An integrated recruitment applicant tracking system (ATS) College and Paul Dedman, HR Manager, Brockenhurst College 5 th December 2012
The project The venture was set up to ensure both colleges had a fit for purpose TMS (Talent Management System) which used web based technology to efficiently manage the recruitment process in a professional, cost effective and efficient manner.
Project targets (1) Streamline administration processes and reduce manual paperwork; Move to an effective on line recruitment solution which would improve the candidate experience; Make significant cost savings in time and advertising costs including the use of agencies;
Project targets (2) To do this in collaboration with another college so that good practice and information as well as costs could be shared; Enable the sharing of this with other colleges who could benefit from it.
Overall aims To deliver efficiency improvements within the HR functions at both colleges, whilst ensuring that we were able to attract high-quality candidates for all advertised roles.
Benefits we hoped to achieve Enable the colleges to make significant reductions in their recruitment budgets; Improve efficiency of the HR administration function; Improve the recruitment service for our managers; Improve the overall candidate experience.
How we managed and drove the project (1) Project implementation process agreed and a Monster Consultant was then assigned to each college; Project Management from each colleges perspective; Team training at appropriate stages;
How we managed and drove the project (2) WebEx meetings and telephone conference updates on a regular basis; All issues were captured on an error log; Post go-live on-going review.
What we did 1. Exploration of outsourcing the HR recruitment process to Blue Octopus did not fit with current culture. 2. Exploration of Monster offering a media package and Talent Management System (TMS) software solution which would allow us to maintain control of the process and represent value for money. 3. A decision was made to run with Monster based on value for money and an additional shared cost saving plus recommendation as Monster was working well with other colleges.
Results/Benefits/Outcomes (1) Both colleges are live with their systems; Successful recruitment campaigns realised; A good value package that was even further enhanced by the ability to share with another college. This not only reduced the cost but also meant there has been sharing of information and support on the project implementation;
Results/Benefits/Outcomes (2) Between a 47 and 52% reduction on the colleges recruitment budgets in year 1; Time savings in administration e.g. bulk updates to candidates and cross posting of vacancies; Improved candidate quality and quantity.
ROI Funding Amount - 15,000 SAVINGS Estimated value pa based on staff time, recruitment administration and advertising savings Year 1 Actual Year 1 Actual Year 1 50,838 (EC 48.5k) (BC 31.5k) Year 2 66,938 Year 3 66,938 Total = 184,714 RO1 = 12.3 x Total
Lessons learned (1) Project Management - In hindsight it was important to have a designated resource to project manage the implementation; Agree some priorities which you would want from go live and then to develop others later on which are not so critical; Try and start with an FE based version or ask to see what other colleges have done;
Lessons learned (2) Writing adverts on job boards requires a different approach (search engine optimisation); Have an open and transparent discussion about the costs with any collaborative partners before you start as Monster has no price structure for sharing with other colleges.
Future (1) A more effective recruitment strategy in respect of job boards informed by reports from the TMS system showing where applicants are applying; Further recruitment advertising savings by targeting the job boards that work best for each college; Self Service access to the system for managers;
Future (2) Further savings on administration time; Use of the system for shared talent pools; Recruitment shared service provision?