systematicHR

ERE’s article on the new OFCCP rules for federal contractors outlines the recquirements that must be comlied with beginning today. Who’s an Internet Applicant?

1. The individual submits an expression of interest in employment through the Internet or related electronic data technologies.
2. The contractor considers the individual for employment in a particular position.
3. The individual’s expression of interest indicates the individual possesses the basic qualifications for the position.
4. The individual at no point in the contractor’s selection process (prior to receiving an offer of employment from the contractor) removes himself or herself from further consideration or otherwise indicates that he or she is no longer interested in the position.Harpe, Lisa, January 3, 2006. “Who’s an Internet Applicant? Recruiters Should Be Ready to Answer”Electronic Recruiting Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.erexchange.com on January 3, 2006.

OK – I’m not an old pro at OFCCP and affirmative action reporting. I have some base of knowledge regarding definitions around “applicants” “candidates” “job seekers” and whatever else we’ve used to categorize people into and out of the OFCCP reports. However, these guidelines make the choice fairly easy, but still leave room for doubt.

I’m most interested in #2 and 3. “The contractor considers the individual for employment in a particular position” is going to require some strict adherence to wome written policies. How you decide who gets sorted in and out of the applicant pool will be critical and you’ll need to be very thoughtful regarding your polic choices. The great thing about technology is you can apply these filters through the TAS system and know that the system should be 100% effective in enforcing your policies without bias.

“The individual’s expression of interest indicates the individual possesses the basic qualifications for the position.” Once again, you’ll need to decide how much of a position’s qualifications will be defined as “basic.” Be too lax and your pool will be huge. Be too stringent and not enough qualified applicants will make it through the filter.

I think there are major opportunities to automate your recruiting policies, but some serious planning needs to be done before you implement. The original article posts some great ideas here and here.