People, for the most part, prefer “easy” over “hard”. Marketers know this, and seek to provide potential customers with the most frictionless experience possible because the less friction there is, the more sales there are. The same principle applies to the process of attracting top talent. The less friction in the process, the more successful your talent acquisition strategies will be. Thus, a well-designed applicant tracking system (ATS) is a serious advantage for your VC firm as it competes with other firms in the search for top talent. What, exactly, can a great applicant tracking system do for your VC firm? Consider the following advantages such a system can provide: 1. A good ATS provides a centralized database for all your applicant information. This advantage is particularly important for VC firms. Because a talent pipeline must be maintained for all of your portfolio companies, having a centralized database gives you an all-important bird’s eye view of your talent pipeline at all times. This means that you can quickly spot potential candidates, both internal to your VC eco-system and external to it. Positions are filled more quickly, and any deficiencies in your pipeline are clearly discernible. 2. A good ATS simplifies the candidate review process. With multiple hiring professionals working across your portfolio companies, the process of candidate review can easily be bogged down in missed communications, unshared insights, and general red tape. A solid ATS spans your entire portfolio and promotes collaborative efforts on the part of each person involved in the candidate review process. This collaborative approach enables you to find the best fit for your VC firm more quickly. How important is it to get the best fit possible? Josh Bersin of Bersin by Deliotte observes: “Our latest research shows that your ability to attract talent (the right people, not just anyone) is now one of the biggest differentiating factors in business.” Talent analytic tools provided with good applicant tracking systems make finding the right cultural fit for your VC firm a more manageable task. 3. A good ATS streamlines the networking and referral process. By allowing you to coordinate communication with candidates via a variety of social media platforms, a good ATS reduces friction in the networking process and bolsters your employer brand in the eyes of potential candidates. Networking is, of necessity, one of the essential cornerstones of talent acquisition and management. By automating some aspects of the networking process, a good ATS saves time and money while keeping your candidates “warm.” Using State-of-the-Art Tools Modern talent management has much in common with marketing. VC firms that embrace a proactive approach to attracting top talent are the firms that will succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. Using an applicant tracking system that truly supports such an approach is essential. Like all useful tools, applicant tracking systems that are well-designed will save your VC firm valuable time and money by simplifying the candidate review process and streamlining your networking and referral process. Would you like to see a state-of-the-art applicant tracking system at work? Schedule a demo today to discover what the ThriveTRM solution can do for your VC firm.