Why Your ATS Alone Isn’t Enough: How Popp AI Enhances Recruitment Efficiency

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By integrating Popp AI with your current ATS, you’ll transform your recruitment process and gain the edge needed to secure the best talent in the UK’s competitive market.

Introduction

In today’s competitive job market, relying solely on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to manage recruitment can leave your organization lagging behind. While ATS platforms have become an essential tool for streamlining recruitment, they come with limitations that can hamper your ability to quickly and efficiently place top talent in critical roles. This is particularly evident in the UK, where talent shortages are intensifying, and the recruitment landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace. 

In this article, we’ll explore the limitations of traditional ATS platforms and demonstrate how AI solutions like Popp AI can fill these gaps, dramatically enhancing recruitment efficiency and effectiveness.

The Limitations of Traditional ATS Platforms

While ATS platforms are designed to manage large volumes of candidates, they often fall short in several key areas:

  1. Candidate Screening and Ranking: Traditional ATS platforms rely heavily on keyword matching to filter candidates. This often leads to qualified candidates being overlooked if their resumes do not include specific terms, even if their experience is a perfect fit for the role.

  2. Bias in Hiring: ATS platforms can unintentionally perpetuate biases. According to a study by the UK government, unconscious bias in hiring can result in the exclusion of up to 60% of candidates from diverse backgrounds.

  3. Slow Process: Despite automating some parts of the recruitment process, ATS platforms often leave hiring managers with manual tasks such as reviewing applications, scheduling interviews, and sending follow-ups. This can significantly slow down the time to hire, which is critical in a market where top talent is snapped up in a matter of days.

  4. Limited Insights: ATS platforms typically offer basic reporting features, which can make it difficult to gain actionable insights into your recruitment process. Without these insights, optimizing your hiring strategy is challenging.

The Recruitment Challenge in the UK

The UK recruitment market is currently facing significant challenges:

  • Talent Shortages: The UK is experiencing one of its most severe talent shortages in decades. According to the CIPD, 67% of UK employers reported difficulties in recruiting for vacancies in 2023.

  • Time-to-Hire: The average time to fill a vacancy in the UK has increased to 48 days, according to a survey by the REC . This extended time frame can result in lost opportunities, particularly for roles that are in high demand.

  • Cost of Vacancies: Unfilled vacancies are costly. It is estimated that each unfilled role costs UK businesses an average of £500 per day in lost productivity .

Given these challenges, it’s clear that organizations need to go beyond traditional ATS platforms to remain competitive. This is where AI-powered recruitment solutions come into play.

How AI Enhances Recruitment Efficiency

Popp AI is designed to address the limitations of traditional ATS platforms, providing a more intelligent, efficient, and effective recruitment process. Here’s how:

  1. Intelligent Candidate Matching: Popp AI goes beyond keyword matching by using machine learning algorithms to analyze candidate profiles in depth. It considers experience, skills, and cultural fit, ensuring that no qualified candidate is overlooked. This leads to a 30% reduction in time spent on screening candidates, allowing recruiters to focus on the best talent.

  2. Reducing Bias: Popp AI incorporates algorithms designed to minimize unconscious bias by focusing on objective criteria rather than subjective factors like name, gender, or background. This helps create a more diverse and inclusive workforce, which has been shown to increase profitability by 21%.

  3. Automated Workflows: Popp AI automates repetitive tasks such as interview scheduling, follow-up emails, and status updates. This automation speeds up the recruitment process, reducing the average time-to-hire by up to 20%.

  4. Advanced Analytics and Insights: Popp AI provides advanced analytics, offering real-time insights into your recruitment process. These insights enable you to identify bottlenecks, optimize your strategy, and make data-driven decisions, resulting in a more efficient and effective recruitment process.

Case Study: Success with Popp AI

A leading UK-based recruitment agency recently integrated Popp AI with their existing ATS. The results were striking:

  • Time-to-Hire: Reduced from 45 days to 36 days on average, an improvement of 20%.
  • Candidate Quality: A 25% increase in the number of candidates who met or exceeded client expectations.
  • Diversity: A 15% increase in the diversity of candidates placed, contributing to a more inclusive workforce for their clients.

These results demonstrate the tangible benefits of enhancing your ATS with Popp AI, enabling your organization to stay ahead in a competitive market.

Conclusion

In today’s fast-paced and competitive job market, relying solely on an ATS is no longer sufficient. While ATS platforms are valuable tools, their limitations can prevent your organization from efficiently sourcing, screening, and hiring top talent. By integrating AI solutions like Popp AI, you can overcome these limitations, reduce bias, speed up the hiring process, and gain deeper insights into your recruitment strategy.

For organizations looking to remain competitive in the UK market, enhancing your ATS with AI is not just an option—it’s a necessity. Don’t let the talent shortages and recruitment challenges slow you down. Invest in Popp AI and transform your recruitment process today.

Sources: 

1. UK Government Study on Unconscious Bias

2. CIPD Talent Shortage Report 2023

3. REC Time-to-Hire Survey 2023

4. Cost of Vacancies Report

5. Diversity and Profitability Report

6. Automation in Recruitment Study

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25 Feb
2025
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5 min read

Popp Wins Breakthrough Culture Award, Recognised for Championing a People-First Workplace

Headshot of James Cochrane-Dyet smiling in a professional setting
James Cochrane-Dyet
Chief Operating Officer

Popp is proud to announce that it has been named a winner of the Breakthrough Culture Awards 2024, an honour that recognises the greatest companies to work for in the UK. This award celebrates organisations that are redefining workplace culture by putting people first, building environments where employees truly thrive.

The Breakthrough Culture Awards spotlight the top 100 growing companies across the UK, showcasing the evolving cultures they’ve built and the people behind them. Unlike traditional workplace rankings, these awards dive deep—beyond the surface perks and policies—to reveal what it truly means to work inside a company that cares about its people.

This year, the awards reviewed thousands of companies of all sizes and interviewed over 20,000 employees to identify workplaces where people feel valued, inspired, and fulfilled. Popp’s commitment to fostering a progressive, people-centric culture earned it a spot among the elite.

“At Popp, we’ve always believed that work should be meaningful—that it’s not just about what you do, but who you do it with. Winning the Breakthrough Culture Award isn’t just an achievement; it’s a testament to the incredible team that makes Popp what it is. We’re not building a company; we’re building a community where people are empowered to grow, challenge the status quo, and find purpose in their work. We’re honoured to be recognised among companies that are reshaping the workplace for the better.”

Sam Dhesi, Co-founder & CEO of Popp

The Breakthrough Culture Award winners are redefining what it means to be an exceptional workplace—where culture isn’t just a buzzword but a commitment. Popp is proud to be part of this movement, championing a better way to work.

About Popp
Popp is revolutionising talent acquisition through AI-driven recruitment solutions designed to make hiring faster, fairer, and more human. By focusing on building meaningful connections between organisations and candidates, Popp is changing the way companies grow—one hire at a time.

About the Breakthrough Culture Awards
The Breakthrough Culture Awards recognise and celebrate the greatest companies to work for in the UK, honouring those that are building progressive, people-first workplaces. The awards explore the ever-evolving cultures of the UK’s top 100 growing companies, bringing to life what it truly means to work inside organisations that prioritise their people.

24 Feb
2025
·
5 min read

AI in Hiring: A Fairer Future for Recruitment?

Headshot of James Cochrane-Dyet smiling in a professional setting
James Cochrane-Dyet
Chief Operating Officer

AI is transforming recruitment, from resume screening to candidate shortlisting to interview analysis. By automating these processes, recruitment tech platforms enable hiring teams to focus on building relationships rather than getting bogged down in admin. But beyond efficiency, AI brings another major advantage: it can help make hiring fairer than traditional, human-led processes.

The Reality of Bias in Human Hiring

Bias in hiring isn’t new, and it’s not unique to AI. Studies have consistently shown that human recruiters and hiring managers make biased decisions, often without realizing it.

  • Resume name bias: A famous 2003 study found that identical resumes with names commonly associated with white applicants received 50% more callbacks than those with names commonly associated with Black applicants.
  • Age bias: Older candidates are often overlooked, with research showing that resumes indicating longer experience receive fewer interview invitations.
  • Affinity bias: Humans tend to favor candidates who remind them of themselves, whether through shared backgrounds, hobbies, or alma maters.

These biases happen subconsciously, making them hard to prevent through training alone. AI, when properly designed and monitored, offers a way to reduce these biases and make hiring more objective.

How AI Can Improve Fairness in Hiring

AI has the potential to be a powerful tool for fairer hiring, but only if it’s built and used responsibly. Here’s how AI can outperform human decision-making when it comes to fairness:

✅ AI focuses on skills and qualifications, not irrelevant personal factors.
While human recruiters might be swayed by a candidate’s name, accent, or background (or how they feel before or after lunch), AI can be designed to assess only the data that matters for the job: work experience, skills, and competencies.

✅ AI can be audited and improved over time.
Unlike human decision-making, which is inconsistent and difficult to track, AI hiring tools can be regularly audited to ensure they are working fairly. AI bias audits can measure and correct disparities in hiring outcomes, something that isn’t possible with human judgment alone.

✅ AI can analyze hiring patterns and flag unfair trends.
AI can process vast amounts of hiring data to identify patterns that might indicate bias—such as a hiring process disproportionately favoring one demographic group over another. This allows recruitment teams to adjust their processes proactively.

Ensuring AI Hiring is Truly Fair

Of course, AI is only as fair as the data it learns from. If trained on biased hiring data, AI can replicate those biases. This is why responsible AI assurance is critical.

To ensure AI is a force for fairness in hiring, recruitment tech providers and hiring teams should:

  • Use diverse training data to reduce historical biases.
  • Regularly audit AI models to detect and correct bias.
  • Ensure transparency by making AI-driven decisions explainable.
  • Maintain human oversight at key decision points.

One example of regulatory oversight on AI hiring is NYC Local Law 144, which requires companies using AI-driven hiring tools to conduct annual bias audits and share the results. This regulation sets a precedent for fairness and transparency in AI hiring. As similar laws emerge in other regions, recruitment platforms will need to adopt AI bias auditing as a best practice - not just for compliance, but to build trust with candidates and employers.

Conclusion

The debate over AI in hiring shouldn’t be about whether AI is biased, it should be about whether it’s less biased than humans. AI, when built and monitored correctly, has the potential to make hiring fairer, more consistent, and more objective than traditional human decision-making. The key is to approach AI hiring with responsibility and transparency, ensuring that technology reduces bias rather than reinforcing it.

With the right safeguards in place, AI can be more than a tool for efficiency, it can be a tool for fairer hiring.

About Warden AI

Warden AI is the specialist AI auditor for HR Tech. Their AI assurance platform continuously monitors for bias, and audits protected characteristics using proprietary datasets. They work with leading talent platforms like Popp to ensure their AI solutions are fair, transparent, and compliant with regulations like NYC Local Law 144 and EU AI Act.

19 Feb
2025
·
5 min read

Navigating the Agentic Revolution: Popp’s Talent Acquisition Event Recap

Headshot of James Cochrane-Dyet smiling in a professional setting
James Cochrane-Dyet
Chief Operating Officer

Last night, Popp hosted a fireside chat that didn’t just discuss the future of hiring—it challenged it. In a room buzzing with curiosity and conviction, Talent Acquisition (TA) leaders and visionaries gathered to confront the agentic revolution head-on. At the heart of the conversation was a question that could define the future of work: How do we navigate the rise of AI in recruitment with purpose, clarity, and care?

Against a backdrop of free beer, wine, and pizza, the evening unfolded with candor and insight. The lineup was as impressive as the conversation itself:

  • Dave Owen: Former Head of Talent Acquisition at Dyson and TA Advisor to the BBC
  • James Langham: Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at ASOS
  • Aaron Beider: Head of Talent Acquisition at Vertical Aerospace
  • Lisa Maclaran: Head of Talent Acquisition at Williams Racing
  • Ryan Broad: Head of Growth EMEA at Robert Walters
  • Moderated by Sam Dhesi: Co-founder & CEO at Popp

Together, they peeled back the layers on what hiring in 2025 might look like, exploring how to keep recruitment human in an increasingly automated world.

The Key Takeaways: Grounded in Purpose, Driven by Possibility

1. AI Is Reshaping the Hiring Funnel—But Humans Still Lead the Way
The impact of AI on sourcing, screening, and interviewing is seismic. It’s not just about implementing new tools; it’s about rethinking recruitment itself. This isn’t automation for the sake of efficiency—it’s about enabling recruiters to focus on what truly matters: human connection, critical thinking, and strategic decision-making.

2. Reinventing Recruitment Through a Data-Driven Lens
AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a mindset shift. To navigate this new landscape, TA professionals must embrace data—not just to make decisions faster but to make them better. This is about working smarter, not harder, and challenging the status quo of recruitment practices.

3. The Role of the Recruiter Is Evolving—Critical Thinking Is Key
The modern recruiter is more than a brand ambassador. They’re strategic thinkers and quality guardians. As AI takes on more administrative tasks, recruiters must focus on making thoughtful assessments about candidates’ skills, ensuring that technology enhances rather than diminishes human judgment.

4. Transparency Is Non-Negotiable
If AI is to be trusted, candidates must understand how it’s being used—especially when it comes to reducing bias. The room was divided on one key question: Should companies publicly disclose how AI is used in their hiring process? There were no easy answers, but the consensus was clear: transparency builds trust.

5. AI and Inclusivity: A Balancing Act
With an aging workforce and a growing focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, AI must be designed to work for everyone. It must be accessible, fair, and inclusive—never inadvertently excluding talent. In this revolution, inclusivity isn’t an afterthought; it’s the cornerstone.

6. The AI Interview Debate: Where Do We Draw the Line?
One of the most spirited debates of the evening was about AI’s role in interviews. How much is too much? While some argued for a fully data-driven approach, others insisted that human intuition and empathy are irreplaceable. The takeaway? Balance is key—both candidates and hiring managers deserve a process that feels fair and human.

7. The Privacy and Reliability Dilemma
AI raises complex questions about privacy, data security, and the reliability of language models. Can we trust an algorithm to make unbiased decisions? How transparent should screening decisions be? These questions aren’t just theoretical—they’re ethical imperatives that will shape the future of work.

8. Patience and Prudence in Tech Adoption
For large enterprises, embedding AI tech isn’t a quick win. It can take 9–12 months to fully integrate these systems. The advice from the panel was clear: Do your due diligence. Not every platform will stand the test of time, so choose wisely and strategically.

The Future of Hiring: Human at Its Core

The agentic revolution is here, but last night’s event proved one thing: the future of hiring is human. As AI continues to reshape talent acquisition, it’s up to us to ensure that the process remains empathetic, inclusive, and transparent.

Leaving the event, attendees didn’t just walk away with practical strategies for integrating AI—they left inspired, ready to champion a better way to hire. The conversation was provocative, the ideas were bold, and the purpose was clear: to push the conversation forward, sensibly and meaningfully.

Popp created a space where no question was too controversial and no answer was absolute. It wasn’t just about predicting the future; it was about shaping it.

The revolution is here. Let’s make sure it’s for the better.

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