I don't usually get excited about business applications such as recruiting management
software, but Recruiter
from Pharoah Software is different.
The first thing you notice about Recruiter
is it's interface: very intuitive, modular, and logical in its work flow design. The
screens are clean: not a lot of wasted space and confusing options.
The second thing you notice is the thought that has gone into the design of the
application's features. Pharoah Software hasn't left much out of this one. If they did, I
sure didn't notice. It seemed almost every function required by an HR recruiting
department is in here.
About two years ago, my partner and I were approached by an HR recruiting department to
build them a custom solution. We studied their needs and elected to modify the contact
management solution we had already implemented at their company for the sales department.
But the more work we put into it, the more it became obvious that while we were being as
responsive as we could be, we still felt like we were shoving a square peg into a round
hole. Contact management is but a single element of recruiting. It goes a lot deeper than
that. And that's where Recruiter comes in.
To be perfectly honest with you, I was surprised when I received the nomination for
this software from Pharoah because, you see, they are a Russian-owned company marketing a
solution in English. Usually this does not work very well. Something breaks down in the
language translation, and things begin to frequently get confusing. A lot of the tools I
have reviewed here come from Russia. There are a lot of very smart Russian developers, and
so I gave the application a try.
Recruiter
does a remarkable job of handling the basic functions of recruitment: contact
management, posting of jobs, and tracking hiring managers and referral sources. But unlike
a simple contact manager, this application also offers extensive work flow. When you first
launch the tool, a "control" bar pops up in the upper left corner giving you
access to the various modules. Along the left side of the screen is the Inspector box
which graphically illustrates your work flow from initial telephone screening, through
interviews and reference checks, through presentation to hiring manager, down to selection
and who gets rejected and who gets hired. And it's all clickable, so you can drill down
and see statistics and status of positions in real-time. You can even customize these
steps and make this as simple or as complicated as you like based upon your existing
processes.
And that's one of the things I really liked about Recruiter. With
many such tools, you need to change your processes to adapt to the software. That's not a
satisfactory solution. Recruiter offers you the ability to customize the
application's work flow to your process. That's what I call a solution.
I'm just skimming the surface here because the list of features and functions is, as I
said, quite extensive. There's lots of bells and whistles, too, such as form letters that
may be merged and customized to your liking. You can store resumes online, but you'll have
to re-key the information. Reporting is viewed through a web browser (your choice), and it
looks real flexible and useful. The interface is very consistent, module to module, so
your eye won't be searching for things all the time. In fact, my bet is that you will
figure out how to use it without even cracking open a manual or help file. I did in about
15 minutes. That alone will save you a great deal of time and money in training.
Recruiter
has a very neat module which will create a special electronic recruitment page
for your company's web-site. While visiting your web-site, applicants will be able to
learn more about jobs and fill an application form or send a resume. Completed forms and
resumes are automatically registered in your database. This is very, very slick, and
considering the Net direction recruiting has gone in the past few years, purchasing this
additional module makes a lot of sense and should demonstrate a rapid return on
investment.
You might be surprised to discover that some of Pharoah's largest clients are global
and this includes 3M, Chase Manhattan Bank, Smithkline Beecham, and many other
recognizable names. The price for their software is based upon the number of applicants
(300, 1000, or 10,000) plus the number of simultaneous users (2, 5, or 10).
Compared to our home-grown solution which started at $550 seat, plus the cost of
extensive customization and repeat training, Recruiter comes
in a bit high. If you purchase a single copy, with all six modules (Applicants, Job
Requisitions, Interviews, Correspondence, Contracts and Payments, and Electronic
Recruitment Web-site), the cost is $1650. Then you need to consider how many simultaneous
users are required. If you consider all you are getting for your money, though, it's
really not a bad price as it also includes six months of technical support.
A free 30 day trial is offered for download at their web site. To learn more, click here.
Recruiter
