. Calculate Hiring Needs:

  • Estimate how many candidates will be hired in the next year (this in the current market is no easy task, so maybe take the quarter and time that out by 4).

  • Determine the average number of employees that leave within the first year and their average salary.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Suppose the company intends to hire 20 employees with an average salary of £75,000 per annum. Historical data shows that 10% of these employees leave within one year.

Formula: (Average salary) × (Average cost of bad hire) × (estimated number of hires) × (percentage of hires that leave within one year)

Calculation: (£75,000×30%) × 20 × 10% = £45,000


If your ATS can decrease the number of bad hires by 30%, the ROI of reducing bad hires through your ATS is:

Calculation: £45,000 × 30% = £13,500

Internal and External Cost Savings

  1. Quantify Savings:

  • Tally your annual external expenses, including agency fees, job board subscriptions, and other recruitment-related software.

  • Estimate the savings from eliminating or reducing these expenses.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Estimated Total Recruitment Costs: £72,000

    • Annual agency fees: £45,000

    • Job board subscriptions and supporting hiring software (e.g. video interviewing, background screening, survey tools, data analytics, LMS): £22,000

    • E-signature software: £5,000

  • If you can reduce agency reliance by a third and eliminate subscriptions and software, the savings are:

Calculation: (£45,000 × 1/3) + £22,000 + £5,000 = £57,000

Increased Productivity Within Talent Teams

An effective ATS empowers your team to achieve more, freeing up valuable time and resources. Rather than focusing solely on time saved, translate productivity gains into concrete financial terms to resonate with finance teams.

  1. Quantify Productivity Gains:

  • Calculate the number of recruiters, their average salary, and the estimated productivity increase due to ATS features like automation and AI.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Suppose you have three recruiters, each earning an average salary of £75,000 (including benefits). An ATS can boost their productivity by 20% by automating tasks and streamlining communication.

  • Number of recruiters: 3

  • Average salary (including benefits): £75,000

  • Productivity boost: 20%

Formula: (Number of recruiters) × (Average salary + benefits) × (% increase in productivity) = Total cost savings

Calculation: 3 × £75,000 × 20% = £45,000

This means an ATS can save you £45,000 annually, equivalent to over half the cost of hiring an additional recruiter, or a 60% reduction in the cost of adding one more recruiter to your team.

Calculating the Total ROI

Once the research and calculations are done, it's time to add up the savings and prove the ROI.

  • Reducing bad hires = £13,500

  • Reducing external costs = £57,000

  • Boosting productivity and reducing internal recruiting costs = £45,000


    Total savings = £115,500

Now that you have an idea of your total annual savings, simply divide the amount by the cost of the ATS times 100 to arrive at your ROI:

Formula: (Total Annual Savings) / (ATS Cost) × 100 = ROI

An ATS can provide a significant return on investment, without compromising the hiring process. The savings from reduced agency fees, eliminated subscriptions, and increased productivity can easily offset the cost of the software while enhancing your hiring success.

Additional Qualitative Benefits

And remember, there are also several qualitative benefits of using an ATS to take into consideration, including:

  • Improved candidate experience

  • Reduced time to fill each job opening

  • Reduced cost per hire

  • Increased quality of candidates and talent pool

  • Improved data and reporting

Ready to See the Benefits for Yourself?

Investing in an ATS is a smart move for any company looking to improve its hiring process, save costs, and enhance productivity. If you're ready to experience the significant ROI and numerous qualitative benefits, it's time to take the next step.

Contact us today to schedule a demo and let us help you make better hires, faster and more efficiently.

How do you convince your management team that your ATS is worth the investment? Sometimes, you just have to speak their language. That means proving the Return on Investment (ROI) of your ATS.

What is an ATS and Why is it Important?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software that automates the hiring process, helping organizations to streamline their recruitment efforts. An ATS adds tremendous value by:

  • Avoiding poor hires through better data and a wider candidate pool.

  • Reducing internal and external costs, including those associated with external agencies.

  • Increasing productivity for recruitment teams by automating mundane but manually intensive tasks.

Now, let’s look at ways to calculate the monetary value of each benefit.

Reducing or Eliminating Bad Hires

  1. Calculate Hiring Needs:

  • Estimate how many candidates will be hired in the next year (this in the current market is no easy task, so maybe take the quarter and time that out by 4).

  • Determine the average number of employees that leave within the first year and their average salary.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Suppose the company intends to hire 20 employees with an average salary of £75,000 per annum. Historical data shows that 10% of these employees leave within one year.

Formula: (Average salary) × (Average cost of bad hire) × (estimated number of hires) × (percentage of hires that leave within one year)

Calculation: (£75,000×30%) × 20 × 10% = £45,000


If your ATS can decrease the number of bad hires by 30%, the ROI of reducing bad hires through your ATS is:

Calculation: £45,000 × 30% = £13,500

Internal and External Cost Savings

  1. Quantify Savings:

  • Tally your annual external expenses, including agency fees, job board subscriptions, and other recruitment-related software.

  • Estimate the savings from eliminating or reducing these expenses.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Estimated Total Recruitment Costs: £72,000

    • Annual agency fees: £45,000

    • Job board subscriptions and supporting hiring software (e.g. video interviewing, background screening, survey tools, data analytics, LMS): £22,000

    • E-signature software: £5,000

  • If you can reduce agency reliance by a third and eliminate subscriptions and software, the savings are:

Calculation: (£45,000 × 1/3) + £22,000 + £5,000 = £57,000

Increased Productivity Within Talent Teams

An effective ATS empowers your team to achieve more, freeing up valuable time and resources. Rather than focusing solely on time saved, translate productivity gains into concrete financial terms to resonate with finance teams.

  1. Quantify Productivity Gains:

  • Calculate the number of recruiters, their average salary, and the estimated productivity increase due to ATS features like automation and AI.

  1. Example Calculation:

  • Suppose you have three recruiters, each earning an average salary of £75,000 (including benefits). An ATS can boost their productivity by 20% by automating tasks and streamlining communication.

  • Number of recruiters: 3

  • Average salary (including benefits): £75,000

  • Productivity boost: 20%

Formula: (Number of recruiters) × (Average salary + benefits) × (% increase in productivity) = Total cost savings

Calculation: 3 × £75,000 × 20% = £45,000

This means an ATS can save you £45,000 annually, equivalent to over half the cost of hiring an additional recruiter, or a 60% reduction in the cost of adding one more recruiter to your team.

Calculating the Total ROI

Once the research and calculations are done, it's time to add up the savings and prove the ROI.

  • Reducing bad hires = £13,500

  • Reducing external costs = £57,000

  • Boosting productivity and reducing internal recruiting costs = £45,000


    Total savings = £115,500

Now that you have an idea of your total annual savings, simply divide the amount by the cost of the ATS times 100 to arrive at your ROI:

Formula: (Total Annual Savings) / (ATS Cost) × 100 = ROI

An ATS can provide a significant return on investment, without compromising the hiring process. The savings from reduced agency fees, eliminated subscriptions, and increased productivity can easily offset the cost of the software while enhancing your hiring success.

Additional Qualitative Benefits

And remember, there are also several qualitative benefits of using an ATS to take into consideration, including:

  • Improved candidate experience

  • Reduced time to fill each job opening

  • Reduced cost per hire

  • Increased quality of candidates and talent pool

  • Improved data and reporting

Ready to See the Benefits for Yourself?

Investing in an ATS is a smart move for any company looking to improve its hiring process, save costs, and enhance productivity. If you're ready to experience the significant ROI and numerous qualitative benefits, it's time to take the next step.

Contact us today to schedule a demo and let us help you make better hires, faster and more efficiently.