Via Garner Research …

Worldwide software as a service (SaaS) revenue is forecast to reach $7.5 billion in 2009, a 17.7 percent increase from 2008 revenue of $6.4 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. The market will show consistent growth through 2013 when worldwide SaaS revenue will total over $14 billion for the enterprise application markets.

Read the rest of the article >>

Today’s job market has created a conundrum for growing companies. The landscape is rich with qualified candidates. But issue a want ad, and some statistics note that 200 applications are likely to respond.

How can any employer reasonably cope with that flood of candidates?

Those corporations, healthcare organizations and government departments using an applicant tracking system find they have a powerful, enterprise-wide job acquisition and talent management solution ideal for businesses in hiring mode – or even those that are fully staffed.

Today’s ATS provides web-based applicant tracking and candidate management systems that empower businesses with easy-to-acquire and easy-to-use tools to reduce costs and streamline business operations. They automate candidate application and resume management – and create an invaluable competitive advantage.

The solution starts at the beginning of the job requisition life cycle. Job requests entered into the system automatically are distributed to Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com and GoogleBase, expanding the reach of the company’s corporate career center and saving thousands of dollars in premium job board costs. Some ATS providers even leverage social media sites for locating applicants.

Once applicants begin responding, that’s where the magic occurs. Employers with an ATS solution in place make quick work of managing inbound resumes and pre-qualifying candidates. Even unsolicited resumes are handled easily and quickly. Every required form or document, from resumes to supporting documentation, is submitted online and stored on the host server. No more paper resumes and faxed applications, thereby simplifying handling, review and storage needs. Once reviewed, the candidate immediately can be entered into the prospect pool, or saved for future consideration.

The solution manages applications by categories, enables cross-department searches, facilitates job requisition approval chains, and allows for feedback on specific candidates from anyone in the organization– even if those submitting feedback aren’t paid users on the system.

What about the list of qualified applicants who weren’t hired? Companies used to delete or toss those applications. No longer. An ATS enables companies to retain documentation of pre-qualified applicants for when job openings arise. Just search – by geography, criteria, skills or other fields – from among the pool of highly skilled candidates who already have been vetted and met company criteria. Having this storehouse of candidates close at hand makes filling openings fast and easy.

An ATS also enables a company to be less reliant upon its human resources staff for such processes as forwarding applicants to appropriate departments or managers for review. The system collects and organizes information in a centralized database accessible not only to a particular HR staffer’s computer, but to anyone with account access.

A well-designed ATS also is highly scalable to meet the needs of a growing organization. Like many software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, the modern ATS is an evolving tool. New features and functionality that help users gain efficiency and streamline the candidate management process are added seamlessly. More recent additions include background check, onboarding and payroll functions. This makes today’s ATS an end-to-end solution for the entire candidate-to-employee life cycle.

Moreover, the best solutions feature a short learning curve. They’re staffed by experienced advisors with a wealth of knowledge about candidate management, and customer service representatives are standard as part of the service.

Simply put, a right-priced ATS application delivers leading-edge solutions and compelling return on investment. Starting at $100 a month, an ATS can be a cost-effective solution at a reasonable expense – regardless of whether your company is hiring today or tomorrow.

Houston, TX – PreCheck, Inc.™ and Hirebridge LLC, today announced the integration between PreCheck’s background screening service and Hirebridge’s applicant tracking and hiring management system.  Through these system integrations, both companies are able to offer clients the five core integration components and as a result abridge the hiring processes for their clients.

“We saw this as a favorable partnership because both PreCheck and Hirebridge are committed to providing outstanding customer service, as well as offering customizable solutions to meet the unique needs of our healthcare clients,”  stated Bruce Smith, President and Chief Operations Officer at PreCheck, Inc.  “With over fifteen years of exclusive industry focus, PreCheck also brings valuable experience in recognizing our clients’ needs and providing innovative solutions.”

This partnership helps meet human resource departments’ demands of quickly staffing qualified individuals in their facility.  The full integration between PreCheck and Hirebridge allows human resources and hiring professionals to easily order background screening services and receive results through the applicant tracking and candidate management system.  Hirebridge provides the web-based application platform for applicants to apply for a job on any computer, anywhere in the world, while PreCheck delivers the background screening report which could include, criminal and sanction screening, employment, licensing and education verification, plus credit and motor vehicle registration checks.  These background check components are important when hiring individuals within the strict guidelines of the healthcare industry and promote patient and employee safety, along with assisting in risk mitigation for the healthcare facility.

“Our clients are consistently looking for ways in which they can reduce their costs and streamline their business operations.  Ease of use and efficiency of workflow are vital to them.  Partnering with PreCheck, enables us to offer a complete packaged solution that greatly reduces the inefficient, manual and repetitive tasks that are often present in running background checks,” stated Marc Berman, Chief Executive Officer for Hirebridge LLC.

Both companies offer a suite of cost-saving, web-based services that help streamline human resource departments’ daily tasks.

About PreCheck, Inc.

PreCheck Inc. is the nation’s leading provider of background verification and credentialing services for the healthcare industry. PreCheck provides healthcare organizations dedicated to patient safety with the information they need to verify and preserve the integrity of their people and programs.  PreCheck’s services for healthcare organizations expand beyond background verifications and credentialing to include innovative outsourcing solutions to handle employee sanction screening, professional license management, employment verification, vendor credentialing and student background screening.  For more information about PreCheck’s products and services, call 888-PreCheck (773-2432) or visit www.PreCheck.com.

About Hirebridge

Hirebridge, LLC, (http://www.hirebridge.com/) located in Coral Springs, FL, is a provider of web-based Applicant Tracking and Hiring Management Solutions. Its products and services includes Hirebridge Recruiter, a powerful, web-based applicant tracking and candidate management system that provides businesses with easy-to-acquire and easy-to-use tools to reduce costs and streamline business operations. Hirebridge has successfully deployed solutions for more than 125 leading companies, inculding GoDaddy.com, Chicos, White House|Black Market, Snowbird Resort, Menards, Maurices, Tulane University Hospital and Campus Management.

Contact:  Lindsey Reczek - lindseyreczek@precheck.com - 713.590.1139

Applicant Tracking Software Provider, Integrates Features to Help Customers’ Use of Leading Career Site

CORAL SPRINGS, FL (September 25, 2008) – Hirebridge LLC, a leader in application tracking solutions software, has announced the integration of numerous functions that help its customers leverage their use of the nation’s largest online job site, Careerbuilder.

Customers now can post job openings directly from their Hirebridge platform to the CareerBuilder site using CareerBuilder’s DirectPost application submission service. They also can search CareerBuilder’s massive, premium Candidate Resume Database without first leaving the Hirebridge portal. Together, these new features streamline the candidate acquisition process.  Hirebridge and Careerbuilder are also pleased to offer an integrated application for candidates to speed the application process and ensure candidate source tracking.

“This is about improving efficiency and increasing productivity by reducing time spent on repetitive tasks,” said Jeff Kasten, Hirebridge Executive Vice President and Director of Business Development. “This relationship taps the inherent power of both partners. CareerBuilder reaches thousands of career-savvy companies and candidates, and we have the technology to help search firms and companies find candidates faster. Simply put, we make it seamless to interact with CareerBuilder.”

Hirebridge’s ability to interface with CareerBuilder is ideal for human resources professionals who subscribe to CareerBuilder’s candidate database for several reasons. First, those looking to fill positions can post jobs to CareerBuilder directly from within Hirebridge – and have them live on CareerBuilder in about 10 minutes. Second, candidates applying to jobs using CareerBuilder’s “Shared Apply” application can use  data already submitted to the CareerBuilder system, eliminating the need to re-enter personal content or credentials.

“Careerbuilder and Hirebridge are providing employers and candidates with a better solution designed to make the recruitment process more convenient and effective,” said Jennifer Seith, Director of Strategic Services with CareerBuilder. “Their integration of key CareerBuilder products into the Hirebridge system makes it easier for Hirebridge customers to effectively and efficiently recruit their best assets and ensure proper metrics are recorded.

About Hirebridge

Hirebridge, LLC (www.hirebridge.com), located in Coral Springs, FL, is a provider of affordable, web-based applicant tracking and hiring management solutions. Its products and services include Hirebridge Recruiter, a powerful, web-based applicant tracking and candidate management system that provides businesses with easy-to-acquire and easy-to-use tools to reduce costs and streamline business operations. Named to Workforce Management Magazine’s Hot List of “Leading Application Tracking System Software Providers,” Hirebridge has successfully deployed solutions for leading companies, including GoDaddy.com, HCA Healthcare, Chico’s, White House|Black Market, Franklin Covey, Snowbird Resorts, Menards, Maurices, Dress Barn, Tulane University Hospital and Campus Management. For more information, visit http://www.hirebridge.com or call 954-688-3854.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,600 partners, including 140 newspapers and leading portals such as AOL and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 28 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.

Via HRO Today …

The Honickman Group finds recruitment costs escalate after implementing RPO, but for SVP of HR, the costs are more than repaid in business results.

If you follow conventional wisdom about outsourcing recruitment services, then you know cost savings are a primary driver for turning to a third party. But when soft drink bottler The Honickman Group turned to an outsourced solution, it more than doubled its recruitment costs to more than $1 million.

A case of RPO gone wild? Actually, for the Mid-Atlantic bottler, whose headquarters are based in Pennsauken, NJ, the outsourcing engagement has been transformational, according to company officials. Positions are filled more quickly, vacancies that used to plague Honickman during its peak seasons are no longer left unmanned, and the quality of candidates has improved as well. Under a variety of measures, the engagement appears to be wildly successful. Still, what about that gigantic spike in recruitment costs?

READ MORE >>

The User Account Manager in Hirebridge Recruiter has been improved to provide greater flexibility to how you grant access to your database.
This new feature allows you to dynamically grant and remove User access to your Hirebridge system with the click of a button.  Users are now classified as Activated and able to log in, or Deactivated without the ability to log in to the system.  Since Users can now be deactivated, you no longer have to delete a User from the system to grant access to another.
The User Account Manager now shows the current and total number of User accounts you have purchased for your Hirebridge system, and the current and total number of Activated and Deactivated Users that are currently allowed.
The User Account Manager does NOT change how new User accounts are added to your Hirebridge system; it allows you to deactivate Users rather than deleting them.
Activated Users are marked by the  button
Deactivated Users are marked by the  button

TO DEACTIVATE A USER ACCOUNT

• From your Administration tab, select User Account Maintenance.
• Click on the ACTIVATED () button next to the Edit and Delete buttons to the left of the User’s Name.
• A confirmation screen will appear, which states:
• Would you like to Deactivate user “User Name”?
• This user will not be able to log into the system when in a deactivated state.
• Deactivation does not delete/modify any data.
• Click DEACTIVATE.
• The DEACTIVATED () button will now appear next to the Edit and Delete buttons to the left of the User’s name.

TO ACTIVATE A USER ACCOUNT

• From your Administration tab, select User Account Maintenance.
• Click on the DEACTIVATED () button next to the Edit and Delete buttons to the left of the User’s Name.
• A confirmation screen will appear, which states:
• Would you like to activate user “User Name”?
• Click ACTIVATE.
• The ACTIVATED () button will now appear next to the Edit and Delete buttons to the left of the User’s name.

Managing Internal Candidates in Hirebridge Recruiter has never been easier with the rich suite of new features now available.
Employees can now go to your Career Center or Intranet site and request a transfer online.  They apply in a new streamlined process, which collects current position and manager data for you.
 

A new feature in the Job Requisition area allows you to select a screening question set that will only be presented to your internal candidates.
 

As before, internal candidates are marked with the yellow star icon in the Indicators section.

TO APPLY AS AN INTERNAL CANDIDATE/REQUEST A TRANSFER

• Internal candidates browse your Career Center or Intranet site to find a new position.
• Upon clicking the Apply To This Job/Submit Profile button, the normal login page appears.  A new choice appears above the Employee and Vendor Referral links, entitled Existing Employee Seeking Internal Transfer.
• Internal Candidates follow the link provided
• The candidate will enter their email address and password to log in to their profile or create one, just as an external candidate would.
• Next, the contact information form appears, and functions the same as an external candidate submission.
• The Internal Candidate can now upload their resume, copy & paste it into the box, or use the resume builder wizard.
• The resume is extracted into a new short application form.  The candidate must specify their current position and manager.
• If you have assigned an Internal Candidate Screening Question Set, those questions appear next.
• The candidate now signs the standard digital waiver form.

TO ASSIGN A QUESTION SET FOR INTERNAL CANDIDATES ONLY

• When creating or editing a job requisition, a new drop down menu will appear in the right hand column, entitled Intranet Question Set.
• Use the drop down menu to select from the list of available question sets.
• Note:  Use the Question Set Manager in your Administration area to create screening question sets specifically for your internal candidates.
• Remember to click SAVE to complete the process.

The New Hire Process within Hirebridge Recruiter has been enhanced to provide greater flexibility for users.

All candidates processed through the New Hire form are entered into a new Hired Candidates table.

New hire information for all candidates can be downloaded and forwarded directly from your Hirebridge system to any email recipient, including Users, Contacts and others.

TO HIRE A CANDIDATE

• Click on the HIRE action button on the Candidate Details page
• Next, enter the information in the new Candidate Hire form that you wish to collect
• Click the HIRE CANDIDATE button to save this data
• This will make an entry into the new Hire Candidate table
• A reference will be made in the candidates file as well, included in the notes & history log
• The candidate’s record file will reflect that the candidate has been hired, and their status will be automatically changed to Hired

TO VIEW THE HIRED CANDIDATES TABLE

• The Hired Candidate table is located within the Reports tab in the Candidate Reports section
• Click HIRED CANDIDATES to reach this page
• The Hired Candidates table will appear, showing the data collected when you pressed the HIRE action button
• Note:  Clicking on the Candidate’s name in the report will take you back to the new Hire Candidate form, so you can make changes and update the hiring record directly from the new table
• The Hired Candidate table can be filtered with our ActiveGrid feature in the same was as other reports and searches
• The desired results can then be downloaded like all other reports by using the EXPORT button
• The download will be in .CSV format and can be opened in most common spreadsheet programs like MS Excel

TO EMAIL THE NEW HIRE FILE

• Click the new Forward Hired Candidate File icon to the left of the new hire’s name
• This will open the Forward Hired Candidate Info page
• Select your desired recipients from the Users and Contacts list, or enter other email addresses into the To field, just as you have always done when forwarding a candidate resume
• Below, the message area shows you the data to be forwarded.  Here is another opportunity to make changes or updates.  Caution:  these updates or changes are NOT stored in the Hired Candidate Table
• Click the check box to include your email signature, if you wish
• Click the SEND EMAIL button to complete the process

The Complete Candidate Activity and History Log within Hirebridge Recruiter has been created to provide you with a single place to view all notes and activities for candidates attached to multiple job requisitions in your Hirebridge system. This complete log can be filtered by user, job and requisition number; it can even be printed and exported like any other report.

A new access level has been created, allowing Administrators to grant individual users permission to view this complete notes and activities log.

TO ADD PERMISSION TO VIEW THE COMPLETE CANDIDATE ACTIVITY AND HISTORY LOG

• In your Administration area, select User Account Maintenance from the control panel.
• Click on the EDIT icon to the left of the user you wish to grant access.
• In the System User Options area on the right, click the box for ALLOW USER TO VIEW COMPLETE CANDIDATE ACTIVITY & HISTORY LOG.
• Always remember to save your changes.

TO VIEW/PRINT/EXPORT THE COMPLETE CANDIDATE ACTIVITY AND HISTORY LOG

• The complete candidate activity and history log is located within the Candidate Details page as an new option in the accordion file you are using now, Show Candidates Activity & History Log.
• Click on the accordion file to open.
  Just below the accordion file link, click on the new option VIEW ENTIRE CANDIDATE ACTIVITY & HISTORY LOG ENTRIES.
• The complete activity and history log can be filtered with the ActiveGrid technology by:
• Who created the entry
• Job Title
• Job Requisition number
• You can print and export the complete activity and history log like any other report, with the buttons at the bottom of the page.

The Candidate Pipeline feature has been added to Hirebridge Recruiter to provide quicker access to your most valued candidates.

Candidates can be placed into your pipeline through the Pipeline action button.  Adding candidates to your pipeline allows you to filter and sort search results by this new designation.  A new Pipeline column has been added to the Jobs Overview page showing you the number of candidates in your pipeline for a particular job requisition.  You can go directly to your total candidates and your pipeline candidates by clicking on the number.

TO PIPELINE A CANDIDATE

• Click on the PIPELINE action button on the Candidate Details page
• The Pipeline icon ( Your browser may not support display of this image. )  will be added to this candidate’s record in the Indicators section of the Candidate Search page, and an entry will be made in the notes & history log.

TO FILTER/SORT PIPELINE CANDIDATES ONLY FROM THE CANDIDATE SEARCH PAGE

• On your Candidate Search page, click the checkbox for the new Pipeline indicator in the search filter area at the bottom of the page.
• The Candidate Search page will now display only those candidates that are in your pipeline.

TO VIEW PIPELINE CANDIDATES ONLY FROM THE JOBS OVERVIEW PAGE

• On your Jobs Overview page, the new Pipeline column has been added next to Total.
• The Pipeline column shows the total number of candidates in your pipeline for that job requisition.  You can click on this number to go directly to your pipeline candidates only.
• You can also click on the number in your Total column to go directly to your total number of candidates, just as you did before by clicking on title of the job req.