Applicant tracking systems can be a double-edged sword for lawn and landscape companies that are facing labor shortages and a high volume of applications.
Designed to assist with organizing, reviewing and ranking resumes, an ATS can save your HR team time and allow you to hire more quickly. Yet overreliance on this tool can result in overlooked candidates. The key is to select a platform that aligns with your processes and allows your recruiting team to concentrate on building relationships with candidates.
Where an ATS Excels and Where It Falls Short
At its core, an ATS serves as an organizational and efficiency tool. It allows candidate applications to all flow into one system and standardizes the hiring process so you can see exactly where an applicant is in the process.
Rather than tracking down email threads or visiting multiple job board websites, you can easily see who has applied, been screened, interviewed and offered a position. This visibility allows you to see where candidates are dropping off and monitor time-to-hire metrics.
It also helps cut down on repetitive administrative tasks, such as posting job openings and scheduling interviews.
Dennis’ 7 Dees, based in Portland, Oregon, uses the applicant tracking system in Team Engine to send an automated email/text to the candidate confirming receipt of their application and a text/email with a link if the applicant didn’t enter certain information.
“They receive automated reminders when interviews are scheduled and can respond No to cancel an interview, which has reduced our no shows,” says Dani Gowda, human resources manager with Dennis’ 7 Dees.
Gowda says their ATS automation saves them five hours per week, and their staff can focus on tasks requiring a personal connection.
Heather Reitano, senior recruiting manager for The Davey Tree Expert Company, headquartered in Kent, Ohio, says that by sending automated texts through their ATS they have been able to decrease candidate ghosting as well.
Dennis Evans, owner of Quiet Village Landscaping, based in St. Louis, Missouri, says their recruiter utilizes their ATS to build a database for jobs in the future. If they are looking to fill another role, they can review candidates who applied in the past.
While an ATS can provide consistency and speed to your recruiting efforts, it should not be used to replace human judgment.
Often, ATS platforms rank candidates based on keywords and job titles, but just because an individual doesn’t have the most polished resume doesn’t mean they should automatically be written off. Instead, it is better to pair ATS screening with hands-on evaluations or working interviews.
“AI can’t replace judgment, cultural fits or your gut instincts,” says Tito Caceres, managing director of Bloom Talent Solutions, based in Miami, Florida. “I can’t tell you how many times we have a short list of candidates, and we were screening them, and immediately we’re like, ‘This is not a good fit.’ On paper, yes. Person to person, no.”
It’s also important to make sure your automated communication don’t make applicants feel like they are just a number.
Gowda says when they first started using their ATS, a few applicants asked if they were talking to a robot. In response, they refined their message and updated the automation.
Key Considerations Before Choosing an ATS
Before you start shopping for an ATS, first sit down with your team to discuss your hiring needs so you can find a platform best suited for you.
Applicant tracking software can range from versions built for small to mid-sized companies to enterprise operations that are hiring at scale, so consider the volume of your hires per year, the types of roles you need to fill and if you have hiring spikes.
Next, map your current hiring process. Are there currently areas of delay or where candidates drop off? These can be areas that an ATS can assist with. Also, think through who all is involved in hiring and make sure it is accessible so everyone can easily engage with the system.
Pay attention to an ATS’s ability to integrate with your existing systems, such as payroll, onboarding, CRM or scheduling software, so your team isn’t having to constantly duplicate data entry.
You also want to consider the candidate’s experience applying through the system. If it is too long or complex, you can lose applicants. Finding an ATS that is mobile-friendly can also boost job applications.
Platforms to Consider
Below are a handful of the different ATS platforms currently used by landscape companies and some of their capabilities.
Built specifically for field service industries, Team Engine’s AI-powered ATS helps companies connect with leads as soon as they apply and filter out unqualified leads. Their automated pre-screening texts applicants to confirm their interest and users can sort resumes by commute time, licenses and salary expectations.
David J. Frank Landscape Contracting, Inc., based in Germantown, Wisconsin, says that Team Engine has provided them with greater reach at a quicker pace by allowing them to push out job announcements on multiple job board platforms.
Users can also see their hiring trends via reporting dashboards, identify bottlenecks and track candidate engagement.
Workable features built-in sourcing tools such as job board distribution and passive candidate search. Users can search applicants with filtering tools and access AI-generated summaries of candidate profiles, including match score cards and requirement checklists. Candidate profiles can be shared with team members to gather feedback and prepare for interviews collaboratively.
During screenings, candidate details can be anonymized for initial resume review to promote fair evaluation based on qualifications and one-way video interviews can efficiently screen applicants at scale.
Level Green Landscaping, based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, uses Workable to integrate with all the major job posting boards, such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter, allowing them to centralize the job posting and applicant review process.
BambooHR is an HRIS-first platform that features ATS functionality. It has a clean, user-friendly interface and is relatively simple. It serves well for companies seeking one system for their HR and hiring. It allows users to send automated, personalized emails to keep candidates informed. Applicants can select an interview time that works best for them.
BambooHR also provides data so you can know where applicants are coming from and focus on those channels. According to a 2025 customer survey, BambooHR users saved on average eight hours weekly finding, tracking and hiring new talent.
Rea Landscape Management, based in Charleston, South Carolina, uses this platform for their career page applications and their employee portal.
CrewRecruiter is designed specifically for the landscape industry and helps companies get in front of individuals actively searching and passive candidates.
It also allows recruiters narrow down to qualified candidates and build priority lists by including custom ‘knockout’ questions on the applications. For instance, if hiring for an experienced-only lawn care technician position, users can include the question “Do you have five or more years’ experience?” in the application. If they answer no, those applicants are sorted into a separate bucket, saving your team time. Additionally, CrewRecruiter can also send out rejection emails automatically to these individiuals instead of leaving applicants in the dark.
Companies such as GoldGlo Landscapes, LLC, based in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, and Exscape Designs, LLC, based in Novelty, Ohio, utilize CrewRecruiter and have experienced a 38% faster time-to-hire and spend 72% less admin time managing applicants.
The right ATS platform should support your hiring process, not replace it. When you use this tool as a way to enhance your team’s judgment, you can bring speed, clarity and consistency to bringing on the next great hire.
