Maryland Technology Consultants, (MTC) is a business consulting entity in the field of information technology. The corporation depends on highly skilled and talented professional to deliver its services that include; business consulting, IT consulting and IT outsourcing Consulting to its clientele. Currently, the entity uses manual method in its hiring processes, but, the demand of seasoned professionals in its global market that is on the rise has overwhelmed the paper method. The entity is now in need of job application and hiring system that will help it meet growing recruitment needs. This paper looks on calculated use of information systems in decision making in order to have competitive advantage that will help MTC to achieve its goal.
I. Strategic use of technology
a. Business strategy
MTC is involved in providing unusual business consultancy services and commendations to its customers, which is attained through engaging talented and skilled consultants around the world, and being ahead in technological advances in business. To achieve this the entity requires seasoned workforce globally who will provide consultancy services in a quick way when awarded contracts. MTC currently uses manual method in its recruitment exercises, this method is not effective as it wastes a lot of time. The entity now wants a vigorous recruitment and hiring system which will make the process much faster and efficient and help the entity in its global prospects (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2019).
b. Competitive advantage
Due to MTC quality services which is attributed to its highly skilled employees, the satisfied clients refers other entities to them as others award them additional contracts. The projected growth of the entity also calls for additional hiring of the professionals to meet the demand. By having a robust information system in place, MTC, will be able to receive numerous applications across the globe from which it will select the best minds to help it achieve its goals. The system will have the ability to capture data, screen them and highlight essential knowhow that MTC wants. The system will enable the entity to schedule interviews quickly so that the best talents can be on boarded before they are taken by other corporations (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2021)
c. Strategic Objectives
The following table illustrates what the MTC shall engage in in order to realize its mission. Each goal has its own objective and how the technology will support it so that the entity can have a competitive advantage and be able to deliver quality services as per the client’s expectation (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2021)
Strategic Goal
(from case study) Objective
(clear, measurable and time-bound) Explanation
(2-3 sentences)
Increase MTC Business Development by winning new contracts in the areas of IT Consulting Follow up the 2 deals on the pipeline within 60 days. Increase bidding by 10 bids in the next 12 months. Getting contracts will enable business to develop and expand. This will demand more employees to be brought on board and therefore ensure the information system bought is utilized in recruiting and hiring process.
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. It would enable the recruiters to carefully monitor the applications for these positions, identify the necessary research and analysis skills needed, and screen resumes for these key skills. Recruiters could quickly view the number of applicants and identify when additional recruiting efforts are needed to meet the objective.
Continue to increase MTC’s ability to quickly provide high quality consultants to awarded contracts to best serve the clients’ needs Employ 3 professionals after every two months. The process of recruiting and hiring to be shortened by the system, so that new contracts can get consultants to work on them within 60 days, this is to enable the entity meet the clienteles expectations.
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
Conduct 2 online employees training to harness their skills and share experiences per month. The seasoned employees, the ones who have worked for the MTC for a long time to be sharing their experiences with the new staffs on how to handle clients, new technologies and future prospects. The system will provide information about new staffs and their expertise so that the trainers can know the areas to emphasize on.
d. Decision making
The dynamic competitive advantage MTC can have is the ability to make critical decisions at the right time and in a quick way. This can be facilitated by having an information system in place that can provide information when it is needed (Blais, S., 2012). The table below shows how the information system that MTC will acquire will help in making major decisions.
Role Level as defined in Course Content Reading 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 MTC supported by the hiring system.) Strategic level The senior managers may want to know the knowledge and skills of the employees to offer specific consultancy services of a won contract. The CFO may want to know the cost saved in the hiring process by the use of the system. The system can provide expertise and skills information of staffs to work on a given contract. The system should provide the cost incurred in terms of time used and staff costs.
Middle Managers
(Decisions made by the Director of HR and the Manager of Recruiting supported by the hiring system.) Managerial level Is the system fitting in with existing systems well or not? Whether the system reduces time used in the recruitment exercise or not? The system has ability to link with other systems. The system can provide time frame of a given recruitment exercise which can be compared with the manual method.
Operational Managers
(Decisions made by the line managers in the organization who are hiring for their projects supported by the hiring system.) Operational level Is the system able to determine who is and who is not qualified for a given position? Is it able to schedule interviews? The system is capable of receiving, screening and highlighting those who are well suited for a given position and schedule interview with them.
II. Process Analysis
This MTC process analysis will help in understanding how the recruiting and hiring process is and how it will be improved. The benefits of conducting process analysis for MTC is that the process will be documented, robust data will be collected on how the process is, obstacles that cause delays in the current process will be identified and the points of inefficiencies will be discovered (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2021).
a. Hiring process
The table below shows how the current recruitment and hiring process is and goes ahead to show how the optimized process will be like.
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
The system will be able to screen applications and highlight expertise that MTC needs to satisfy client’s needs. This will enable more applicants to be screened within a short time and the skilled applicant to be picked from the many applications.
3. Recruiter forwards top candidates to Administrative Assistant via interoffice mail Recruiter
System will escalate the chosen applicants to the next reviewer for action. This will improve workflow as one can be able to know the progress of the application.
4. Administrative Assistant forwards candidates’ resumes and applications to hiring manager for the position via interoffice mail. Administrative Assistant The system will have a dashboard where Administrative Assistant will get notifications that require his action. This will include routing selected applicants to the relevant manager. Time will be saved and best minds will not slip from MTC as hiring process will be shortened.
5. Hiring Manager reviews applications and selects who he/she wants to interview. Hiring Manager The system will make it easy to review and confirm that all job requirements are met. This will enable the MTC to have best minds who will drive the goal of the
business.
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 The system will coordinate the activities and Administrative assistant will find notification on his dashboard of selected candidates and interview members. This will ensure transparency of the hiring process. The process will be fast and easy to track on the dashboard.
7. AA schedules interviews by contacting interview team members and hiring manager to identify possible time slots Administrative Assistant System will have electronic calendar which will bring all participants on board. This will be easy since the calendar will be able to know when all the participants are available to conduct the interview. Hence, saving time.
8. AA emails candidates to schedule interviews. Administrative Assistant The system will have integrated email and quick text capability which will send alerts to selected candidates to schedule interviews. This will be done once and therefore will reduce Administrative Assistant workload and also impress the applicants due to efficiency and professional communication.
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. AA collects feedback from interviews and status of candidates Administrative Assistant The system will have ability to create real time hiring metrics. This will help MTC to have a database with information that can be used in improving the process and future job requirements.
11. Hiring manager informs the AA on his top candidate for hiring Hiring manager System has will have ability to move successful candidates to the Administrative Assistant for his action. This will save time and new hire information will be transferred to the employee management system.
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
The end result is to improve the process and not just to automate it. This will be achieved by combining or eliminating repetitive steps, ensuring the resources are utilized well and the quality of information gathered and documented for use is enriched (Kissflow, 2021)The table below shows issues that have been identified in the manual method and how they can be improved by use of technology.
Area Current Issues
(from the Case Study) Improvements
(due to use of technology)
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: Explain how a hiring system could improve internal and external communications The recruiter narrates how anxious job applicant get to their neck in need to know the status of their application and on the other hand hiring managers want to get specific application but it gets lost either on the way or is buried in heaps of application. The recruiters gets overwhelmed and tracing applications consumes a lot of time. System allows job applicants to trace their application status themselves. The hiring managers can keep communicating with each other and with job seekers through emails and quick text inbox. This enables the entity to have a positive impression that can attract best talents.
Workflow: Explain how a hiring system could improve the MTC hiring process by providing a consistent structure for each participant to perform his/her part in the hiring process. The recruiter and the hiring managers keeps doing the same thing regularly. Their paperwork is too much and in most cases it gets lost in the process causing a breakdown of the whole process. The system can automate all the steps of the hiring process. This enables the step to move from recruiter to the review and up to the hiring manager. This eliminates process breakdown as actions are forwarded to responsible party for action.
Relationships: Explain how implementing an enterprise hiring system could foster stronger relationships with applicants/potential employees. The recruiter talks of applications getting lost in interoffice mail and still others gets lost as qualified job seekers sends their applications through the manual methods. Presence of an online system ensures all application reaches the organization and all the intended parties in the organizations. This cultivates a good relationship with applicants who can trace their application progress.
III. Requirements
a. Stakeholder Interests
The manual system used by the MTC has so many drawbacks (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2021) that hinders the entity from achieving its goal on time. These shortcomings need to be addressed in order for the MTC to have competitive advantage in the field of consulting. The table below shows the problems the stakeholders of the MTC faces with the current manual system and how the technology solution will help in addressing the said challenges.
Role Specific problem related to the current hiring process How a technology solution to support the hiring process could address the problem
1. CEO - Slow hiring process. - Accelerating workflow so that processes can take the shortest time possible.
2. CFO - Manual process is not cost effective. - The technology solution need to be cost effective.
3. CIO - Manual process is not secure, portable and cannot be integrated. - The solution need to give users access credentials, be accessible from any location using mobile devices and ability to blend with existing system.
4. Director of Human Resources - Manual process is cumbersome to handle. - Easy to use solution
5. Manager of Recruiting - Lack of ability to track progress of applications. -The solution need to be able to track the application progress.
6. Recruiters - Screening manual applications, preparing reports of selected candidates, scheduling interviews and tracking is an uphill task. - The solution need to have screening, report generation and scheduling capabilities.
7. Administrative Assistant - Working together with the hiring team and preparing offer letters is hectic - The solution need to make collaboration, communication and issuing of offer letters easy.
8. Hiring Manager (Functional supervisor the new employee would be working for.) - Manual process does not show tasks that require actions. - Solution should have a dashboard where one can see the tasks that need to be worked on, including scheduling interviews.
b. Defining Requirements
Requirements refers to the needs and expectations of the end users of a system and they are divided into two groups; user requirements and system performance requirements (University of Maryland Global Campus , 2021). The table below shows the requirements of the system the MTC will adopt and the shareholder who identified the problem.
Requirement ID# only
Requirement Statement Stakeholder
(Position and Name from Case Study that identified this requirement)
User Requirements – (What the user needs the system to do)
EXAMPLE The system must store all information from the candidate’s application/resume in a central applicant database. Recruiter – Peter O’Neil
1. The system must automate workflow. Administrative Assistant: Tom Arbuckle
2. The system must have a dashboard. Hiring Manager
3. The system must track application status. Manager of Recruiting: Sofia Perez
4. The system must generate offer letters. Administrative Assistant: Tom Arbuckle
5. The system must generate reports. Recruiter – Peter O’Neil
System Performance Requirements – (How the system will perform)
EXAMPLE The system must be implemented as a Software as a Service solution. CIO – Raj Patel
6. The system must allow authorized users to access it at any place, using any device and at any time. CIO – Raj Patel
7. The system must support communication and collaboration. Administrative Assistant: Tom Arbuckle
8. The system must be easy to learn. Director of HR: Joseph Cummings
9. The system must provide users with login information. CIO – Raj Patel
10. The system must backup applicants data. CIO – Raj Patel
IV. System Recommendation
a. System Justification
The EX-ATS applicant tracking system which is provided by the UMGC Hiring Solution, Inc as SAAS, Software as a Solution, is good for MTC. The solution meets the requirements that MTC wants in order to be able to hire the best mind in the shortest time possible. EX-ATS solution is a platform with all applicant tracking needs. The solution has a dashboard, ability to screen applicant expertise, easy integration with existing systems, ability to export new hire information to employee management system, automated workflow, integrated email and QuickText for collaboration and ability to generate reports (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2019)
EX-ATS is cloud based and therefore it can be accessed from any place any time and using any device. It does not require additional hardware, data is stored and archived online where the storage space is unlimited and security is of high notch. The system does have automatic updates and usage cost depends on the number of users. In case of future expansion, the system is scalable and easy to learn how to use it. The UMGC Hiring Solution, Inc offers 24/7 users support.
b. Implementation Areas
Implementation stage of a new system is very key in the success of the system. Several considerations need to be looked on. This section looks on those key areas that both the vendor and the MTC must agree on. It is in this section a lasting relationship between the vendor and the MTC will be established. For this relationship to benefit both parties each party must play its role during this stage and areas that require agreements be addressed thoroughly and properly. These areas include;
1) Vendor agreement
The vendor requires the MTC to select the services it needs according to its budget. The services are charged as per the number of users of the system. Then, the MTC to sign the user agreement and make payment. The MTC will need to go through the service level agreement document and request for modifications where it needs before signing it and making payment. This is because the vendor agreement is what will define the responsibilities of the vendor.
The MTC will need to pay initial set-up fee of $1,000 and $2,500 for configuration, both fees are onetime. The MTC will also need to pay $295 for its trainers to be trained, the training will be web-based (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2019). In addition to the aforementioned costs, the MTC will need to be paying $100 monthly subscription fee for its 60 system users to be able to access the system. The vendor gives the MTC 30 days of free trial before making a commitment to use paid option. This is good as it will enable the MTC to test whether the system meets its need. But, it is good to find out whether the free trial has all the functionalities that MTC needs as some vendors limit what free trials can access.
2) Hardware and telecommunications
The EX-ATS solution does not require additional IT infrastructure on the side of the MTC. The solution is cloud based and the employees of MTC will use their usual devices like PC, laptop and mobile devices to access the system. What the employees need is just internet connection which may require modem when working outside MTC offices and router in case of paid internet connection in the MTC offices (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2019).
The employees will also need to be given system access rights. It is only employees with user accounts and passwords will be able to access the system. The system is for hiring purposes and therefore only employees who are involved in the hiring system should be given those rights. If other employees are given the system access rights that will translate to additional cost and applicant information will not be secure.
3) Configuration
Configuration of SaaS can be a big challenge to an organization due to lack of IT specialist who are very versed with cloud computing critical features, such as data logging, encryption and data purging. The vendor is providing the MTC with a dedicated account manager, who will help in configuring the EX-ATS solution. The configuration of EX-ATS solution will be done by the MTC IT team with the help of the account manager provided by the vendor. The account manager will show the MTC team how to customize workflow and reports, set up user accounts, how to upload job requisition and to carry out system testing. The MTC team will link the system with existing corporate email and social sites and configure logo and company name.
4) Testing
This section involves testing whether the system is able to meet user’s needs, requirements criteria and satisfies business needs. It is in this stage when the possible errors or bugs are identified. This is the time MTC will use simulation data to test the solution on their real environment. The MTC will also use contract agreement to determine whether the system meets what was agreed on earlier. The performance of the system in case of heavy traffic and load is also tested to determine the stability of the system. The MTC can request all its existing employees and consultants to use the system at the same time to know how it will respond (Brian, H. Pauline, G., 2013)
To test whether the system is able to automate the workflow, the MTC can request some of its employees to send job applications, the employees responsible for hiring will use those applications to select a few of them and find out whether they will be able to forward them to the next employees who will act on them. The testing can continue until the last employee is able to generate report and offer letters of the simulation hires.
5) Employee preparation and support
The CEO, Samuel Johnson need to set-up a team of departmental heads who will prepare the employees psychologically for the change. The team should have a clear picture of where the MTC is going and the benefits the new system will bring to the organization. If the employees will not be prepared for the change then they may choose to go back to the manual system due its comfort and normal routine even if it’s not efficient (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2021)
Joseph Cummings, the director of HR, should hold regular meetings with employees to show them the importance of the new system. He need to assure the employees the new solution will not make the lose their jobs. He need to demonstrate to the employees how the system will help employees make them efficient in their roles.
The employees responsible for the hiring process should be taken through the training videos and other resources provided by the vendor. This can be done by the Raj Patel, CIO, or a member of the IT team. The employees should be encouraged to utilize those materials at their own time so as to understand the system fully. Also the CIO should set up a user support in his depart. The user support should be ready to help when called upon.
6) Data Migration
Data migration is uphill task and it can drain the resources of the MTC. I think the manual process has nothing to migrate. The application on the pipeline should be completed manually to avoid incurring huge costs of data migration.
7) Maintenance
The vendor of the EZ-ATS system will be responsible for the maintenance and updates of the system (University of Maryland Global Campus, 2019). The vendor will need to notify the MTC the day and time of scheduled maintenance, though automatically done. The MTC will only check whether everything is okay after the update.
Conclusion
The EZ-ATS hiring system the MTC will acquire has many benefits to the organization in its pursuit to have a competitive advantage. The system will shorten the time of hiring process. It will improve the productivity of the hiring staffs. It will also portray the great image of the MTC to the applicants. And, Lastly, it will enable the MTC to hire best talents before its competitors.
