IFSM 300 STAGE 1

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Maryland Technology Consultants, Inc.

Business Analysis and System Recommendation Report

Technology Based Hiring System

IFSM – 300 – 6981

March 15, 2020

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Introduction:

With an increasing demand for consultants due to anticipated business contracts, a more

effective hiring system is in need of development. The system must be able to pre-qualify

prospects in a timely and effective manner to ensure a seamless transition into the vacant

consultant roles. It was determined by in-house interviews, analysis and research, an opportunity

for improvement in the current staffing process. This Business Analysis and System

Recommendation Report (BA&SR) outlines recommendations for an improved information

system to aid in the hiring process.

Section I: Strategic Use of Technology:

A: Business Strategy:

The current system of hiring through recruiters was deemed appropriate for current

operations. It was discussed and determined that with the rapid growth and future plans for

expansion, a system is in need of development to aid in the hiring of new consultants. The

current manual methods can no longer support the hiring process.

It is proposed that a technology solution to support the hiring process be developed using

an IT based solution, such as “JazzHR”, “a powerful, user-friendly, and affordable ATS /

recruiting software that enables today’s greatest people to build tomorrow’s greatest companies.”

The system will require less human interaction to accelerate the pre-selection of qualified

individuals. By “weeding out” those who do not meet the minimum education and experience

requirements the hiring process will not be bogged down with interviewing non-qualified

individuals.

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B: Competitive Advantage:

The Information Technology (IT) consulting sector is very competitive and local IT

consultants may be difficult to properly source. The use of remote consultants to provide remote

research and analysis support in support of local, onsite consultants will allow for additional

support, behind the scenes, as needed, without draining local resources. Additionally, the use of a

technological approach to hiring will allow MTC to offer jobs to the best talent before the

competition can. The accelerated hiring process will offer a competitive advantage over other

small to mid-sized IT consulting firms, and even the larger firms in the region.

C: Strategic Objectives:

To ensure MTC’s goals and objectives are met, the following approach is proposed:

Strategic Goal Objective Explanation

Increase MTC Business Development by winning new contracts in the areas of IT Consulting

Grow current client contracts by 15% in the next 6-months.

Ensuring MTC is fully staffed at all times is essential to increasing MTC’s Business Development. By maintaining an active and ready staff of top-notch consultants MTC can use staff experience and numbers to win new contracts in the areas of IT consulting.

Build a cadre of consultants internationally to provide remote research and analysis support to MTC’s onsite teams in the U. S.

Increase international recruiting efforts and employ 5 research analysts in the next 12 months.

The new hiring system would allow applicants from around the world to apply online, increasing the number of international applicants. Recruiters could quickly view the number of applicants and identify when additional recruiting efforts are needed to meet the objective.

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Strategic Goal Objective Explanation

Continue to increase MTC’s ability to quickly provide high quality consultants to awarded contracts to best serve the clients’ needs

Complete hiring process in < 10 days from identification of need for new consultant until start date.

With a technology-based recruiting system MTC will have the ability to provide high-quality, experienced and effective consultants to fulfill client contracts and exceed expectations by only sourcing those prospects using defined parameters identified in the information system to be developed.

Increase MTC’s competitive advantage in the IT consulting marketplace by increasing its reputation for having IT consultants who are highly skilled in leading edge technologies and innovative solutions for its clients

Develop and utilize customer satisfaction surveys to source feedback on consultant performance. Attain 88% customer satisfaction within 12 months of implementation.

With the highly competitive market for quality IT professionals, the use of a relational database can not only select the best candidates, it can do it faster than the manual selection process used in the industry. The use of SQL will also allow MTC to use data mining techniques to identify candidates with experience is specialized fields to better match consultants with clients and their needs.

D: Decision Making:

To aid in the hiring process multiple decisions, at multiple levels will need to be made. To assist

in the visualization of the decision process, the following table has been provided:

Role Level Possible Decision Supported by Hiring System

Information the Hiring System Could Provide

Senior/Executive Managers

Strategic Prospect, qualify and acquire new client contracts at a domestic and international level.

Budgetary information to ensure resources are properly allocated for labor, licensing, travel, etc.

Middle Managers

Management

Number of personnel to hire, timeframe of hire, time until project start date, duration of project. Resources required.

Demographics of new-hire and prospective consultants, languages spoken, locations, core competencies, education, etc.

Operational Managers

Operational

Knowledge and skillsets needed to fill open positions. Number of personnel, on and off site, needed for contract fulfillment. Estimated resources needed to meet goals.

Identification of needs for project scope/scope of work.

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Section II: Process Analysis

II. Process Analysis

A. Hiring Process

It was previously determined and is understood that the current hiring process at

MTC is antiquated and there are possibilities of a streamlined process using an IT

approach. The Director of HR has expressed concern regarding the current

practices of manual process of hiring. The department feels as through it may not

be able to handle the hiring of seventy-five professionals in the timeframe needed.

The table below outlines the current processes and the proposed process

improvements.

MTC Hiring Process

As-Is Process Responsible

MTC Position

To-Be Process – How the

system Will Support and

Improve the hiring

process

Business Benefits of

Improved Process (Align

with MTC’s overall business

strategy and needs.)

1. Recruiter receives application from job hunter via Postal Service Mail.

Recruiter System will receive application via on-line submission through MTC Employment Website and store in the applicant database within the hiring system.

A more efficient submission process decreases time needed to receive and begin processing applications. This will present a positive image to potential employees and help MTC compete for top IT talent.

2. Recruiter screens resumes to identify top candidates by matching with job requirements from job description.

Recruiter System will review the resumes for keywords and identify candidates who meet minimum requirements.

By removing candidates who do not meet the minimum education or experience requirements will be eliminated from the initial screening process accelerating the process.

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MTC Hiring Process, Continued

As-Is Process Responsible

MTC Position

To-Be Process – How the system Will Support and Improve the hiring process

Business Benefits of Improved Process (Align with MTC’s overall business strategy and needs.)

3. Recruiter forwards top candidates to Administrative Assistant via interoffice mail

Recruiter System will select the top, qualified candidates, rank them using predefined criteria and forward the resumes to the Hiring Manager for the next step in the process.

By only forwarding the top, qualified candidates to the Hiring Manager, the system has removed a manual step in the as-is process and removed the need for the Administrative Assistant to forward.

4. Administrative Assistant forwards candidates’ resumes and applications to hiring manager for the position via interoffice mail.

Administrative

Assistant

This will be eliminated from the process. The System will select best candidates and forward to the Hiring Manager.

This will be eliminated from the process. The System will select best candidates and forward to the Hiring Manager.

5. Hiring Manager reviews applications and selects who he/she wants to interview.

Hiring

Manager

Hiring Manager will receive an electronic listing of top candidates using the defined criteria.

Hiring Manager will not need to wait on a manual review of the resumes or applications from the Administrative Assistant.

6. Hiring Manager sends email to Administrative Assistant on who he/she has selected to interview and identifies members of the interview team.

Hiring

Manager

System will identify prospects to receive initial prescreening interview and provide contact information to Hiring Manager and send automated email to candidate to begin scheduling interviews. The interview team was identified previously in the systems parameters.

System removes manual review process, communicates information via email and messenger technology to relevant personnel to being the scheduling process.

7. AA schedules interviews by contacting interview team members and hiring manager to identify possible time slots

Administrative

Assistant

System to alert candidates selected for initial interview (prescreen), Hiring Manager, and interview team to coordinate scheduling.

System will automatically notify all relevant personnel for scheduling of interviews. MTC calendars are accessible to complete preliminary coordination of interviews.

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MTC Hiring Process, Concluded

As-Is Process Responsible

MTC Position

To-Be Process – How

the system Will Support

and Improve the hiring

process

Business Benefits of

Improved Process (Align with

MTC’s overall business

strategy and needs.)

8. AA emails candidates to schedule interviews.

Administrative Assistant

System alerts candidates of pending interviews. Hiring Manager and interview team select dates and times when they are available within the system to offer timeslot options to candidates.

System is automated and does not require Administrative Assistant to manually type emails.

9. Interview is conducted with candidate, hiring manager and other members of the interview team.

Hiring Manager and Interview Team

Interview is conducted with candidate, hiring manager and other members of the interview team. (Hiring System is not used for this step.)

n/a

10. Hiring manager informs the AA on his top candidate for hiring

Hiring Manager Hiring Manager uses system to select top candidate(s) for hiring via system and generates offer letter, and/or memorandum of understanding (MoU) as applicable.

System removes the step of manually notifying the top candidate(s) of their pending job offers.

11. AA collects feedback from interviews and status of candidates

Administrative Assistant

System alerts interview team of an online survey to collect feedback and status of candidates. System compiles survey feedback in a comprehensive executive summary (output)

Information collected in the closing survey will allow IT, HR, and Hiring Manager to adjust system inputs and outputs to continually improve process.

12. Administrative Assistant prepares offer letter based on information from recruiter and puts in the mail to the chosen candidate.

Administrative

Assistant

System enables AA to prepare job offer letter by storing the offer letter template and information on each candidate; allows AA to select information to go into letter and put it into the template, which can then be reviewed and emailed to the candidate.

More efficient offer process presents positive image to applicants and decreases time needed to prepare offer letter, and enables MTC to hire in advance of the competition.

B. Expected Improvements

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Additional improvements for MTC’s hiring process have been identified and are

outlined in the table below. The table addresses the different areas, current issues

and improvements that will result from proper implementation of the update IT

based hiring system.

Area Current Issues Improvements

Collaboration: The Hiring Manager states that recruiting is only one area he is responsible for and he isn’t as responsive to HR as he could be. Therefore, he counts on the Recruiters to help manage the process and keep him informed. Current manual system causes considerable communication breakdowns and takes additional effort and time to stay on top of the hiring process.

An efficient system with all information in one place, easily accessible via a dashboard, and updated in real time could make his recruiting job easier; and he could devote time to effectively working collaboratively and proactively with HR on his staffing needs.

Communications: There are many people involved in the hiring process, sometimes communication is not timely or always received.

The system will generate automated emails and messages to all relevant personnel, including the candidates. This will remove the human error aspect of communication.

Workflow: The manual process of hiring, currently, does not always flow well due to the number or people involved and the tedious process of reading resumes and reviewing applications. The process is slow and depends on the next person in the process flow to be ready, available, and willing to expedite their role in the process to ensure timely workflow.

The system will utilize keywords to search the candidates’ applications and resumes to complete a process step in seconds instead of minutes, hours or days making the subsequent steps for efficient and will see results for numerous candidates’ reviews in short order.

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Area Current Issues Improvements

Relationships: The personal touches involved in the manual process allows for communication and relationship building as personnel discuss candidates. The manual process also allows for relationship building between the company and applicants early on.

The relationship aspect will be accelerated in getting applicants in front of MTC representatives faster, allowing for applicants to meet MTC personnel in a much faster timeframe.

Section III: Requirements

A. Stakeholder Interests

The table included is intended to clearly identify specific problems that are related to

each stakeholder at MTC based on the current hiring process. The third column explains

how a technology system solution could mitigate the concerns.

Role Specific problem related to the current hiring process

How a technology solution to support the hiring process could address the problem

1. CEO

The proper personnel are not in the proper roles or capacity to ensure fulfillment of current contracts.

The information systems-based hiring process improvement will ensure applicants are accurately matched with proper positions.

2. CFO

The current manual hiring process has proven to be inefficient and not cost conscious.

The improved hiring system will reduce the time utilized to manually manage the hiring process.

3. CIO The current system is not IT based and is slow and may not always perform as intended.

The portability and security of the system will be integrated to allow for real time and on-the-spot review and processing to ensure proper workflow.

4. Director of Human Resources

With the current manual hiring process, the HR department cannot handle the demand of hiring within the timeframe required.

The new system will streamline the process, all but removing the human factor from the process, accelerating the process and reducing redundancies, inefficiencies, mistakes, and resources needed to accomplish the task.

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Role Specific problem related to the current hiring process

How a technology solution to support the hiring process could address the problem

5. Manager of Recruiting

The current team of recruiters cannot handle the increased demands within the required timeframe.

The improved IT-based system for hiring will utilize efficient methods for prequalifying candidates and move them through the hiring process within little to no human interaction of recruiters.

6. Recruiters

The manual process of recruiting and sifting through resumes is inefficient and cannot be managed effectively to meet demands of new hire deadlines.

The new system for hiring will prequalify candidates and allow recruiters to move applicants through the process using messaging, emails, and calendar invites.

7. Administrative Assistant

The AA is required to sort and communicate results of reviews and manually pass information to the next link the chain. This is time consuming, inefficient and can lead to mistakes.

The new system will essentially remove the need for the AA to be as involved in the process and can be freed up to focus on more important tasks.

8. Hiring Manager (Functional supervisor the new employee would be working for.)

System of reading resumes and recommendations from employees in the chain of hiring is inefficient and may lead to errors and misinformation.

The IT-based system will keep the hiring manager in the loop of the progress through automated messages, emails, calendar invites, etc. Allowing the Manager to stay one step ahead instead of one step behind.

B. Defining Requirements

The information for requirements is outlined in the table below. It outlines the

requirements, stakeholder and requirement statements to provide an easy reference for

each topic.

Requirement

ID# Requirement Statement Stakeholder

1. The system must ensure the right people can be in place to fulfill our current contracts and additional talented staff can be quickly hired to address needs of future contracts.

CEO - Samuel Johnson

2. The system must store all information from the candidate’s application/resume in a central applicant database

Recruiter – Peter O’Neil

3. The total cost of ownership of any technology must be considered to ensure return on investment.

CFO - Evelyn Liu

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Requirement ID#

Requirement Statement Stakeholder

4. The system must be easy-to-use and can interface with our existing systems and enhance processes.

Director of HR - Joseph Cummings

5. The system must provide the status of job openings. Hiring Manager

6. The system must be implemented as a Software as a Service solution

CIO – Raj Patel

7. Applicant tracking systems should be included to reduce hiring time by 15-20%

Manager of Recruiting - Sofia Perez

8. Integrate with payroll software to ease new hire starts Administrative Assistant- Tom Arbuckle

9. The system must provide protection of data as it is recorded. CIO - Raj Patel

10. The system should have multi-factor authentication CIO - Raj Patel

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