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| Process Before
Purchase |
| by Andrew Shapiro, President of The
Cluen Corporation |
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| Want to keep up with new technology?
Want the tools that will cut your workflow process in half? The way you run
your company is the most important factor in deciding how to use recruiting
tools. As newly public companies mature, and as smaller companies are ever
changing, the issues of business process and structural organization should
remain the most important. Many firms believe that purchasing a piece of
software or technology is as easy as walking into the closest office superstore
and picking it from a shelf. This is not how it works; at least not
successfully. |
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| This article endeavors to explain
how to follow the three golden steps to a successful software implementation:
Step One - Clearly define the underlying business process. Step Two - Choose a
technology partner that has the experience to deliver state-of-the-art product
but also bring more to the table than a floppy disc. Step Three - Communicate
the goals to all levels of your staff and train each person on the processes
relevant to them until they know them cold. |
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| Today, any truly effective
recruiting tool or performance system must be tailored to a company's strategic
action and fit the culture of the organization. Senior management must
formulate and deploy a clear and comprehensive business process and
organizational strategy before ever considering a new piece of technology. The
rule that should be clear is that the main decision-makers should set standards
and establish organization-wide business processes. Furthermore, the
involvement of workforce employees on these decisions will not only assist in
enabling the organization to obtain and use more ideas to improve the business
process model but will also help to communicate the strategy to all levels of
the organization. It will also benefit the majority of employees when you
initiate a new recruiting tool. Managing the expectations of your employees is
beneficial when you are making any changes of business processes or new
technology. Having their input in these decisions will allow them to "buy-in"
to whatever recruiting tool you choose. |
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| The main advantage of developing a
solid business process before purchasing any recruiting technology is the
ability to effectively employ a work procedure that gives frontline staff the
ability to make minute-by-minute operational decisions instantly, without
needing to constantly consult with the managerial hierarchy. In addition, it
allows the staff to make tactical decisions previously taken two/three levels
up, while increasing their ability to predict problems as they emerge.
Ultimately, this will bring them closer to satisfying low-level strategic
objectives. Effective communication through all levels of the organization
should be a part of creating your business process, not a compromise of it. A
good vendor or technology partner should have experienced professionals to help
you with your workflow and have input on your business process. |
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| Creating a business process that
affords space for a custom-tailored recruiting tool will streamline your
decision-making process by making sure all managers and recruiters have a
simple system for deciding on potential candidates. As any firm knows, speed is
essential, and the recruiter who moves most quickly will usually get the best
candidates. By cutting out the bureaucracy and creating clear and concise
criteria to avoid any slowdown of the business process, a firm can easily
position itself for greater success. |
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This is most easily accomplished by
delegating defined roles, which allows each employee to do their job with
speed, efficiency, and expertise. Most often, they include the
following:
• Workforce Planning & Business Development
• Lead Generation & Sourcing
• Screening
& Evaluation
• Presentation & Search
Closure
• Orientation & Assimilation
• Retention
If each individual within the organization is given a role and the
recruiting process is well established, the workflow will be minimized without
extraneous spending from the outset. This additional efficiency and unification
will translate into savings, which can then be applied to the acquisition of
new tools to further automate the process. When each employee within your
organization is completely aware of their role, then they will be able to
adjust to a new technology instituted into your organization. |
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Once the time arrives to automate
through a software solution, each of the following needs to be considered in
order to find the recruiting tool that will fit your
organization:
• Employment of artificial-intelligence that will cut
repetitive entries with workflow automation.
• Usage of technology that
incorporates next-generation architecture.
• Availability
of "one-click" reporting that is client-ready.
• Flexibility to research the
potential candidate and source pool in accordance with your pre-established
search process.
• Provision for collaboration
and cooperation between client representatives and your staff concerning search
status and action items.
• Confidence in a
vendor/partner that holds a long-standing track record proving their commitment
to research and development and has experience with implementations that are
similar to yours.
• Comfort with ease-of-use
throughout the application, integrated help systems and ongoing
support.
• Ability to truly leverage your existing information by
transforming it into a true knowledge base.
• Usage of web-enabled
technology that still integrates tightly with your existing desktop
applications and peripherals.
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| A well-designed and executed
recruiting tool and performance system should help provide a flexible and
valuable link your company's business process and future strategic actions.
This technology must be designed with this flexibility and continuous
improvement in mind, and it must help coordinate the organization's process and
strategy throughout the entire firm. |
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| However, as previously stated,
establishing a long-term and workable, efficient, and clean business process
remains the first and most important goal. Technology can be a powerful tool
that can cut your workflow process in half, but cannot be done successfully
without the clear concise knowledge of your own company. The way you run your
company is the most important factor in deciding on what you want technology to
do for you. |
