Skip to content

ATS Systems That Work: Choosing the Right Fit for Your Business

 

Recruitment has changed dramatically in the past few years. More candidates, more compliance, more pressure to hire fast and fairly. As a result, the applicant tracking system (ATS) has become the most vital part of the HR tech stack.

There’s no shortage of applicant tracking systems (ATS) out there. A quick Google search will give you hundreds of options, all claiming to help you hire better.

But here’s the truth: not all ATS platforms are created equal. 

A lot of ATS platforms are clunky, outdated, or built for markets with very different challenges than South Africa. If your team is overwhelmed by high application volumes, struggling with compliance, or wasting hours on manual admin, then you don’t just need any ATS. You need an ATS that’s built to work for your business, your context, and your people. 

Let’s break down what makes an ATS truly effective, and how to choose the right one.

What Is an ATS, and Why Does It Matter?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that manages the end-to-end recruitment process. Put simply, at its core, an ATS helps you manage the full recruitment journey.  From job posting and CV screening, to candidate communication, interview scheduling, and hiring decisions, your ATS is with your team every step of the way.  

In a fast-paced environment, a good ATS:

  • Automates repetitive tasks
  • Replaces manual spreadsheets and email trails
  • Standardises processes for compliance and fairness
  • Ensures data security and legal compliance
  • Provide real-time hiring insights
  • Integrate with your existing HR tools and workflows

In a country like South Africa, where candidate volumes can be high and access to digital tools is uneven, your ATS needs to go beyond the basics.In other words: a great ATS doesn’t just track applications, it remodels your entire hiring process.

Common Pain Points with the Wrong ATS

If your current ATS is slowing you down, you’re not alone. Before we talk about what to look for, let’s talk about what to avoid.

If your current system is:

  • Clunky or slow to load on mobile
  • Hard to customise for your workflows
  • Limited in local support or compliance features
  • Frustrating for candidates to navigate or apply through
  • Disconnected from your chatbot, CRM, or HRIS

…then it’s probably costing you more than it’s saving you. If any of these rings true, you’re probably dealing with tech that looks good on paper, but doesn’t deliver in practice.

The Must-Have Features of an ATS That Actually Works

Future-proofing your hiring memes recognising that a system that works in Silicon Valley won’t always suit Sandton, or Soweto. In complex or high-volume environments like South Africa, it is imperative that you look for these core capabilities:

1. Mobile-Friendly Candidate Experience

In South Africa, job seekers often rely on smartphones and limited data. With this in mind, your hiring platform needs to be fast, accessible, and low-bandwidth friendly.

This means your ATS must:

  • Support mobile-optimised job ads and application forms
  • Be compatible with WhatsApp or chatbot-based recruiting
  • Load quickly and cleanly, even in low-bandwidth areas

If your candidate journey isn’t seamless on mobile, you’re losing talent at the first step. If your application process isn’t mobile-first, you’re excluding a huge portion of your talent pool.

2. Local Compliance Built In

Recruitment isn’t just about finding the right person. It’s also about doing it legally and fairly. From POPIA to Employment Equity, your ATS should help you stay compliant, not create extra admin.

Your ATS should:

  • Enforce Employment Equity (EE) Requirements
  • Track demographic data (race, gender, disability) at multiple stages
  • Secure Candidate Consent & POPIA Compliance
  • Collect clear, specific consent before processing any personal information
  • POPIA-compliant data storage and consent workflows
  • Role-level controls and audit trails
  • Automated reference checks and verification

A system that “just about works” in a US or EU context won’t cut it here. Many global ATS vendors don’t necessarily build with local realities in mind.

Choosing a system built for another market might get the job done on paper, but it won’t solve your real-world problems. To recruit effectively in South Africa, your tech stack has to reflect your workforce, your infrastructure, and your compliance needs.

3. Automation That Saves Time, Not Adds Steps

The goal of an ATS isn’t to replace recruiters. It’s to give them more time to focus on the human side of hiring. This is particularly true, when you’re hiring at scale. Especially for frontline, retail, or high-turnover roles, every minute matters.The right ATS should reduce recruiter workload with:

  • Auto-screening and scoring based on job criteria
  • Triggered communications and interview invites
  • Integrated assessments and reference checks
  • Structured approval chains and offer management

This is where automation makes the real impact. Smart automation lets your team move faster, without cutting corners. By speeding up shortlisting, reducing manual tasks, and helping you scale confidently. This kind of automation means recruiters spend less time sifting, and more time engaging.

4. Integration with Chatbots and CRMs

Your ATS should not be its own island, it should be the hub for all your recruitment tech. In high-volume environments, chatbots are changing the game. Even so, they only work if your ATS can integrate seamlessly.

With a fully integrated ecosystem:

  • Candidates engage through chatbot or WhatsApp
  • Applications sync directly to your ATS
  • Assessments are triggered automatically
  • Recruiters view everything in one dashboard

When everything talks to each other, you reduce manual handovers, and hire with confidence.

No duplicate entries. No disconnected workflows. Just one smooth journey from first click to first day.

5. Real-Time Dashboards and Reporting

How long is it taking to hire? Which channels bring in your best candidates? Is your recruitment supporting your EE targets? 

If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Your ATS should provide real-time visibility into:

  • Time-to-hire by role and location
  • Pipeline conversion rates
  • Recruiter productivity
  • Diversity and inclusion goals
  • Job ad performance by channel

Good data turns recruiting from reactive to strategic. Having this data at your fingertips allows you to make decisions faster, and with confidence.

What to Ask When Evaluating an ATS Vendor

Before making a switch, here are a few critical questions to ask your potential ATS provider:

  • Does this system work for both mobile-first and corporate hires?
  • How well does it support South African compliance and reporting needs?
  • Will it reduce admin and recruiter fatigue, or just add steps?
  • Can it scale across departments and hiring volumes?
  • Is it easy to use, for recruiters and candidates?

Don’t settle for a system that only ticks some of the boxes. A strong ATS should feel like an extension of your team. Supporting your strategy, simplifying your workflows, and growing with your business. 

Because at the end of the day, you’re not just choosing software. You’re choosing how you hire.

How Neptune Delivers All of the Above

Built specifically for South African employers, Neptune by Graylink is more than just an ATS. It’s a full-stack recruitment automation platform designed for speed, scale, and compliance.

Neptune offers:

  • End-to-end recruitment workflow automation
  • WhatsApp integration with our recruitment chatbot
  • Structured hiring, assessment, and EE tracking
  • Role-based dashboards and EE analytics
  • Cloud-based mobile access for recruiters and candidates
  • Seamless integration with third-party HR systems

Whether you’re recruiting 5 executives or 500 call centre agents, Neptune helps you make faster, fairer, more data-driven decisions - without the admin drag.

Final Thought: The Best ATS Isn’t Just a Tool, It’s a Strategy

In today’s hiring landscape, your ATS is more than software. It’s the backbone of your employer brand, your hiring efficiency, and your compliance confidence.

Choosing the right system can radically  transform your entire talent acquisition strategy. By saving time, reducing bias, and unlocking better hires at scale.

So if your current setup is holding you back, it might be time to upgrade.

Because when your ATS works, your hiring flows.