Does anyone out there still keep manual spreadsheets? (My hand is raised btw)
Data is so important.. I know this, you know this and everyone else across the globe knows this. However, myself and a bunch of my corporate recruiting friends all have the same complaints - reporting!!! Now maybe it is because the group of people I know work at companies that have not made applicant tracking system reporting a priority or maybe there are more people out there with these same issues than I personally know?
In terms of fortune 500 level companies or companies with employees under 2500 (which I am most familiar with) they do not invest is systems that I drool over like Success Factors or Kenexa. We typically have Taleo business edition, PC Recruiter, Virtual Edge and even icims. What is frustrating is that a lot of these ATS systems are not designed the same as the actual recruiters workflow. Maybe even the person who implemented the system didn't understand the workflow (which is more likely the culprit). Therefore, the data is not recorded in the same fashion. Most of the systems are customizable (which is one of the reasons it was purchased in the first place) but there are a ton of add-on costs in order to configure dashboard reporting. Instead of getting fancy dashboard reports that executives want to see (let's be honest we want to also see), you get raw data that you dump into Excel.
Mind-numbing raw, stinking-freaking RAW data. So, then you have to manipulate it to make it fancy but that is a lot of bloody mindless work.... when surely a system can do that, right?!
I've been fortunate enough to see the before and after of what good HRIS consulting can do to configure Taleo. It still wasn't perfect, but you know your reports are only as good as the tracking of data in the system so... Plus, improvement is good - perfection is unrealistic.
Any commiserate-rs? Any braggarts that want to share their awesome reporting (I am guaranteed to be jealous)?
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Work/Life Balance: Hindered or Enhanced by Technology?
When it rains it pours...yes, on occasion that is exactly what happens.
It never ceases to amaze me that when one thing goes wrong, another thing is right around the corner. In today's rapid world of communication and action its easy for your work and your personal time to have blurred lines. (Love that song btw)
This last week has been a doozy! I mean everything that could have gone wrong did. So, in hindsight I have to be thankful for technology. Because if it were not for my laptop, the internet, email, social media and wifi - I would not have been able to juggle, adapt and make good on my many commitments.
I also can't help but remember the earlier part of my career before I was uber-connected... before I slept next to an iPad and cell phone. Before I needed a charging station. Before I set up alerts in different sounds and managed my day by electronic calendar. Back then I used a Franklin Covey day planner, a tickler-file, a rolling file cabinet of resumes and an SIC code book for cold calling. I even had my head shot on my business card for branding... this was before LinkedIn. This should make me feel old, right? But I am only 34!
So, I ask you: Do you think that technology gave us more work/life balance or stole our work/life balance? I personally view it as an enhancer of balance, although I know and understand many feel the opposite. Technology will either help you (like me) juggle and maximize your entire day or it will hinder the quality of life balance. I like to work, socialize and think- in spurts. I like variety in my day. Some time to work - some time to play. But when the world comes at me fast and all things happen at once - technology seems to provide me with the opportunity to find balance in a lot of ways. It is probably because I don't compartmentalize... I try to go through my life taking what comes in a day and making time to be distracted. It's neither good nor bad, just how I do things.
What about you? Does technology hinder or enhance your work/life balance?
It never ceases to amaze me that when one thing goes wrong, another thing is right around the corner. In today's rapid world of communication and action its easy for your work and your personal time to have blurred lines. (Love that song btw)
This last week has been a doozy! I mean everything that could have gone wrong did. So, in hindsight I have to be thankful for technology. Because if it were not for my laptop, the internet, email, social media and wifi - I would not have been able to juggle, adapt and make good on my many commitments.
I also can't help but remember the earlier part of my career before I was uber-connected... before I slept next to an iPad and cell phone. Before I needed a charging station. Before I set up alerts in different sounds and managed my day by electronic calendar. Back then I used a Franklin Covey day planner, a tickler-file, a rolling file cabinet of resumes and an SIC code book for cold calling. I even had my head shot on my business card for branding... this was before LinkedIn. This should make me feel old, right? But I am only 34!
So, I ask you: Do you think that technology gave us more work/life balance or stole our work/life balance? I personally view it as an enhancer of balance, although I know and understand many feel the opposite. Technology will either help you (like me) juggle and maximize your entire day or it will hinder the quality of life balance. I like to work, socialize and think- in spurts. I like variety in my day. Some time to work - some time to play. But when the world comes at me fast and all things happen at once - technology seems to provide me with the opportunity to find balance in a lot of ways. It is probably because I don't compartmentalize... I try to go through my life taking what comes in a day and making time to be distracted. It's neither good nor bad, just how I do things.
What about you? Does technology hinder or enhance your work/life balance?
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