NASCIO 2014 State IT Recognition Awards. Mississippi Governor s Job Fair Online Registration. State of Mississippi. Category: Government to Business

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1 NASCIO 2014 State IT Recognition Awards Mississippi Governor s Job Fair Online Registration State of Mississippi Category: Government to Business Craig P. Orgeron, Ph.D., CPM Executive Director Department of Information Technology Services Craig.Orgeron@its.ms.gov Project Initiation Date: March 30, 2012 Project Completion Date: October 12, 2012

2 2. Executive Summary: The Governor s Job Fair Network facilitates connections between job seekers and employers who have real positions to fill, this self-sustaining program helps Mississippians invest in their futures. The Job Fair creates an environment that facilitates the hiring process with an ultimate objective being job placement. The job fairs, coordinated by the Governor s Job Fair Network are presented in conjunction with local community efforts to provide job seekers the opportunity to apply for jobs with a number of different employers in a centralized, user-friendly setting. For business and industry, the job fairs provide their human resource representatives the opportunity to interview a variety of potential employees. Many job seekers receive job offers on the day of the job fair, while others are required to complete additional screening for current and future position vacancies. The Governor s Job Fair collaborated with Mississippi Interactive (MSI), Mississippi s egovernment partner to create and launch an online registration and payment application. This new application allowed the Governor s Job Fair to accept credit card and e-check payments for the first time and streamlined the paper application process. These efforts also directly supported the Network s main mission of facilitating opportunities between job seekers and employers. Prior to the launch of the registration application, the Governor s Job Fair Network relied on a registration application that was over 7 years old. The legacy system s user interface was form based and only generated basic contact information regarding each registration through . Payments were sent in by mail or paid at the time of the event. In many cases, no payments were ever received and the staff was left trying to collect funds. A new online registration system that allowed payments via credit card or e-check was greatly needed. This feature alone has enhanced the variety of businesses and industries attending the job fairs, saved time and money collecting funds, and allowed more time in the field to recruit new companies. The registration application: Created a fast and efficient way for local businesses to register and pay for job fair registrations. Gives job seekers quick access to real-time registration information about available jobs and businesses that will be attending the job fair. Brings a new level of efficiency to a staff of 2 employees at the Governors Job Fair. Helps job fair employees facilitate a fast turn around time between job fairs by lowering the overhead and costs associated with paper work and checks. Allows for more job fairs per year due to the streamlined application s ability to quickly setup job fairs NASCIO Award Nomination 2

3 3. Description of the Business Problem and Solution: Problem Historically, the Governor s Job Fair Network relied on a paper registration process that was over 7 years old. The legacy system s user interface was form based and only generated basic contact information regarding each registration through while payments processed were facilitated entirely by the United States Postal Service. The Network only accepted paper check payments by mail and in some cases payments were never received, leaving the staff trying to collect funds for months or years after an event. This created an immediate need for an online registration system that allowed payments via credit card or e-check. The ability to accept online payments was not the only feature that needed significant change, a streamlined and efficient registration process was also necessary. Each job fair is unique with its own costs and registration variables and the paper form-based registration lacked detailed company information, real time data access, and on the spot registration capabilities. All new registrations must appear on the Job Fair website within two days of registration and manually entering submissions proved tedious to the Network s small staff. Solution Create an online service with real time job board integration, custom job fair data, online payment acceptance and on-the spot registrations. A secure administrative tool accompanies the online application. This provides detailed reporting and allows each job fair to be setup based on its own unique parameters. To cut manual re-entry of all registrations the application interfaces directly with the site s new home page and event calendar. New registrations appear in real-time, saving up to 20 hours per month in additional data entry for the Job Fair Network staff. The network utilized Mississippi s State egovernment program and a self-funded model for the development of the application. The Network can now accept credit cards and e- Check payments online, significantly reducing the time needed for the collections process. This feature alone has provided Network staff with more time in the field to recruit new companies and has attracted better quality businesses to the job fairs. 4. Significance of the Project: My main goal when I first started was to get as many businesses to register for local job fairs in their area as I could. At the same time we needed to make it more convenient for them to do so. said Executive Director Adam Todd. Adding the ability to do these two things alone has allowed me to recruit more companies and add more job fairs to the annual schedule. The registration application directly affects government operations by: Saving taxpayer dollars in added employee costs to handle paper checks and paper applications NASCIO Award Nomination 3

4 Increases the speed at which funds are collected allowing for the agency to hold more job fairs. Agency can pay for current event costs with collected dollars from each relative event. Historically, it took up to 6 months for all registrations to be processed due to lack of staff and bounced checks, but the addition of real time online credit card acceptance has reduced that time to under a week. This application saves us $500 - $1,000 per event in time alone, said Todd. I was able to hold 25 job fairs this year alone and am looking to increase that number in This would not be possible without our registration online capabilities. I am now able to get back on the road recruiting new companies and promoting the job fair to local communities around Mississippi. Highlights of the improved process include: 65% reduction of mailed and faxed applications since inception Eliminated bounced checks Attracted larger and higher profile companies to events and facilitated faster fund collection for the Job Fair Network due to automated payment functions Significantly improved accuracy of registration process Supplies useful company data due to new search tools for previously held events and registrants Eliminated 30 hours of data entry per month using the new real-time website posting of new registrations and job openings Gives job-seekers the tools to find jobs and seek employment 5. Benefits of the Project: The new online registration application has been a complete success for the Governor s Job Fair Network: Wizard guidance - Online registrants are guided step by step with through the registration and payment process. Immediate data transfer - Receipt of registration information and payments is faster and more accurate than ever before. Administrative functionality - New administrative tools help the Job Fair Network manage registrations and create/edit events easier. Real-time updates - After payment is made the registration has been approved by the administrator each available job obtained through the registration process posts directly to the Job Fair website. Secure payments - Whether by web or mobile device, https connection securely transfers all payment data to the State of Mississippi s official payment processor. Benefits for the Unemployed The Governor s Job Fair Network, attending businesses, the Mississippi egovernment program, and ultimately the 9% of unemployed Mississippians benefit from the use of 2014 NASCIO Award Nomination 4

5 this application. Without the Governor s Job Fair program, another avenue for the unemployed to find work in Mississippi would be closed. The funding generated from registrations makes the budget for the department possible and supports their efforts for job creation throughout the State of Mississippi. Agency Efficiency After the launch of the application, the Network noticed a significant decrease in paper applications and collection efforts, due in part to the ease of the registration and payment process. Additionally, through the use of a self-funded pricing model, the Department benefits from the significant decrease in maintenance costs. Benefits for Job Seekers As a direct result of the Governor s Mississippi job fairs, over 3,490 Mississippi residents were made employment offers the day of the event. The Job Fair Network projects the total number of hires to exceed 7,500 individuals from 2013 events NASCIO Award Nomination 5