Information Technology Research Paper.
Human resources department can use information technology to collect data on potential employees, as well as, storage and processing of information on employees data, employment, job characteristics, and procedures of employment, individual improvement and performance appraisal among others. One of the major advantages of implementing information technology in the human resource department is to reduce time spent on transactional services, allowing the staff to focus more on transformational activities (Mamoudou & Joshi, 2014). Chesapeake IT Consultants, a company that specializes in the provision of IT consulting services to customers, is seeking an IT solution to meet its growing need for more human resources. The company feels emphatical that the success of the company lies in its ability to have high-quality human resources. The purpose of this report is to develop an IT solution for the company for knowledge management purposes of the company.Information Technology Research Paper.
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Strategic Use of Technology
- Organizational strategy: CIC’s business strategy is to leverage highly skilled consultants to provide information on IT trends. An information technology system would allow the company to attract a larger workforce through online recruitment that will allow the company to achieve its goal. In addition, the IT system can aromatize and standardize routines allowing the human resource department to focus on interpreting information. IT systems make information more readily available reduces errors and simplifies HR practices.Information Technology Research Paper.
- Competitive Advantage: E-recruitment would allow the company to access passive job seekers or individuals who already employed but are looking for better opportunities. Such job seekers are of higher quality as they are not desperate to change their jobs. In addition, the company will have access to a larger pool of job seekers and will, therefore, be able to choose the best. As such, the new IT solution will enable the company to access a larger pool of potential employees from which it can choose the best who can assist the company meets its objectives. Quality employees translate to better company capabilities to compete.
- Strategic Objective
Through the IT system, the company will be able to meet the following strategic goals.
| Strategic Goal (from a case study) | Objective (clear, measurable and time-bound) | Explanation (2-3 sentences) |
| Increase CIC Business Development by winning new contracts in the areas of IT Consulting | Increase the efficiency of the recruitment process and employ at least 10 new research analyst for satellite locations over the next one year | The new system would allow the company to access a larger pool of potential employees who can be leveraged to acquire human resources that can be used to provide onsite consultation at customer’s locations. This will improve the company’s reputation which will lead to an increase new contracts |
| Continue to increase CIC’s ability to quickly provide high-quality consultants to awarded contracts to best serve the clients’ needs | Hire 75 new consultants within the next one year | E-recruitment will allow both passive and active job seekers to apply for a job at the company. With access to such a large pool of potential employees, the company will be able to choose the best who can improve the competitive advantage of the company. High-quality human resources will provide high-quality work that will sustain the competitive advantage of the company.Information Technology Research Paper. |
| Increase CIC’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 | Improve hiring across the globe and ensure that at least 10 remote employees are employed with the month | By hiring remote employees, the company will be able to cut the costs of maintaining employees on its premise. This will reduce costs which translates to increased finances for developing its current workforce. This will ensure that its employees can meet the needs of its clients. |
- Decision Making: The new system can support decisions at all levels of management, such as:
| Role | Level as defined in IS Course Module | Example of Possible Decision Supported by Hiring System | Example of Information, the Hiring System, Could Provide to Support Your Example Decision |
| Senior/Executive Managers (Decisions made by the CEO and the CFO at CIC supported by the hiring system.) | Upper/ Top level management | Tracking staff skills and certification for development | Education status, training programs that the employees have undertaken |
| Middle Managers (Decisions made by the Director of HR and the Manager of Recruiting supported by the hiring system.) | Middle-Level management | Hire employees who will work remotely or over the internet | Information such as education background, current employment status, through the e-recruitment dashboard. |
| Operational Managers (Decisions made by the line managers in the organization who are hiring for their projects supported by the hiring system.) | Lower Level Management | Screening of potential applicants in terms of job status such as whether employed or not (Koontz, 2010) | Applicant job status, |
Process Analysis: Hiring Process
The recruitment process in any organization is one of the most fundamental processes for the company (Swider, Zimmerman & Barrick, 2015). Companies spend significant amounts of resources, including technology products to facilitate their recruitment processes (Muehlemann & Pfeifer, 2016). It seems that the objective of the hiring and recruitment process according to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer is to ensure that the right people are allocated the right pieces of work so that desired objectives are achieved within the most appropriate period. However, it also appears that a fundamental resource lacks is the recruitment process; that is, the company lacks an appropriate technology that would facilitate the hiring or the recruitment process according to its Chief Financial Officer. Information Technology Research Paper.The only successful and efficient processes within the company’s human resource management department are the payrolls and the time-keeping processes. Chesapeake IT Consultants, through, their Chief Financial Officer have emphasized that there is a need to rely on an appropriate technology to improve it’s current and future hiring processes.
Besides, the major concern of the above Company is to find a technology solution, compatible with their operational processes. According to its Chief Information Officer, an understanding of its overall Information Technology Architecture is key to the implementation of an effective information technology solution. The hiring and recruitment process begins by proper advertisement of a specific job position as a means of targeting relevant job-seekers. It seems that the major challenge experienced by Chesapeake IT Consultants occurs in processing the applications; a factor that jeopardizes the process of selecting highly qualified candidates. The next step is performed by the recruiters, headed, by Juliet Jackson and Mac Thompson as well as Paul O’Brien. It involves screening and assessing resumes after, which they are forwarded to the hiring manager to ensure that they select the most qualified or top-most candidates.Information Technology Research Paper.
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| CIC Hiring Process | |||
| As-Is Process (Part 1) | Responsible CIC Position (Part 1) | To-Be Process – How the System Will Support the New Process (Part 2) | Business Benefits of Improved Process (Part 2) |
| Recruiter receives application from job hunter via Postal Service Mail. EXAMPLE PROVIDED – Retain as #1 | Recruiter | Receive application via online submission through CIC Employment Website and store an applicant database. | More efficient submission process decreases the time needed to receive and begin processing applications. This will present a positive image to potential employees and help CIC compete for top IT talent. |
| 2. Recruiter screens applications received from various job applicants | Recruiter | The process will be more efficient and less time consuming | Ensures that applications are not lost, and highly qualified candidates are selected within the most appropriate period |
| 3. Routes screened applications and resumes from the recruiters to the hiring manager | The Administrative Assistant | Will eliminate the need for the use of inter-office mail by creating a technology platform through, which applications can be efficiently sent to the Hiring Manager | Will facilitate the reduction and prevention of challenges emerging from misplaced applications through the inter-office mail delivery process |
| 4. The hiring manager receives screened resumes and applications from the administrative assistant and selects the top-most or highly qualified candidates | Hiring Manager | The new system will ensure that highly qualified candidates are hired as quickly as possible | Will improve the company’s competitive advantage with regard to selecting and hiring highly qualified candidates |
| 5. The administrative assistant receives feedback from the hiring managers concerning the candidates they would like to interview | Administrative Assistant | The new system will support communication between the Administrative Assistant and the Hiring Manager | Will eliminate challenges associated with paperwork |
| 6. The Administrative Assistant Schedules interviews | Administrative Assistant | The New system will support interview scheduling process | According to the recruiters and the Administrative Assistant, the new system, particularly, the Information Technology Solution will facilitate the process of scheduling and organizing interviews based on available applications |
| 7. The Administrative Manager collects feedback from the Interview Team. The feedback is forwarded to the Recruiters, concerning the status of each job applicant or interviewee | The Administrative Assistant | The new technology solution is expected to support communication between the Administrative Manager and the Recruiters, especially when disseminating feedback from the interviewers | The new technology solution would enhance communication between the recruiters and the administrative manager |
| 8. The recruiters make a job offer after receiving feedback from the Administrative Assistant | The Recruiters | The new technology solution will enhance communication between the Administrative Assistant and the Recruiters, including the New Job applicants | It will improve the process of giving and receiving |
| 9. Coordination of paperwork for the new hire with the Human Resource and the Payroll | The Administrative Assistant, the Human Resource, and Payroll | The new technology solution will enhance the process of coordination between Payroll and Human Resource | Enhance the coordination process, especially among key three stakeholders, the Human Resources, Payroll Department and the Administrative Assistant |
| 10. Keeping applicants and their status straight; this is performed by tracking the conditions of job applications and informing applicants about critical issues as well as the status of their applications | Administrative Assistant | Support workflow and tracking the status of job Applications in the Company | Facilitate an improved workflow by the Administrative Assistant |
| 11Ensures that all stakeholders involved in the hiring process access and utilize necessary resources they may require | Administrative Assistant | Improve and facilitate the workflow process | The information technology solution will facilitate the process of tracking applications, ensuring they are properly handled and managed |
| 12. Ted prepares offer letter based on information from the recruiter and puts in the mail to the chosen candidate. EXAMPLE PROVIDED – Retain as #12. | Administrative Assistant | Prepares job offer letter by selecting information needed for a specific candidate; system completes the template with stored information and Ted reviews and emails to the candidate. | More efficient offer process presents a positive image to applicants and decreases the time needed to prepare offer letter, and enable CIC to hire in advance of the competition. |
Expected Improvements
| Area | Current Issues (from the Case Study) | Improvements (due to use of technology) |
| Collaboration: EXAMPLE PROVIDED: | The Hiring Manager states that he isn’t as responsive to HR as he could be as recruiting is only one of the many areas he is responsible for. Therefore, he depends on Recruiters to stay on top of the recruiting process. Information Technology Research Paper. | An efficient system with all information in one place, easily accessible 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: Explain how a hiring system could improve internal and external communications | The hiring process is characterized by high levels of communication among various stakeholders. However, it seems that it significantly depends on manual modes of communication such as the use of inter-office mail, which could be quite time-consuming and inefficient | The new information technology will minimize unnecessary movements from one office to another. That I, it will facilitate communication process among key stakeholders, ensuring that information is received within an appropriate period. |
| Workflow: Explain how a hiring system could improve the CIC hiring process by providing a consistent structure for each participant to perform his/her part in the hiring process. | The current workflow significantly relies on manual modes of application. The Administrative Assistant has complained of slow processes and high levels of workloads as a result of manual modes of managing job applications. | The new information technology system will basically enhance the efficiency of managing and processing job applications and dissemination of data across key stakeholders within the hiring process. In this perspective, it will enhance or improve workflow among key stakeholders. |
| Relationships: Explain how implementing an enterprise hiring system could foster stronger relationships with applicants/potential employees. | Currently, there is poor coordination and association among key stakeholders, for instance, between recruiters and the Hiring Manager. The Recruiters can only communicate with the hiring manager through the Administrative Assistant. | The new technology platform will facilitate and create a direct communication between relevant parties. It will eliminate unnecessary communication processes such as the need to pass feedback from the interviewers through the Administrative Assistant.Information Technology Research Paper. |
Stage 3: Business Analysis and System Recommendation Report
Stakeholder interest: The table below defines the specific interests of each of these key per in the organization. It identifies their roles and how technology will help solve their challenges.
| Role | The specific challenge related to the hiring process | How a technology solution to support the hiring process could address the challenge |
| CEO Makes strategic decisions and is responsible for business development. | CIC should have the right employees to fulfill contracts for future business sustainability and consumer satisfaction | Technology will aid in attracting and screening the right candidates that are capable of delivering services to consumers efficiently. |
| CFO Makes financial decisions and ensures that projects are viable and cost-effective | Align the hiring process with the cost-effective strategy for the company. | Technology that is not overbuilt will reduce the costs involved in the hiring process. The automated process will ensure time spent in hiring is minimized and ensure efficient allocation of company resources. |
| CIO Monitors and controls technical operations in the company while ensuring they are aligned with company objectives. | Incorporating technology that utilizes available talent ensures efficiency, portability, and safety. | Hiring technology aids in automating some functions in the hiring process to minimize the workload for the available workers. Also, its security measures are regulated by the company to ensure that it meets safety standards and is viable on a global scale.Information Technology Research Paper. |
| Director of Human Resources Makes decisions relating to the hiring of employees and ensures that they are aligned with company objectives | Integrating a hiring process that reduces the workload for recruiting personnel to enhance efficiency. Also, having a flexible hiring procedure to meet CIC growth objective | The hiring technology will enable the company to expand as it will reduce the workload for recruiters. It also engages in screening a diverse pool of candidates to meet CIC international growth needs. |
| Manager of Recruiting Makes tactic strategies to enhance the quality and efficiency of the hiring process | Minimizing time spent in searching for the right candidates and beating the competition to hire the best candidates in the market. | Hiring technology recognizes possible candidates through different online networks; it screens their resumes in time to ensure that the company maintains a competitive hiring procedure. |
| Recruiters Screen resumes and provides best candidates to the hiring manager | Maintaining time-sensitivity, efficacy, and appropriate resume storage | Hiring technology will aid is a fast screening of resumes and keep a digital record of all resumes received. |
| Administrative Assistant Manages recruitment paperwork and flow of information between the hiring manager and the candidates | Minimize workload through effective resume storage and enhance the tracking of candidates | Technology will aid in electronic storage of candidates information allowing for easy retrieval |
| viii. Hiring Manager (Functional supervisor the new employee would be working for.) | Enhance the training process for new employees and recognition of open job positions | Technology will provide digital training and enhance information flow in the company so as to realize positions that need to be filled. |
Requirements: This table recognizes the functional and non-functional needs for the technology hiring process. A functional requirement illustrates the task system software is supposed to perform while a non-functional requirement place constraints on how a system software will perform. Non-functional requirements are another requirement apart from functional requirements (Chung, Nixon, A & Mylopoulos, 2012). The above requirements will help in identifying a solution by categorizing important tasks from the tasks that are not of importance.Information Technology Research Paper.
| Requirement ID | Requirement Statement | Stakeholder (Name/Position from Case Study that identified this requirement) |
| Functional Requirements | ||
| 1. Store information Example retained as #1 | The system shall store all information from the candidate’s application/resume in a central applicant database. | Recruiter – Paul O’Brien |
| 2. Retrieves information on the candidate | The system shall aid in retrieval of any candidate information as it is stored in a central database (Bullen et al. 2009) | Recruiter |
| 3. Review candidates status on the hiring process | The system ranks candidates based on the stages of the hiring process enhancing the status review process | Recruiter |
| 4. Recognize vacant job positions | The system consolidates information from all departments thus enhancing the recognition of vacant job positions | Hiring manager |
| 5. Report to HR about new hires and their payroll | The system shall coordinate information on new hires and their payroll | Administrative assistant |
| Non-Functional Requirements | ||
| 1. Provided a service solution Example retained as #1 | The system shall be implemented as a Software as a Service solution. | CIO – Fadil Abadi |
| 2. Business development | The system shall ensure that capable candidates are hired to address the needs of future contracts | CEO |
| 3.Cost effective technology solution | The system shall reduce the cost of hiring and maintain a lean-and-mean organization and support processes (Lee, 2011) | CFO |
| 4. Secure candidate personal data | The system shall ensure that employee information is secure | CIO |
| 5. Avoid unauthorized access to employee information | The system shall guarantee that only the authorized personnel can access employee information | CIO |
Stage 4: System Recommendation and Summary & Conclusion
- System Justification and How the Proposed Solution Meets the Requirements
The company’s selected solution will be to use the EZ-ATS applicant tracking software to aid in the process of recruiting new employees to the company. The selected solution is a cost-effective and more efficient method of hiring because it decreases the amount of paperwork required during the hiring process and it will increase the number of new employees being recruited within a short duration.Information Technology Research Paper.
The new IT recruitment solution will assist the company in accessing a large pool of potential employees, and CIC will be able to pick the best candidates. Bringing quality employees on board will enable the company to compete with its rivals well. The proposed solution will be able to meet its requirements through various ways such as scheduling interviews with candidates, going through the candidates resumes, increase hiring efficiency, and it will get rid of the old hiring process which required a lot of work.
- Implementation Areas
Once the CIC management approves and consents to have workable as the recruitment system for CIC hiring process, it has to be put into practice so that it can execute its functions. Below are the key implementation areas;
Vendor agreement: The vendor needs a signed agreement and credit card or purchase order information from CIC to begin using the system. The price of getting access and configuring the system to CIC use depends on the number of users, and it costs $50 to $500 monthly. It will cost the company $100 per month to sustain 60 system users.
Hardware and telecommunication: CIC employees can use a PC, laptop or mobile devices to access the system. For the system to be accessed there needs to be internet connectivity because the software is a cloud-based solution.Information Technology Research Paper.
Configuration: the vendor offers website videos and training resources to for configuring the off-the-shelf system. The configuration will be done by a dedicated account manager by contacting the company and helping in the configuration steps and preparation.
Testing: For CIC to try out the system and see how it functions, EZ-ATS offers a free 30-day trial. CIC will check the system to see if it is working correctly by conducting a User Acceptance Testing by testing the system from a user point of view this will be more realistic and it will help CIC focus on limited functionalities and they will be highly likely to discover any loopholes. Storing information, which is the first functional requirement, will be tested using the system to see if all of the candidate’s information is stored in a central application database.
Employee preparation: Below are the actions that will be carried out to organize the employees on how to use the new system;
Leadership: CIC leaders will require training by the Workable software in order to equip them with the required recruitment skills. Recruitment officers such as Paul O’Brien will be trained on using the system as he will use it more often.
Change management: CIC will generate a vision for the new system and allocate it to their employees for their preparation. Also, the company will have to sway their employees to sustain the new system and put into practice on how to use it to boost their morale.Information Technology Research Paper.
Training: The new software system will be delegated by training of the CIC employees. The training will commence with the company’s administrative assistant, HR, and the recruiting manager.
Data migration: the new system is meant to be used in the process of recruiting new employees and storing their information. Since it will be a new system being launched, records from the company will require being filled in the system.
Maintenance: the new system which will be installed in the company’s computer will be maintained by members from the department of IT. Hence, the chief information officer will work in conjunction with the customer care support from EZ-ATS to maintain the new system.Information Technology Research Paper.
- Summary and Conclusion
CIC, which is a consulting organization, constantly recruits new employees according to the workload needed to be done. Some of the jobs they handle are always urgent, and this requires the company to sign up new employees in a short period. With the proposed IT solution, the company will increase its recruiting rate because the system will use less time compared to the old method of recruitment. Owing to the fact that the company aims at going universal, the IT recruitment solution will benefit the company because its employees will be able to access information from the system’s cloud from anywhere. Also, since the company is aiming to be universal, its workload will increase as well as the process of recruitment. Therefore, by upgrading the IT recruitment process, the company’s objectives will be met.Information Technology Research Paper.
References
Bullen, C. V., Abraham, T., Gallagher, K., Simon, J. C., & Zwieg, P. (2009). IT workforce trends: Implications for curriculum and hiring. Communications of the association for information systems, 24(1), 9.
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Chung, L., Nixon, B. A., Yu, E., & Mylopoulos, J. (2012). Non-functional requirements in software engineering (Vol. 5). Springer Science & Business Media.
EZ-ATS Brochure (1).pdf – Page 1 EZ-ATS APPLICANT TRACKING SOFTWARE EZ-ATS Applicant Tracking Software Everything you need to create a high performing
Fetscherin, M., & Lattemann, C. (2008). User acceptance of virtual worlds. Journal of electronic commerce research, 9(3), 231.
Koontz, H. (2010). Essentials of management . London, UK: Tata McGraw-HIll education.
Lee, I. (2011). Modeling the benefit of e-recruiting process integration. Decision Support
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Mamoudou, S., & Joshi, G. (2014). Impact of Information Technology in Human Resource Management. Global Journal of Business Management and Information Technology, 4(1), 33-41.
Muehlemann, S., & Pfeifer, H. (2016). The Structure of Hiring Costs in Germany: Evidence from Firm‐Level Data. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 55(2), 193-218.
Swider, B. W., Zimmerman, R. D., & Barrick, M. R. (2015). Searching for the right fit: Development of applicant person-organization fit perceptions during the recruitment process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 880.Information Technology Research Paper.