iCIMS Hire Expectations™

An evaluation of Candidate Management Systems in regard to recent federal reforms.

Recently, President Obama issued a memorandum on “Improving the Federal Recruiting and Hiring Process”. ERE did a great article about this and when I read it, I couldn’t help but start to break down these problems and see if candidate management solutions would also address them. Let’s investigate just a few of the most common issues and how HR technology solves them.

Candidates complain that the application is too long - What’s the best way to counter this complaint?  As a recruiter, it is up to you to acquire these candidates. If they are losing interest in the application; you are potentially losing out on highly-qualified talent. 

Solution: Create an online application that can be easily completed in 3 steps.  1. Create a login (this will allow candidates to come back and apply even faster in the future), 2. Enter personal information (First name, Last name, Phone number, E-mail Address), and 3. Upload the resume. Three simple steps! You can also add in pre-screening questions and EEO questions but they are optional and only add minimal time to the process. Candidates are notorious for having limited patience when applying, so the more simple you can make the application process the better.

Candidates never hear back after they apply – The “blackhole” for resumes is essentially an unwelcomed consequence of recruiters with full plates. With that in mind, how can recruiters make sure they are replying to all candidates?

Solution: This too is a very simple issue to resolve. Utilize some sort of Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) tool.  For example, some candidate management solutions have advanced CRM tools that allow a recruiter to set up letters in a communication center for virtually every possible circumstance.  A recruiter can set up an acknowledgement letter that will be sent directly to the candidate immediately after applying. This letter can have a simple acknowledgement that their resume was received and under review AND/OR can also include the company’s logo, links to learn more about the company, a video about the company and even links to any company social media sites.       

With some solutions, recruiters can create letters to inform the candidate if they have been moved to different stages of the hiring process. Recruiters can select multiple candidates to send PERSONALIZED letters to, which only takes a few seconds.  In addition to that, candidates can check their status by returning to the company website and logging into the career center. The career center can be set up to display the exact status the candidate is currently in (see below).

You must remember that these candidates are not just candidates but also could be customers of your product. Properly communicating to them helps create a positive view of your company and builds a strong brand that will make your marketing department very happy!

Hiring managers need a pool of qualified candidates not just two or three - We all know, the larger the talent pool, the more likely recruiters are able to source top talent. Building up that talent pool is a task that must be done.

Solution: Some solutions usually offer hiring managers a very simple way to review candidates sent over by recruiters (i.e. logging into simplified platform), and allow the hiring manager to make notes on the candidate and move them along in the process. Recruiters have the ability to filter through candidates and move them to the hiring manager in a matter of seconds. This allows the hiring manager to see as many candidates as they would like and not take time away from their day to day responsibilities.

Yes, it’s true, recruiting in the federal workplace has become a bit more demanding. However, I do believe that with candidate management solutions already capable of automating the recruitment process, there is no need to worry, HR!

According to a question posted on SHRM, can companies with a predominantly part-time or seasonal workforce participate in the most recently enacted Federal Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act? SHRM clarifies; the act does in fact cover these workers as it does not specify the amount of hours previously unemployed new recruits must currently work in order to qualify. In the “newness” of the act, many questions such as the above have come up, so let's look at a brief overview of the act, taken from the Federal HIRE Act White Paper, one more time:

What is The Federal HIRE Act?
On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. The purpose of this act is to accelerate the hiring of unemployed workers.

What does this act mean for an organization?
Organizations may be eligible for a payroll tax exemption and additional tax credits. The HIRE Act also allows organizations to retain the employer portion of the Social Security tax, which is normally remitted.

Understanding the Social Security Tax Exemption
The 6.2% Employer Social Security Tax exemption applies to previously unemployed individuals hired after February 3, 2010. Eligible employees must have worked less than 40 hours during the 60-day period prior to employment and must have earned less than $106,800 between March 18, 2010 and January 1, 2011.

1. This applies to multiple employer types, including non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and corporations. The 6.2% Employer Social Security Tax benefit is recognized before 2011; i.e.: savings are accrued with each payroll processed.
2. Employers can save up to $6,622 per qualifying employee and there are no limits to the number of employees who can be covered per organization.
3. The sooner the better: because tax benefits are recognized with each processed payroll, the sooner these hires are made the greater the tax incentives are.

Understanding the Income Tax Credit

If qualifying employees are with the organization for at least 52 consecutive weeks, employers are eligible for an income tax credit. This amounts to 6.2% of the wages paid to the qualifying worker (over the 52 week period) or $1,000, whichever is the lesser amount. Wages during the last 26 weeks must be at least 80 percent of wages paid for the first 26 weeks. Stipulation:

1. If the new employee is replacing another employee, the organization is not eligible for the exemption and credit “unless such other employee is separated from employment voluntarily or for cause.”
2. New hires must sign an affidavit asserting that he or she has “not been employed for more than 40 hours during the 60-day period ending on the date such individual begins such employment.”

The forms are as follows:

1. Form W-11 - Each employee must fill out this affidavit, which must be kept on file and available for review from employee hire date.
2. Form 941 - After an employer receives the W-11 form from all qualifying employees, the employer can then file Form 941 in order to receive their credits.

Additionally, employers are eligible for tax benefits when returns are filed. For more detailed information, click here.

Removing the political fervor that any government act may provoke, how do you think the Federal HIRE Act will affect hiring in 2010? 2011? Will Retailers, Manufacturers, Non-profits, corporations and essentially all other organizations take advantage of the financial benefits that are expected to ensue? Are the incentives significant enough to spark hiring initiatives?

I personally think yes, but only if organizations have the proper tools to adequately support the necessary steps that each employer must complete, such as document management. If a company has an easy way to store this information without the fear of it being lost or misplaced in a financially feasible way, than employers will be more likely to hire.

If this process was automated, employers wouldn’t have to worry about added expenses accumulated from physically storing employee documents, data entry and the addition of yet another departmental task.; thus, increasing the likeliness for companies to participate. Because of this, I also think companies will begin relying more heavily on technology solutions to simplify and facilitate the process of collecting and filing the forms and claiming the incentives.

It will be interesting to see how the act will affect unemployment in the long run. What do you think?

Also, for a more in-depth evaluation of the Federal HIRE Act, download this FREE whitepaper.

It was quite a celebration - the event called by US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry last week to announce the long awaited Federal Hiring Reforms, that is.  Anticipation had been growing for months, fueled by hints dropped by Director Berry since taking office, critical evaluations of the hiring process by private sector human resources managers, and the earlier release of a strategic plan for improving the federal hiring process.  But all the chatter leading up to the event did not detract from the excitement in the least.  In fact, when Director Berry finally uttered his now famous words, "We are switching to résumés," the packed OPM auditorium erupted into applause. 

Other reform measures announced by the OPM that promise to change the entire Federal recruiting game include:

• Dramatically reducing the time between when a job is announced and when it is filled
• Eliminating essays as an initial application requirement
• Using shorter, plain-language job announcements (Check out Dan Rosenblum's post for some tips!)
• Accepting resumes and cover letters from applicants, instead of requiring them to submit complex applications through outdated systems
• Allowing hiring managers to choose from among a group of best qualified candidates, rather than limiting their choice to just three names
• Notifying applicants of their status in a timely manner (and at four points in the process), thus eliminating the "black hole" that applicants often feel when they don't get a response to their applications

But now that the announcement party is over, the auditorium folding chairs have been put away, you have read the inaugural Hiring Reform Blog, joined the Hiring Reform Fan Page on Facebook, and are following Reform developments on Twitter, you have returned to your desk to find it inundated by resumes!  Now what?

After years of honing your skills at reading and evaluating the now defunct KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) essays, formally the opening step in the application process for many Federal positions, you must now shift your focus to sifting through piles of resumes to find the best candidates for your agency.  I am happy to report, however, that there are solutions out there that can make this new task as effortless as a walk in the park, namely Applicant Tracking and e-Recruitment Systems.  And not only can these solutions automate much of your new recruiting processes, the delivery of many of these solutions as Software-as-a-Service means that you can start taking advantage of their time saving functionality as early as tomorrow, rather than waiting for your IT resources to build you a system. And, as you look to the OPM resources listed above for guidance on how to reformulate your recruiting processes, I also invite you to follow our own little iBlog for additional tips on handling that growing pile of resumes on your desk.