Administrative aids being able to organise the selection and scheduling of candidates electronically is a great time saver. Better impact is being achieved in terms of response rates when advertising roles with the job board service, and the average number of applications per role has almost doubled. Excluding the cost of staff time and postage, the average cost of recruitment activities per applicant has fallen from £100 under the manual system to just £34 since using the Vacancy Filler system. The ability to automate responses and to electronically organise the selection and scheduling of candidates for interview is also saving some 20-30 minutes time per applicant, per post, according to Richard. Because Vacancy Filler is a cloud service, the cost of on-premises equipment is completely avoided. Increased productivity and organisational effectiveness is evident, whilst the ability to undertake online screening has improved shortlisting efficiency. Having an online system is particularly
beneficial in managing large volumes of applicants, and it has also been much easier to re-advertise posts when necessary. Other benefits include enhancement of the Foundation’s reputation and a positive feedback from candidates about their recruitment experience. While providing a high level of automation, the best of these systems are easy to use and allow a high degree of flexibility – for example application forms may need to be tailored to the type of candidate required, and organisations often require other customisation. With most schools and colleges finding it challenging to recruit and retain the best, in a sector which has a number of legislative and administrative issues to contend with, using technology to improve the process is seen increasingly as not merely an option but as a real necessity. Tony Brookes is the sales director of Vacancy Filler Recruitment Software.
Tickets please Joan Lind makes the case for online booking for school events As parents at an independent school in Sydney, we were very impressed with how easy they made it for parents to confirm attendance or book tickets for school events such as parent/ teacher meetings, concerts or fundraisers. Our eldest son’s school put on an annual drama or musical extravaganza and, because of the size of the school venue, two performances were held daily, over three days. They used a simple, flexible and empowering online booking system, which was easy for parents to access and equally helpful for the school staff managing the event. If we thought we might be running late, we could reserve aisle seats in the back row or, if our son had a lead role, we could easily book seats near the front. Parents were given a time from the school (usually midevening) when tickets went on sale online, so you never missed out. I made my bookings from the comfort of our home office in the evening and that was that. Importantly for the school, they knew well in advance who was attending, without the need to create and distribute forms to be filled in. This avoided late returns or, worse still, no response by people who then turned up on the night, and also avoided a string of emails backwards and forwards making and acknowledging reservations. This spread of options gave the large cohort of working parents, who had to travel a distance to the school from home or office, every chance to arrange for the whole family to attend. This was especially convenient for younger or older siblings who weren’t of school age or at the same school. With this experience, on our return to England in 2013, we approached the people in Melbourne who ran this clever online solution, and a few months later we launched Trybooking in the UK in 2014. With more and more aspects of school administration becoming computerised, it seems only sensible to take the digital route when organising school events. The benefits are numerous. If the event involves payment, a whole other world of work and pain comes with the business of collecting cheques and
Joan Lind. keeping balances; dealing with cash, securing it and banking it; and finally, worst of all, chasing late payers of whom there are always at least a couple. With banking the way it is, paying in cash is tedious and time-consuming and cheques look as though they are on the way out. Time to say hello to online events booking. Created specifically to meet the needs of schools and colleges, this provides a pleasant, logical, cost-effective method for parents to book tickets or register for any size of gathering. They can organize themselves and their children for a performance or other school event at any time of the day or night, at home, from the office or even from the car or airport. And once they’ve booked they get automatic immediate email confirmation. Most schools regularly put on free events, but organizing them takes time and is always predictably unpredictable. How many times have parents stood in the aisles at a year group’s first public performance? How many times has the catering far exceeded the number of guests? Many schools face a particularly challenging administrative experience at the end of the Autumn Term. Christmas performances are often the first occasion when pupils perform in public, having just started school or taken up a new instrument in September. Parents want to be there and want to be sure they have a seat with a view. How many schools have a clear idea in advance of the number of parents, relatives or friends who need
Autumn 2016
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