What Is An ATS Completion Rate?

Since not all applicants go through the full process, it’s important to understand how many are navigating through your applicant tracking system and how long it’s taking them. A low completion rate can affect your hiring process by discouraging applicants from completing their application or lead to time-consuming back-and-forth communications with candidates who drop out of the process early on.

What is An ATS Completion Rate?

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Completion Rate is a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the quality of your ATS data.

ATS Completion Rate is calculated by taking the total number of data points entered for an application process and divide it by all total possible data points to gather. This formula can be applied across the entire process, or down to individual stages. The higher the completion percentage the better.

For example: If there were 1,000 people that applied for positions at Company X and 50% of them completed at least one step (applying online), then Company X’s applicant tracking system completion rate would be 50%. This tells you how many people actually submit their information before leaving without finishing their profile or application (and potentially uncover reasons why).

Why Track ATS Completion Rate?

Completing an online application can be challenging — and sometimes frustrating. Your ATS should guide people through the process, providing clear instructions and options for answering questions as they go along. If it doesn’t do this, then there’s a good chance you’ll lose some applicants who would otherwise be interested in working at your organization.

It’s important to review the ATS completion rate at least monthly. This will help you identify problems with your applicant tracking system, such as:

A drop in the number of candidates who complete their applications and submit them
An increase in the time it takes for candidates to submit their application forms

You should also review this data after any major change or upgrade to your recruiting process or applicant tracking system, since these changes can affect how many people complete their profiles on your ATS. You may notice an increase or decrease in applicants completing their profiles depending on how well these updates work for users and whether they align with what’s needed by hiring managers and recruiters alike.

Best Practices For Tracking ATS Completion Rate

Use a single applicant tracking system. If you’re using multiple ATSs, it’s likely that applicants will see inconsistencies between the systems and get confused about where to submit their information. This can lead to higher dropout rates for your recruitment process.
Use consistent, accurate data in your ATS. Make sure all of your recruiters are using the same terminology when describing open positions (for example, “front-end developer” instead of “web developer”) so that applicants don’t think they’ve applied for something different than what they thought they were applying for.
Provide clear instructions for applicants. Include detailed instructions on how to apply through email or an online form (including which fields are required) as well as where applicants should upload their resume or other supporting documents.
Provide clear instructions for recruiters. Tell them exactly what kind of information needs to go into each field so there aren’t any surprises later on during screening processes.
Provide clear instructions for hiring managers. Make sure everyone knows exactly what documentation needs submitting before moving forward with interviews/the offer stage

If there are too many applicants dropping out at each step of the process or not completing their applications at all then it means something needs to change - maybe by making things simpler or clearer for candidates so they don’t feel overwhelmed by all the information they need to provide.