Applicant Tracking-3 WC blog 522
Applicant Management System-4
Background checks-4
Reduce Hiring Headaches With An Applicant Management System
Trying to hire multiple workers at once can be a pain in the neck and make applicant tracking a chore. I worked as a Retail Freight Manager and seemed to constantly deal with employee turnover for any number of reasons. Sometimes I had to fire people, sometimes the hours were not optimal for the employee and occasionally there was simply job abandonment. It happens. I felt like I was constantly wading through piles of applications and at times it would be miserable trying to remember which candidates I was interested in, which I had no interest in and those I placed in a “maybe” category. A job applicant management system could have made things much easier to handle and freed up a significant amount of time. I know there were times I read and re-read the same application since they were all printed and kept in a review folder. I also know there were times when I misplaced an application and had to go searching for it. This was more of a headache than anything else. When you think about security issues which I did since I was also a former Loss Prevention Manager, the loss of paper forms presented potential risks. Personal information contained in an application could be misused if obtained by a criminal. This is where an online applicant management system can prove to be a worthwhile investment.
Saving time and money by providing security solutions for retailers is the goal of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. One way to do both is to streamline hiring processes and improve the application process with electronic applications and the customization of forms and documents. Eliminating needless paper application forms and providing services allows employers to improve candidate selection processes. Managers can save time by creating criteria that can filter out those applicants that don’t meet the minimum requirements or experience levels for the position. Keeping applications in an online format also reduces the security issues involved if an application is lost or missing. An applicant management system becomes a central location for all of a business owner or manager’s hiring needs.
Do you reduce shortage and maintain a safe environment by conducting background checks? If so then you are familiar with the additional paperwork issues associated with getting them done. Candidates have to sign release forms, hand-written information can be difficult to read and then the forms have to be submitted to the company contracted to complete the pre-employment screening. More paperwork and more potential for security concerns and even hiring delays if papers are misplaced are just some of the problems that traditional hiring practices can cause. I have seen positions remain unfilled for weeks because paperwork was lost in the mail or an email was claimed to never have been received. It is not uncommon for people to have multiple applications out and they will jump at the first offer. Delays in paperwork can cause a manager to lose a good candidate. An applicant tracking system which includes automatic background checks and the associated forms can prevent such delays and make the hiring process faster. It also takes less of a manager’s time and saves money in the long run. If you aren’t familiar with the benefits of conducting pre-employment screening during the hiring process, Bill Bregar founder of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has online training available that can teach you about the importance of checking out a job candidate before hiring them. The administrative portion of background checks is easier now that it is incorporated in an applicant management system.
Applicant tracking makes the hiring process so much faster and easier to navigate than the old method of printing out every application that comes your way. The time you save can be spent in other ways to help drive sales and reduce shortage. Add employee background checks to the process and ensure you are adding people on your team that will be trustworthy, reliable and team players. Contact LPSI today for a free demo!
For more information about an applicant management system contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Trying to hire multiple workers at once can be a pain in the neck and make applicant tracking a chore. I worked as a Retail Freight Manager and seemed to constantly deal with employee turnover for any number of reasons. Sometimes I had to fire people, sometimes the hours were not optimal for the employee and occasionally there was simply job abandonment. It happens. I felt like I was constantly wading through piles of applications and at times it would be miserable trying to remember which candidates I was interested in, which I had no interest in and those I placed in a “maybe” category. A job applicant management system could have made things much easier to handle and freed up a significant amount of time. I know there were times I read and re-read the same application since they were all printed and kept in a review folder. I also know there were times when I misplaced an application and had to go searching for it. This was more of a headache than anything else. When you think about security issues which I did since I was also a former Loss Prevention Manager, the loss of paper forms presented potential risks. Personal information contained in an application could be misused if obtained by a criminal. This is where an online applicant management system can prove to be a worthwhile investment.
Saving time and money by providing security solutions for retailers is the goal of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. One way to do both is to streamline hiring processes and improve the application process with electronic applications and the customization of forms and documents. Eliminating needless paper application forms and providing services allows employers to improve candidate selection processes. Managers can save time by creating criteria that can filter out those applicants that don’t meet the minimum requirements or experience levels for the position. Keeping applications in an online format also reduces the security issues involved if an application is lost or missing. An applicant management system becomes a central location for all of a business owner or manager’s hiring needs.
Do you reduce shortage and maintain a safe environment by conducting background checks? If so then you are familiar with the additional paperwork issues associated with getting them done. Candidates have to sign release forms, hand-written information can be difficult to read and then the forms have to be submitted to the company contracted to complete the pre-employment screening. More paperwork and more potential for security concerns and even hiring delays if papers are misplaced are just some of the problems that traditional hiring practices can cause. I have seen positions remain unfilled for weeks because paperwork was lost in the mail or an email was claimed to never have been received. It is not uncommon for people to have multiple applications out and they will jump at the first offer. Delays in paperwork can cause a manager to lose a good candidate. An applicant tracking system which includes automatic background checks and the associated forms can prevent such delays and make the hiring process faster. It also takes less of a manager’s time and saves money in the long run. If you aren’t familiar with the benefits of conducting pre-employment screening during the hiring process, Bill Bregar founder of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. has online training available that can teach you about the importance of checking out a job candidate before hiring them. The administrative portion of background checks is easier now that it is incorporated in an applicant management system.
Applicant tracking makes the hiring process so much faster and easier to navigate than the old method of printing out every application that comes your way. The time you save can be spent in other ways to help drive sales and reduce shortage. Add employee background checks to the process and ensure you are adding people on your team that will be trustworthy, reliable and team players. Contact LPSI today for a free demo!
For more information about an applicant management system, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Applicant Management System-3 WC Blog 558
Applicant Tracking System-3
Pre-employment Screening-4
Streamline Your Hiring Process With An Applicant Management System
When you are hiring a new employee do you conduct pre-employment screening? Do you have an Applicant Management System in place? What are the resources you use to know who it is you are hiring? I ask these questions because I recently attended a training session, where I work at, conducted by our Human Resources Department. The training was to instruct faculty and staff in the proper methods of conducting position searches. I have been doing hiring for a lot of years and different employers have different methods of conducting job searches. Several take-aways came out of our session. For starters, one of the things that has bothered me about my current employer is that much of our process is still paper based. During this training we were excited to learn that our college is going to transition to an Applicant Tracking System. Our Human Resources instructor was ecstatic, apparently those of us having to keep track of all of this paperwork are not the only ones frustrated with the current system. While this will be a state initiated program you can have your own job Applicant Management System without being a government agency. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers a system of their own that can help businesses with a more efficient process.
“What is an Applicant Management System?” you may be wondering (at least I hope you are asking the question at this point). It is a system that can keep the majority of your hiring process in an electronic format. You know all of those file folders that probably have loose papers hanging out with personal information on each of the job candidates you have considered? They are either drastically reduced in size or eliminated altogether. In each folder you may have had three or four pages of application, resume, background check release forms, and perhaps drug testing consent forms. You might have applicant questionnaires and I-9 forms filed in there too. I know that some of these papers fall out or get misplaced and who knows what kind of personal information is then floating around and potentially winding up in the wrong hands. Bill Bregar, CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) recognized all of the problems associated with the traditional hiring process and found a way to ease that burden on retail owners who already have enough on their plates to deal with. With the system offered by Bill’s team at LPSI employers can customize applications to flag only those applicants that meet specific criteria. No more need to go through 100 applications to find the 10 candidates that truly meet the skill sets you are seeking. How about an electronic release form from candidates so you can have pre-employment screening checks conducted by LPSI? All of it done in one central electronic location. These are just a few of the many benefits an Applicant Tracking System offers.
In our training we were also taught to stick to the process for interviewing and stay away from outside sources of information about a candidate. You might find this useful in your hiring process as well. With all of the social media platforms it seems on the surface that there would be nothing wrong with looking up an applicant’s social media pages. Are they putting things out there that would raise a red flag with you and could influence your hiring decision? It was brought to our attention that if we were to look at an applicant’s social media and see that they are a single mom, pregnant, have some type medical issue or any number of other things we could be putting our employer at risk. For example if an applicant posts that they are having migraine headaches (and add a frowny face) and they are not hired and they find out we did view their post they might say they were discriminated against. It could be alleged we were concerned they would call out of work regularly so for that reason they were not hired. The message for us in the training was that additional information outside of the application and interviews should come from pre-employment screening and reference checks.
Owners and managers of retail stores are constantly pulled in many directions for their time and attention. Making the hiring process easier so that energy can be focused elsewhere is important. Hiring properly and avoiding legal issues is also important. Let LPSI get you started with a pre-employment screening process and Applicant Tracking System that will make the applicant search a breeze. You can also avoid all of those legal landmines in the process.
Need information on an Applicant Tracking System? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
When you are hiring a new employee do you conduct pre-employment screening? Do you have an Applicant Management System in place? What are the resources you use to know who it is you are hiring? I ask these questions because I recently attended a training session, where I work at, conducted by our Human Resources Department. The training was to instruct faculty and staff in the proper methods of conducting position searches. I have been doing hiring for a lot of years and different employers have different methods of conducting job searches. Several take-aways came out of our session. For starters, one of the things that has bothered me about my current employer is that much of our process is still paper based. During this training we were excited to learn that our college is going to transition to an Applicant Tracking System. Our Human Resources instructor was ecstatic, apparently those of us having to keep track of all of this paperwork are not the only ones frustrated with the current system. While this will be a state initiated program you can have your own job Applicant Management System without being a government agency. Loss Prevention Systems Inc. offers a system of their own that can help businesses with a more efficient process.
“What is an Applicant Management System?” you may be wondering (at least I hope you are asking the question at this point). It is a system that can keep the majority of your hiring process in an electronic format. You know all of those file folders that probably have loose papers hanging out with personal information on each of the job candidates you have considered? They are either drastically reduced in size or eliminated altogether. In each folder you may have had three or four pages of application, resume, background check release forms, and perhaps drug testing consent forms. You might have applicant questionnaires and I-9 forms filed in there too. I know that some of these papers fall out or get misplaced and who knows what kind of personal information is then floating around and potentially winding up in the wrong hands. Bill Bregar, CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) recognized all of the problems associated with the traditional hiring process and found a way to ease that burden on retail owners who already have enough on their plates to deal with. With the system offered by Bill’s team at LPSI employers can customize applications to flag only those applicants that meet specific criteria. No more need to go through 100 applications to find the 10 candidates that truly meet the skill sets you are seeking. How about an electronic release form from candidates so you can have pre-employment screening checks conducted by LPSI? All of it done in one central electronic location. These are just a few of the many benefits an Applicant Tracking System offers.
In our training we were also taught to stick to the process for interviewing and stay away from outside sources of information about a candidate. You might find this useful in your hiring process as well. With all of the social media platforms it seems on the surface that there would be nothing wrong with looking up an applicant’s social media pages. Are they putting things out there that would raise a red flag with you and could influence your hiring decision? It was brought to our attention that if we were to look at an applicant’s social media and see that they are a single mom, pregnant, have some type medical issue or any number of other things we could be putting our employer at risk. For example if an applicant posts that they are having migraine headaches (and add a frowny face) and they are not hired and they find out we did view their post they might say they were discriminated against. It could be alleged we were concerned they would call out of work regularly so for that reason they were not hired. The message for us in the training was that additional information outside of the application and interviews should come from pre-employment screening and reference checks.
Owners and managers of retail stores are constantly pulled in many directions for their time and attention. Making the hiring process easier so that energy can be focused elsewhere is important. Hiring properly and avoiding legal issues is also important. Let LPSI get you started with a pre-employment screening process and Applicant Tracking System that will make the applicant search a breeze. You can also avoid all of those legal landmines in the process.
Need information on an Applicant Tracking System? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Employee Background Checks-4 WC Blog 498
Pre-employment screening-4
The Cost Of Not Conducting Employee Background Checks
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Are employee background checks really necessary? With tight budgets and an unemployment rate that is hitting new lows, hiring can be difficult especially for small retailers. National retail chains are now starting their entry level employees at $9 and $10 an hour in order to fill cashiering, salesfloor and stocking positions. Some offer a shift differential to employees who work overnight or early morning hours. Those same retailers can also cut prices to the point that it makes it difficult for the mom and pop shops to compete with them and keep customers. In this competitive environment it becomes increasingly difficult for the small and medium shops to not just retain help but hire new workers. On the surface it would seem that pre-employment screening would increase that difficulty. A prospective employee may be swayed to another job by the prospect of higher pay or a quicker start date. What about the cost of conducting those employee background checks? Is it even in the budget? I would like to pose another question to retail owners who are on the fence on this. Can you afford not to conduct checks?
Employee background checks conducted by a company that specializes in them will identify potential applicants with criminal histories or other anomalies in their past. A pre-employment screening can be customized to what the prospective employer wants to be sure is NOT on an applicant’s record. A delivery company may be concerned about a driving record. Someone who is going to be working around heavy equipment probably should not have an arrest record for drug or alcohol related offenses. A quality check will look at where an applicant has indicated they have lived on their application. Why is this important? If a person is moving around a lot they could be running from a criminal past. Maybe they are trying to avoid bill collectors. That carries its own concerns do you want to hire someone with financial problems? There are a number of other items that can be checked and the details can be discussed with the company you hire to do your checks.
At this point you may be thinking that you have an application in hand and you will conduct an interview so you should be able to determine whether a candidate will be okay. If this is your position consider this story from whotv.com, “Fort Dodge Sex Offender Accused of New Charges Against Minors”, October 10, 2017 by Kelly Maricle. According to the report a hospital worker was charged with three counts of sexual abuse 3rd degree (2nd offense) and three counts of sex offender registry violations against minors. http://whotv.com/2017/10/10/fort-dodge-sex-offender-accused-of-new-charges-against-minors/ How did a registered sex offender get a job in a location where he would be in contact with minors? There is no indication whether employee background checks were conducted by the hospital. If there was not a check conducted then it seems there would be negligence on the part of the hospital. If a pre-employment screening WAS conducted then one has to ask just how detailed was the check or how good was the company that completed the check?
In case you aren’t quite convinced you should check out your prospective new hires before you bring them on board, check out this story about a retail employee. In a July 12, 2017 story on wqad.com, “A Des Moines County jury found him guilty in February of theft and burglary for stealing the safe and more than $4700 in cash from the hardware store where he had been working.” The story reported that he was, “sentenced as a habitual criminal because of his previous convictions.” http://wqad.com/2017/07/12/man-gets-15-years-for-stealing-safe-money-from-his-employer/ Again the question I have to ask is did this retailer complete a criminal history check before bringing this man on to their staff?
It may seem to you that you can’t afford to conduct pre-employment screening but you have to evaluate what your cost may be by not clearing applicants before they join your team. Let Loss Prevention Systems Inc. help you stay profitable and safe by checking out your candidates prior to you giving them a job offer.
Employee background checks are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Employee Theft-5 WC Blog 590
Stop Shoplifting-3
Increased Turnover Leads To A Higher Risk Of Employee Theft
It may never have occurred to you but turnover in a store can lead to employee theft and make it more difficult to stop shoplifting. Each time a new employee is hired into a business there is a certain amount of unknown. The management team does not really know this person unless they have worked with them somewhere else. If a pre-employment background check was not completed it is not known if the person has a criminal history. An interview process may not be a reliable indicator of who it is you are hiring. There are those people who can project one image in an interview and they are someone completely different in the workplace. Having a stable business with little turnover can be in the best interest of a store owner. New hires may also be reluctant to provide aggressive customer service to shoplifting suspects. This can increase external theft in a store. Let’s be honest retail tends to have a lot of turnover and therefore owners can expect to fill job openings on a regular basis. With this challenge, it is important that manager training to prevent employee theft and stop shoplifting is a priority.
How do you as a store owner train your managers on how to identify and prevent theft activity if you are not an expert in it yourself? The best solution would be to seek the services of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. to conduct manager training to stop employee theft. The owner and CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc., Bill Bregar has developed a training program that instructs managers at any level of the retail business. Bill brings a wealth of knowledge from his experience as a U.S. Army Military Policeman to his positions at the National Director level for large retail chains. He has incorporated these experiences into training programs that are proven to help small business owners significantly reduce employee pilferage and shoplifting. As someone with 4 years of U.S. Air Force Law Enforcement experience and over 17 years in retail Loss Prevention and Loss Prevention Management myself, I am impressed with the training opportunities offered by Loss Prevention Systems Inc. The quality and depth of information in an understandable format is unparalleled.
How much of an issue can turnover really be in retail? According to ”Linkedin’s data on half-a-billion professionals” turnover in retail and consumer products had the second highest turnover rate at 13%. Linkedin, “These 3 Industries Have The Highest Talent Turnover Rates”, by Michael Booz, March 15, 2018. https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/trends-and-research/2018/the-3-industries-with-the-highest-turnover-rates Chances are if you have not experienced this type of turnover you are doing something that most managers are not doing to keep people on board. This also means you are probably in the minority of store managers. Whatever you are doing to keep your people, keep doing it. But even you need to know that if you are going to grow your business you are going to hire people and as a result you must know how to prevent employee theft from taking place.
A good training program is going to cover:
• How pre-employment screening and drug testing reduce the chance of hiring people who may steal from your business.
• The importance of customer service to stop shoplifting and how to do it effectively.
• Indicators that dishonest employees are stealing or shoplifters are active in your store.
• Retail anti-theft devices and systems.
• Various methods of theft used by employees.
• Various methods of theft employed by shoplifters.
• How to properly respond to electronic article surveillance alarms and do so safely.
Loss Prevention Systems Inc. incorporates all of these points into the different training sessions they offer their customers.
According to the website statisticbrain.com 75% of employees have stolen from their employer and 37.5% have stolen at least twice from their employer. The more turnover your company experiences the more likely you are to have employee theft taking place. Learn what you can do to decrease the chance of hiring a crook and how to identify them if they start to steal through Loss Prevention Systems Inc. training classes.
Need information on employee theft? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
It may never have occurred to you but turnover in a store can lead to employee theft and make it more difficult to stop shoplifting. Each time a new employee is hired into a business there is a certain amount of unknown. The management team does not really know this person unless they have worked with them somewhere else. If a pre-employment background check was not completed it is not known if the person has a criminal history. An interview process may not be a reliable indicator of who it is you are hiring. There are those people who can project one image in an interview and they are someone completely different in the workplace. Having a stable business with little turnover can be in the best interest of a store owner. New hires may also be reluctant to provide aggressive customer service to shoplifting suspects. This can increase external theft in a store. Let’s be honest retail tends to have a lot of turnover and therefore owners can expect to fill job openings on a regular basis. With this challenge, it is important that manager training to prevent employee theft and stop shoplifting is a priority.
How do you as a store owner train your managers on how to identify and prevent theft activity if you are not an expert in it yourself? The best solution would be to seek the services of Loss Prevention Systems Inc. to conduct manager training to stop employee theft. The owner and CEO of Loss Prevention Systems Inc., Bill Bregar has developed a training program that instructs managers at any level of the retail business. Bill brings a wealth of knowledge from his experience as a U.S. Army Military Policeman to his positions at the National Director level for large retail chains. He has incorporated these experiences into training programs that are proven to help small business owners significantly reduce employee pilferage and shoplifting. As someone with 4 years of U.S. Air Force Law Enforcement experience and over 17 years in retail Loss Prevention and Loss Prevention Management myself, I am impressed with the training opportunities offered by Loss Prevention Systems Inc. The quality and depth of information in an understandable format is unparalleled.
How much of an issue can turnover really be in retail? According to ”Linkedin’s data on half-a-billion professionals” turnover in retail and consumer products had the second highest turnover rate at 13%. Linkedin, “These 3 Industries Have The Highest Talent Turnover Rates”, by Michael Booz, March 15, 2018. https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/trends-and-research/2018/the-3-industries-with-the-highest-turnover-rates Chances are if you have not experienced this type of turnover you are doing something that most managers are not doing to keep people on board. This also means you are probably in the minority of store managers. Whatever you are doing to keep your people, keep doing it. But even you need to know that if you are going to grow your business you are going to hire people and as a result you must know how to prevent employee theft from taking place.
A good training program is going to cover:
• How pre-employment screening and drug testing reduce the chance of hiring people who may steal from your business.
• The importance of customer service to stop shoplifting and how to do it effectively.
• Indicators that dishonest employees are stealing or shoplifters are active in your store.
• Retail anti-theft devices and systems.
• Various methods of theft used by employees.
• Various methods of theft employed by shoplifters.
• How to properly respond to electronic article surveillance alarms and do so safely.
Loss Prevention Systems Inc. incorporates all of these points into the different training sessions they offer their customers.
According to the website statisticbrain.com 75% of employees have stolen from their employer and 37.5% have stolen at least twice from their employer. The more turnover your company experiences the more likely you are to have employee theft taking place. Learn what you can do to decrease the chance of hiring a crook and how to identify them if they start to steal through Loss Prevention Systems Inc. training classes.
Need information on employee theft? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Applicant Management System – 3 WC Blog 543
Applicant Tracking System – 4
Losing Patience With Lost Paperwork? Try An Applicant Tracking System
Where is an applicant tracking system when I need one?! I found myself asking this very question the other day as I was trying to find out where a job applicant’s paperwork had gone to. I work for a state agency and while I love my job I get super annoyed at how slow our hiring process tends to be. When we have an open position it seems like we have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get the applicant on board once we choose our top candidate. Oh, did I mention that much of our process is still paper-based? This means we are printing papers, completing them and sending them to several different locations in our bureaucracy for further processing. On this particular occasion our paperwork got lost somewhere and I had to work with my supervisor and our department’s administrative assistant to find out where it was. In the meantime our candidate was on hold, we couldn’t make a formal job offer until the paperwork was approved. It turned out the paperwork was sitting on someone’s desk waiting for an approval signature and then it would be sent back to our Human Resource Department. At that point we could make our offer and set a start date for our new hire. Had we been using an Applicant Management System the “missing” paperwork would never have been an issue.
An Applicant Management System is a service offered by Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) that helps retailers take the headache out of the hiring process. LPSI founder Bill Bregar has held positions as a National Director of Loss Prevention for retail chains and is also a Licensed Private Investigator. He has been involved in all levels of the hiring process and understands the challenges of hiring new employees. It is for this reason LPSI offers an applicant tracking system, pre-employment screening and a drug test panel for small and medium sized retailers. The time spent keeping track of files and documents can be better spent on other areas of the business. In many situations the store owner and manager also serves as the human resources and hiring manager. With no one else to take care of all that hiring a new employee involves finding a solution to make the task easier is essential. The applicant tracking system keeps all of the hiring forms and background check releases in one electronic location eliminating the need for paper files. All relevant documentation is in a convenient location so there is no need to worry about lost papers or wondering whose desk a form may be sitting on.
As former Loss Prevention Manager and an employee in an academic environment I am also keenly aware of the need to keep personal information secure. In my Loss Prevention role I had to keep investigation records locked up and information was on a need to know basis. In an academic job I have to be cognizant of FERPA (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act) regulations regarding the protection of student privacy rights. Mishandling of papers with personal or private information could land me in hot water. The same protections must be given to sensitive information your applicants give you. You may be handling social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers and addresses. You have an obligation to keep this secure and electronic documents in an applicant management system are the surest method of protection.
There is an old saying I like to quote, “Don’t work harder work smarter.” Why make the hiring process more difficult than it needs to be when you can keep everything in one easy to manage location? You may not be able to hire a Human Resources Manager to keep up with your hiring process but you CAN afford to use an Applicant Tracking System. Try it out and then start thinking about how you can use that extra time to increase your sales!
Need information on an Applicant Tracking System? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Where is an applicant tracking system when I need one?! I found myself asking this very question the other day as I was trying to find out where a job applicant’s paperwork had gone to. I work for a state agency and while I love my job I get super annoyed at how slow our hiring process tends to be. When we have an open position it seems like we have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get the applicant on board once we choose our top candidate. Oh, did I mention that much of our process is still paper-based? This means we are printing papers, completing them and sending them to several different locations in our bureaucracy for further processing. On this particular occasion our paperwork got lost somewhere and I had to work with my supervisor and our department’s administrative assistant to find out where it was. In the meantime our candidate was on hold, we couldn’t make a formal job offer until the paperwork was approved. It turned out the paperwork was sitting on someone’s desk waiting for an approval signature and then it would be sent back to our Human Resource Department. At that point we could make our offer and set a start date for our new hire. Had we been using an Applicant Management System the “missing” paperwork would never have been an issue.
An Applicant Management System is a service offered by Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) that helps retailers take the headache out of the hiring process. LPSI founder Bill Bregar has held positions as a National Director of Loss Prevention for retail chains and is also a Licensed Private Investigator. He has been involved in all levels of the hiring process and understands the challenges of hiring new employees. It is for this reason LPSI offers an applicant tracking system, pre-employment screening and a drug test panel for small and medium sized retailers. The time spent keeping track of files and documents can be better spent on other areas of the business. In many situations the store owner and manager also serves as the human resources and hiring manager. With no one else to take care of all that hiring a new employee involves finding a solution to make the task easier is essential. The applicant tracking system keeps all of the hiring forms and background check releases in one electronic location eliminating the need for paper files. All relevant documentation is in a convenient location so there is no need to worry about lost papers or wondering whose desk a form may be sitting on.
As former Loss Prevention Manager and an employee in an academic environment I am also keenly aware of the need to keep personal information secure. In my Loss Prevention role I had to keep investigation records locked up and information was on a need to know basis. In an academic job I have to be cognizant of FERPA (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act) regulations regarding the protection of student privacy rights. Mishandling of papers with personal or private information could land me in hot water. The same protections must be given to sensitive information your applicants give you. You may be handling social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers and addresses. You have an obligation to keep this secure and electronic documents in an applicant management system are the surest method of protection.
There is an old saying I like to quote, “Don’t work harder work smarter.” Why make the hiring process more difficult than it needs to be when you can keep everything in one easy to manage location? You may not be able to hire a Human Resources Manager to keep up with your hiring process but you CAN afford to use an Applicant Tracking System. Try it out and then start thinking about how you can use that extra time to increase your sales!
Need information on an Applicant Tracking System? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
