Maryland Technology Consultants: New Hiring System Case Study

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Updated: Mar 26th, 2024

Table of Contents

Introduction
Strategic Use of Technology
Decision Making
Process Analysis
Requirements
References

Introduction

MTC’s business purpose is to supply its customers, including small- and mid-size businesses, nonprofits, and governmental organizations, with highly professional experts and consultants in business process consulting, IT consulting, and IT outsourcing consulting. Currently, the firm is anticipating expanding procedures, which will require the fast hiring process of numerous applicants for the upcoming contract. The currently applied manual hiring procedure puts time and effectiveness constraints on the human resource department. In the face of such challenges and tasks, MTC needs to launch a new automated hiring system that would allow for achieving the goals within the company’s business strategy. The current report introduces the analysis of the business environment for the application of the new hiring system and the analysis of the existing hiring processes. Essential requirements for the new system and detailed recommendations are presented.

Strategic Use of Technology

Business Strategy

The currently used manual hiring system obstructs the firm’s ability to build a cadre of consultants internationally and provide customers with highly skilled consultants with expertise in new technologies and innovative solutions. Therefore, the proposed automated hiring system will increase the recruitment capacity and ensure that large volumes of information about numerous applicants are processed simultaneously. When using the new system, MTC will meet its goals of employing the best candidates to win new contracts, build an international team of consultants, and increase its competitive advantage by improving its most valuable asset – the human capital.

Competitive Advantage

Within the sphere of the consulting industry, MTC meets significant competition, including such firms as Hewlett-Packard (HP), Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and smaller niche companies with loyal customers. However, as demonstrated by MTC’s strategic goals, the company aims at expanding its share in the IT consulting market by 7% each year during the next five years. Evidently, employees constitute the most valuable strategic asset of the company since it performs as the provider of consulting services. The more highly qualified and experienced consultants work in the company, the higher is the level of its competitive advantage over the rivals (Pereira et al., 2017). Therefore, an effective highly-technological hiring system is an immediate valuable tool for building hiring capacity that will ensure the recruitment of the most qualified and appropriate people for the most tentative positions within the entity.

Strategic Objectives

MTC’s strategic goals are aligned with the company’s overall business strategy and provide a step-by-step vision of what the firm plans to pursue in the nearest future. The objectives presented below provide measurable planned actions that will help achieve the goal if assisted with the new hiring system.

Strategic Goal (from case study)
Objective (clear, measurable and time-bound)
Explanation (2-3 sentences)

Increase MTC Business Development by winning new contracts in the areas of IT Consulting.

Apply for ten newly available requests for proposals from governmental, private, and nonprofit organizations within the next six months.

The proposed new hiring system will provide the human resource department with an opportunity to find and employ the best IT consultants available from the workforce market. Using the system, the hiring team will allocate and train the best candidates in an efficient and productive manner. Therefore, when applying for new contract opportunities, MTC will have a competitive advantage in the form of a strong team of experts.

Build a cadre of consultants internationally to provide remote research and analysis support to MTC’s onsite teams in the U. S.

Employ four research analysts from abroad within the next six months to expand the international team of experts.

The new hiring system will enhance the effectiveness of the process of application for the position of foreign candidates. Such a feature will expand the pool of potential recruits and improve the mean level of expertise of the team. An online-based system will ensure that applicants have access to the positions and that human resource managers can easily apply hiring strategies to assess candidates and choose the most appropriate ones.

Continue to increase MTC’s ability to quickly provide high-quality consultants to awarded contracts to serve the clients’ needs best.

Employ five customer service improvement specialists within the next 12 months.

The employment of customer service improvement specialists will allow MTC to allocate specific effort to exploring the clients’ experiences when cooperating with MTC and identifying their perceived advantages and disadvantages of the received services. The analysis of customer needs will provide an opportunity to improve the services in the future. The newly introduced hiring system will provide a technological basis for timely recruitment of the most experienced customer service improvement specialists capable of contributing to the company’s ability to offer high-quality consultants to awarded contracts to serve the clients’ needs best.

Increase MTC’s competitive advantage in the IT consulting marketplace by increasing its reputation for having IT consultants who are highly skilled in leading-edge technologies and innovative solutions for its clients.

Initiate an intensive IT consulting training on innovations and technologies for newly employed applicants within the next three months.

The hiring system will increase the chances of the hiring team to identify the most necessary skills that need to be improved in the candidates. It will also facilitate the procedure of tracking the applicants’ success throughout the training session to ensure the best results are achieved.

Decision Making

This table shows possible decisions on the strategic, tactical, and operational levels, which define the directions of the company’s development and will be supported by the new hiring system (“How do information systems support decision making,” n. d.).

Role	Level as defined in Course Content Reading	Example of Possible Decision Supported by Hiring System	Example of Information the Hiring System Could Provide to Support Your Example Decision
Senior/Executive Managers (Decisions made by the CEO and the CFO at MTC supported by the hiring system.)	Strategic	The CEO open two new recruiting centers abroad	Executive managers of MTC are responsible for making decisions that entail strategic development (Abubakar et al., 2019). The hiring system will provide information about the locations (cities and countries) where It consultants are most qualified.
Middle Managers (Decisions made by the Director of HR and the Manager of Recruiting supported by the hiring system.)	Tactical	The Director of HR decides to increase the number of employees to meet the staffing demands of new contracts.	The system will provide technical tools for human resource managers to employ relevant candidates to meet the requirements of the teams.
Operational Managers (Decisions made by the line managers in the organization who are hiring for their projects supported by the hiring system.)	Operational	A line manager decides to hire niche specialists to meet the needs of a client	The hiring system will allow for attracting applicants from the international multi-professional pool of candidates to employ the targeted audience.

Process Analysis

Hiring Process

The following table provides an analysis of the currently executed hiring process in MTC with each step defined, responsible positions identified, improvements the new system will provide for each step, and anticipated business benefits.

MTC Hiring Process
As-Is Process	Responsible MTC Position	To-Be Process – How the system Will Support and Improve the hiring process	Business Benefits of Improved Process (Align with MTC’s overall business strategy and needs.)

Recruiter receives application from job hunter via Postal Service Mail.	Recruiter	System will receive application via on-line submission through MTC Employment Website and store in the applicant database within the hiring system.	A more efficient submission process decreases time needed to receive and begin processing applications. This will present a positive image to potential employees and help MTC compete for top IT talent.
Recruiter screens resumes to identify top candidates by matching with job requirements from job description.	Recruiter	System will allow for inserting the position requirements and matching them with the candidate’s major qualification features, such as education, experience, skills, and other elements. It will allow for more efficient initial stages of automated screening to save time. The Recruiter will only need to review the most applicable resumes that remain after the automated screening.	An automated screening for role description/candidate qualifications match will be time-efficient and ensure that top candidates are correctly selected.
Recruiter forwards top candidates to Administrative Assistant via interoffice mail	Recruiter	System will be accessed by all members of the hiring team with information available on all active processes. Once Recruiter labels top candidates as selected once, appropriate notification will be automatically sent to the Administrative Assistant within the system.	Using built-in reporting, the organization will always have up-to-date information on all active processes (Bourgeois, 2014). It simplifies employees’ work and makes it more productive and time-efficient that is beneficial for the business.
Administrative Assistant forwards candidates’ resumes and applications to Hiring Manager for the position via interoffice mail.	Administrative Assistant	Instead of using email, the system will provide AA with access to editing the list of candidates before the hiring manager obtains the information. The system will automatically notify Hiring Manager about the selected candidates once AA approves the list.	Time-efficiency will be achieved, which will contribute to employee’s productivity and the ability to review more candidates within a relatively short time. Enforcing consistency will allow for building a clear algorithm of actions with maximum automation capabilities utilized (Bourgeois, 2014).
Hiring Manager reviews applications and selects who he/she wants to interview.	Hiring Manager	Easy-to-access interface presenting candidates’ resumes and applications will allow for Hiring Manager to see key information about candidates at first sight. The candidates will be listed in order from the best match to the least. It will allow for more convenient and fast review for better decision-making.	Best practices will be enforced, and employees empowered with technology that will assist them in informed decision-making. The organization will benefit in terms of productivity; the best candidates will be contacted fast, which will increase the chances of competing over the best experts in the market.
Hiring Manager sends email to Administrative Assistant on who he/she has selected to interview and identifies members of the interview team.	Hiring Manager	This step will be eliminated and integrated into the previous step as a finalizing element of applications’ review. Once the Hiring Manager selects candidates, he/she labels them accordingly, and the system will automatically notify Administrative Assistant. Also, Hiring Manager will be able to send respective notifications inside the system to the selected members of the interview team.	For an efficient system, it is vital to “capture information once, at the source” to eliminate “delays and errors” (Hammer, 1990, p. 111). The organization will benefit in terms of shortening work hours on inter-team communication, which will facilitate a faster achievement of the goal of increasing business.
AA schedules interviews by contacting interview team members and hiring manager to identify possible time slots	Administrative Assistant	A single unified interviewing schedule will be generated and maintained by the system to ensure access to all team members. Contacting will not be necessary because possible time spots will be seen, and interviews will be appointed automatically.	This built-in feature will allow for more efficient scheduling of interviews and more time-efficient business process management at the stage of interview planning.
AA emails candidates to schedule interviews.	Administrative Assistant	Once the interviews are inserted into the schedule, message templates will be automatically generated for each candidate with the known information inserted. AA will be able to edit the messages easily and forward them to the candidates.	Internal and external communication will be processed within the same system, which will ensure consistency in procedural steps. It will demonstrate to potential employees the advantages of the company and attract talented human resources.
Interview is conducted with candidate, hiring manager and other members of the interview team.	Hiring Manager and Interview Team	Interview is conducted with candidate, hiring manager and other members of the interview team. (Hiring System is not used for this step.)	n/a
Hiring manager informs the AA on his top candidate for hiring	Hiring Manager	System will allow Hiring Manager to label top candidates, which will be automatically displayed for AA.	The organization will benefit in terms of best practice enforcement and employee empowerment.
AA collects feedback from interviews and status of candidates	Administrative Assistant	This step might be eliminated and substituted by AA’s review of the feedbacks and status of candidates, which will be inserted by Hiring Manager and interviewing team upon each interview.	Less time will be needed to identify the best candidate. The faster the organization makes a decision as per a candidate, the higher are the chances of hiring the best competitive workforce.
Administrative Assistant prepares offer letter based on information from Recruiter and puts in the mail to the chosen candidate.	Administrative Assistant	System enables AA to prepare job offer letter by storing the offer letter template and information on each candidate; allows AA to select information to go into letter and put it into the template, which can then be reviewed and emailed to the candidate.	A more efficient offer process presents positive image to applicants and decreases time needed to prepare offer letter, and enables MTC to hire in advance of the competition.

Expected Improvements

In the table below, the new hiring system-informed expected improvements are presented to demonstrate how they will facilitate the performance of MTC hiring team within such areas as collaboration, communication, workflow, and relationships.

Area	Current Issues (from the Case Study)	Improvements (due to use of technology)
Collaboration:	The Hiring Manager states that recruiting is only one area he is responsible for and he isn’t as responsive to HR as he could be. Therefore, he counts on the Recruiters to help manage the process and keep him informed. Current manual system causes considerable communication breakdowns and takes additional effort and time to stay on top of the hiring process.	An efficient system with all information in one place, easily accessible via a dashboard, and updated in real time could make his recruiting job easier; and he could devote time to effectively working collaboratively and proactively with HR on his staffing needs.
Communications: Explain how a hiring system could improve internal and external communications	The Recruiter identifies the inefficiency problem related to information exchange between recruiters, Administrative Assistant, and Hiring Manager. All their actions and decisions need to be aligned. Therefore, manual processing takes much time and needs to be improved.	An automated hiring system will allow for delivering automated notifications about the decisions and information about candidates, which will be available to respective employees. Such a system of notifications, labeling of candidates’ resumes, and message templates generation will facilitate internal and external communication.
Workflow: Explain how a hiring system could improve the MTC hiring process by providing a consistent structure for each participant to perform his/her part in the hiring process.	The Administrative Assistant reports that the workload associated with the hiring paperwork, applicants’ resumes, and hiring managers’ feedback causes many uncertainties and delays. With an increased hiring volume, these problems are expected to worsen and might block the hiring process.	Automated algorithms provided by the new system will allow for eliminated unnecessary manual steps and save AA time for important decision-making. Each constituent in the hiring process will have access to the same unified information, which will minimize time and efforts spent on adjusting employees’ actions to inter-related steps.
Relationships: Explain how implementing an enterprise hiring system could foster stronger relationships with applicants/potential employees.	The Manager of Recruiting states that being in competitive environment for IT talent, MTC fails to generate offers as fast as its competitors do. Therefore, it is necessary for the new technology to help recruit efficiently, process applicants quickly, and make a job offer to the top candidate before competitors reach him/her.	According to Ajunwa and Greene (2019), standardized hiring processes facilitate overall business outcomes. Improved scheduling system, faster decision-making due to automated notification and feedback processes will allow for contacting applicants faster and building stronger ties with them at the onset of cooperation.

Requirements

Stakeholder Interests

The following table demonstrates the problems and challenges faced by the company stakeholders in relation to their hiring practices.

Role	Specific problem related to the current hiring process	How a technology solution to support the hiring process could address the problem
1. CEO	The inability to solicit customers’ businesses due to insufficient hiring capacity is considered the main challenge.	The new hiring system will allow for eliminating manual work and abundant business processes to automate some hiring procedures and increase staff’s efficiency.
2. CFO	The currently used manual system of hiring is inefficient and not cost-effective.	The proposed new automated system will increase the level of hiring staff’s efficiency by providing them with a functional platform where their tasks are clearly displayed. The automated algorithms of the processes of communication and workflow will allow for saving time and money.
3. CIO	The current manual system does not provide the required security level for applicants’ data storage and processing, which might impede the credibility of the company and its competitive advantage.	The new system will employ “security initiatives capable of programmatically detecting, analyzing, and remediating cyber attacks by recognizing potential threats, triaging, and classifying alerts as they occur and then acting on them on a timely basis” (Mohammad & Lakshmisri, 2018, p. 901). With the automated data security system, the security breach problem will be solved (Bourgeois, 2014).
4. Director of Human Resources	Under the circumstances of the growing demand and workload, the current system fails to assist the human resources department in meeting the hiring and staffing demands with manual processes.	The features of the new system will store and process staffing-related information, including staffing needs and required applicants’ qualifications. It will accelerate the hiring process and ensure that the needs are properly analyzed, and the necessary steps are taken to promptly meet the demands.
5. Manager of Recruiting	Since the recruiting staff is not planned to be increased, the currently employed full-time recruiters cannot complete the increasing workload effectively and efficiently by manual means. The company plans to start new contracts and hire 75 staff members in 2 months.	The new system will facilitate the task management of recruiters by automating standard patterns, reporting, and internal communication. Also, technology will simplify application sorting and interview scheduling procedures with the help of automation. It will allow for increasing the capacity of recruiters, their effectiveness, and efficiency.
6. Recruiters	The manual system of screening the applicants for selecting the best ones to forward to the hiring manager is time-consuming, which is why the whole process is inefficient since all the consecutive steps depend on the work of recruiters.	The new technology will allow for automated creation of the lists of applicants whose qualifications must comply with the requirements for the position. The data on both sides (hiring and applicant’s) will be analyzed to create lists of suggested candidates to facilitate the work of recruiters.
7. Administrative Assistant	With an increased volume of work, the paperwork with applicants’ statuses, interview schedules, feedback processing, and offer letters will be too time-consuming.	The new system will eliminate paperwork and the use of interoffice mail by providing a functional platform where an administrative assistant will review the data and insert necessary changes to the system for automated scheduling and offer letter template usage.
8. Hiring Manager (Functional supervisor the new employee would be working for.)	With the use of manual means, it is difficult to screen for the most talented candidates in the market properly.	The new system will provide a bird-eye view of available candidates, their competencies, and qualifications to make the process of applicants’ screening more effective to increase the competitive advantage of MTC.

Defining Requirements

In the following table, the identified user requirements and system performance requirements are listed in relation to stakeholder position in order to ensure that the new software meets these requirements; security and reporting features of the hiring system are addressed (Jambakr, 2019).

Requirement ID# only	Requirement Statement	Stakeholder (Position and Name from Case Study that identified this requirement)
	User Requirements – (What the user needs the system to do)
	The system must store all information from the candidate’s application/resume in a central applicant database.	Recruiter – Peter O’Neil
1.	The system must allow for applicant tracking system that will reduce hiring time by 15-20%.	Manager of Recruiting – Sofia Perez
2.	The system must be easy-to-use, interface with existing systems, enhance processes.	Director of HR – Joseph Cummings
3.	The system must enhance instant applicant’s status tracking.	Recruiters – Peter O’Neil
4.	The system must contain an electronic scheduling of interviews.	Hiring Manager
5.	The system must automate feedback obtaining, internal reporting on applicants’ statuses between recruiters, hiring managers.	Administrative Assistant – Tom Arbuckle
	System Performance Requirements – (How the system will perform)
	The system must be implemented as a Software as a Service solution.	CIO – Raj Patel
6.	The new solution must effectively integrate with currently used timekeeping/payroll systems.	CFO – Evelyn Liu
7.	The system must help the workflow/enable many steps in the process to be done electronically.	Administrative Assistant – Tom Arbuckle
8.	The new system must function as an electronic dashboard demonstrating the status of job openings in a specific area, information on all qualified candidates.	Hiring Manager
9.	The new technology must contain clear security measures to control access and protect data.	CIO – Raj Patel
10.	The system must comply with the current security for mobile links internationally.	CIO – Raj Patel

References

Abubakar, A. M., Elrehail, H., Alatailat, M. A., & Elci, A. (2019). Knowledge management, decision-making style and organizational performance. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 4(2), 104-114.

Ajunwa, I., & Greene, D. (2019). Platforms at work: Automated hiring platforms and other new intermediaries in the organization of work. In S. P. Vallas and A. Kovalainen (Eds.), Work and labor in the digital age (pp. 61-91). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Bourgeois, D. T. (2014). Information systems for business and beyond. Pressbooks.

Hammer, M. (1990). Reengineering work: don’t automate, obliterate. Harvard Business Review, 68(4), 104–112.

How do information systems support decision making? (n. d.). Web.

Jambakr, M. I., Yuzaherdi, A. F., Jauhari, J., Putra, A., & Efendi, R. (2019). Structural equation modeling technique for social application of information technology user requirements’ identification. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1338(1), 1-10.

Mohammad, S. M., & Lakshmisri, S. (2018). Security automation in Information technology. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 6(2), 910-905.

Pereira, L. F., Jeronimo, C. M., & Ramos, M. R. Management consulting business models a perspective of sustainability. 2017 International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation, 29-35. Web.

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