from Dateline (May 8, 2003)
New
System Makes Recruitment and Hiring a Paperless Process
When a department seeks to hire a new manager,
secretary or technician, assistance will soon be only a mouse click
away.
As training expands, more managers, department chairs
and others are turning to their computers, typing in a Web address
and utilizing an online automated recruitment system that within
minutes can have job descriptions posted to the Human Resources
website or to national job boards.
Applicants file their applications and can update
information online. And when search committees review applications,
it’s all done via the Web. Even approval of the hire is done
without a piece of paper ever moving from one desk to another.
“The employment process is not different,”
stresses Maria Plimpton, recruitment manager. “It’s
just a new way of receiving, reviewing and processing documents.
And it can be done anywhere – at work, at home or during a
conference out of town.”
Last month Human Resources began offering training
on how to use the system. The training to all divisions should be
completed by fall.
The process that led to the new system began about
two years ago, Plimpton remembers. A committee was established to
look at how the process could be streamlined and made easier to
use. Six months later, she says, the committee “tore”
apart the process and determined that an automated system was needed.
The successful vendor, Brass-Ring, has worked with the human resources
personnel since October 2001 to develop a program to meet the university’s
needs.
The new system can handle multiple users and is data
secure, so only the appropriate people can gain access to the documents.
It can even create reports specific to the needs of different offices.
“This is an exciting and positive program
for the people on campus doing the recruiting and likewise for candidates
seeking jobs,” says R. John Lynn, executive director of human
resources. “Those conducting the job search can have instantaneous
access to applicant information and can track the progress of the
search. For the candidate, they can apply for one job and at the
same time sign up for the opportunity to be considered for future
positions.”
“We’re hoping that the rest of the campus
will be as excited as we are with this new system,” says Plimpton.
“Its benefits of ease of use, access from anywhere, tracking,
security and reporting capabilities should make this a solid part
of our working process.”
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