NZ564711A - Personnel recruitment with feedback system - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment is disclosed. The system comprises: a database storing records for a plurality of contract personnel; a web interface on a web-portal for allowing contract personnel and businesses to register and for entering and updating the records with contract personnel information; a feedback interface on the web-portal which is automatically triggered by a feedback trigger upon completion of a contract, allowing the business to enter contract personnel performance information, wherein the contract personnel performance information is stored with the records in the database; a search interface on the web-portal allowing a potential business to search for contract personnel by using a plurality of attributes, wherein the search results are affected by the stored contract personnel performance information and a watchlist; and a "terms of contract" template which contains terms of contract information for hiring personnel which will be completed by the business to generate a job contract and then sent to the selected contract personnel for acceptance after the contract personnel had been selected.

Description

10055390016* ;56 47 11 ;NEW ZEALAND ;PATENTS ACT, 1953 ;0ffice of ^eny 2 0 DEC 2007 Scei^Eq ;COMPLETE SPECIFICATION ;PERSONNEL RECRUITMENT WITH FEEDBACK SYSTEM ;We, GREEN TEA SOLUTIONS LIMITED, a company duly incofporated under the laws of New Zealand of 14 Lavender Court, Meadowbank, Auckland, New Zealand, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: ;FIELD OF THE INVENTION ;The present invention relates to a recruitment system of contract personnel and in particular to a recruitment system for contract personnel with a feedback interface for 5 soliciting contract personnel performance information and a search interface for potential businesses to search for contract personnel using a plurality of attributes. ;BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ;Contract personnel recruitment is sought by companies in periods of increased demand or when permanent staff are on annual leave or special leave (e.g. maternity cover). Contract 10 personnel recruitment is thus done in haste and normally leads to "quality issues". These "quality issues" stem from the fact that there is normally not much feedback given for contract personnel due to the temporary nature of the job, and thus, businesses do not have much data when evaluating possible candidates. ;In this specification, where reference has been made to external sources of information, 15 including patent specifications and other documents, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the present invention. Unless stated otherwise, reference to such sources of information is not to be construed, in any jurisdiction, as an admission that such sourccs of information are prior art or form part of the common general knowledge in the art. ;20 In this document, contractor and contract personnel are used interchangeably. ;As used herein the term "and/or" means "and" or "or", or both. As used herein "(s)" following a noun means the plural and / or singular forms of the noun. ;The term "comprising" as used in this specification [and claims] means "consisting at least in part of'. When interpreting statements in this specification [and claims] which include 25 that term, the features, prefaced by that term in each statement, all need to be present but other features can also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and 'comprised" are to be interpreted in the same manner. ;1249959_5.DOC ;-3 - ;SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ;It is an object of the invention to provide an improved recruitment system and method that overcomes the above disadvantages or at least provides the public or industry with a useful choice. ;5 In a first aspect the present invention may be said to consist in a system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment, the system comprising: a database to store a plurality of records, said plurality of records including a record for plurality of contract personnel; a web interface on a web-portal for allowing contract personnel and business to register and for entering and updating said plurality of records with contract personnel information; a 10 feedback interface on said web-portal which is automatically triggered by a feedback trigger upon completion of a contract, allowing the business to enter contract personnel performance information, wherein said contract personnel performance information is stored with said plurality of records in said database; a search interface on said web-portal allowing a potential business to search for contract personnel by using a plurality of 15 attributes, wherein said search results are affected by said stored contract personnel performance information and a watchlist; and a "terms of contract" template which contains terms of contract information for hiring personnel which will be completed by the business to generate a job contract and then sent to the selected contract personnel for acceptance after the contract personnel has been selected. ;-4- ;Preferably said watchlist is an optional list in which the business can list down contract personnel that have been employed by the business in the past. ;Preferably said contract personnel information comprises contract information; personnel details; location, preferred contract rate, preferred working hours and contractor 5 availability. ;Preferably said contract personnel performance information comprises performance rating, performance feedback, details of the contract. ;Preferably said attributes comprises role function, level of role experience, business sector experience, availability, preferred contract rate, key skills, and anticipated start date. ;10 Preferably said contract personnel information comprises the contract personnel's calendar. ;Preferably said interface is a web interface. ;In a second aspect the present invention may be said to consist in a method for facilitating contract personnel recruitment, comprising the steps of: ;15 entering and updating said contract personnel information into records; ;storing a plurality of said records in a database; ;providing a feedback interface on a web-portal which is automatically triggered by a feedback trigger upon completion of a contract, allowing a business to enter contract personnel performance information upon completion of a contract; wherein said contract 20 personnel performance information is stored with said plurality of records in said database; ;providing a search interface on said web-portal allowing a potential business to search for contractors by using a plurality of attributes, wherein said search results are affected by said stored contract personnel performance information and a watchlist; and ;25 information for hiring personnel which will be completed by the business to generate a job contract and then sent to the selected contract personnel for agreement and acceptance obtaining a plurality of contract personnel information via a web interface and providing a "terms of contract" template which contains terms of contract after the contract personnel has been selected. ;BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ;Disclosed embodiments and methods of utilizing the invention will be further described, with reference to the accompanying figures, by way of example only and without intending to be limiting, wherein: ;5 Figure 1 shows an overview of a system implementing the preferred embodiment; ;Figure 2 shows the Registration, Searching (business searching for contract personnel) and Contract Posting steps; ;Figure 3 shows the Placement, Contract Period and Contract Feedback steps; ;Figure 4 shows the Searching (contract personnel search for business), Online 10 tbmesheeting, Invoicing and Discussion Groups steps; ;Figure 5 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's name; ;Figure 6 shows a screenshot of the Registration of contract personnel's details; ;Figure 7 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's career summary; ;Figure 8 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's preferred 15 company position; ;Figure 9 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's qualifications, associations and skills page; ;Figure 10 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's qualifications page; ;20 Figure 11 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's referees page; ;Figure 12 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's referees addition page; ;Figure 13 shows a screenshot of the Registration of a contract personnel's rate page; Figure 14 shows a screenshot of the Registration —Terms & Conditions page; ;25 Figure 15 shows a screenshot of the Registration having being completed; ;1249')59_5 DOC ;-6- ;Figuie 16 shows a screenshot of a business conducting search for contract personnel; ;Figure 17 shows a screenshot of the search results after a business has conducted search for contract personnel; ;Figure 18 shows a second layer of information after a business clicks into a contract 5 personnel from search results; ;Figure 19 shows a screenshot of the business job screen — showing shortlist, shortlist set and job applicants; ;Figure 20 shows a screenshot of a contract personnel's profile; ;Figure 21 shows a screenshot of the business job posting form; ;10 Figure 22 shows a screenshot of the business dashboard page; ;Figure 23 shows a screenshot of the communication to a business requesting feedback placement on contract personnel; ;Figure 24 shows a screenshot of the performance feedback form; ;Figure 25 shows a screenshot of the independent contract for services template; 15 Figure 26 shows a screenshot of the business watchlist; ;Figure 27 shows a screenshot of the timesheeting tool for contract personnel; ;Figure 28 shows a screenshot of the success fee charge page; ;Figure 29 shows a screenshot of a contract personnel conducting a search for a contract; ;Figure 30 shows a screenshot of the search results for a contract personnel conducting a 20 search; and ;Figure 31 shows a screenshot of the availability calendar. ;DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION ;A preferred embodiment will now be set forth in detail with reference to the figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. ;1249S59_5.DOC ;- 7 - ;Figure 1 illustrates an overview of the Recruitment with Feedback System 100. Referring to figure 1, Contract Personnel 102 and businesses 101 are able to access the internet via internet connecdons. Contract Personnel 102 and the business 101 are provided with a Universal Resource Locator in which they can access the Web Interface 107, Feedback 5 Interface 106 and the Search Interface 105 which sits on a server 104. ;All Contract Personnel 102 and businesses 101 are required to register using Web Interface 107. Upon registration, the Contract Personnel 102 or business 101 will be granted an account. Non-registered Contract Personnel 102 will be able to see slim details (role title, rate range and term only) of contracts on offer although they would not be able to apply 10 unless registered. All businesses will need to register before use. Upon registration, the business 101 will be required to submit a business profile listing key attributes of the business. This information will be forwarded to the Contract Personnel 102 along with details relating to the available contract to enable the Contract Personnel 102 to assess and agree to continue the process if selected during the short list process. ;15 Contract Personnel 102 and businesses 101 can use Search Interface 105. When the business 101 has an available position, the business 101 may use Search Interface 105 to seek a contractor to fulfil the role. The business 101 is required to select from search criteria such as Role Function, Level of Role Experience, Rate, Availability, Business Sector, Key Skills and Location; and then complete a job specification to short-list 20 candidates or perform a job post. A resulting list of candidates that's fits some or all of the criteria will be returned. Search results should be ranked in order of most likely to less likely candidates. (A system to determine how candidates should be ranked is determined by the business rules) ;When a potential Contract Personnel 102 candidate is selected by the businesses 101 for 25 short listing, the Contract Personnel 102 candidate will receive an email and SMS ;notification, requesting confirmation of their availability and desire to be considered for the role. ;Wlien the potential Contract Personnel 102 candidate agrees to continue the process; their complete Career Summary will be released to the business 101 upon payment acceptance 30 (shortlist fee) to enable further communication to continue. If the business makes a decision to interview the candidate their contact details will be presented to the business. ;1249959_5.DOC ;-8- ;Over time, business 101 will have the ability to establish a list of preferred Contract Personnel 102 known as a "watchlist" to enable highlighting of Contract Personnel 102 that they have employed in the past to re-employ. If a business has a watch list, each time they use the Recruitment with Feedback System 100, the business will flag any watchlisted 5 contractors on the search result that match the search criteria. ;Contract Personnel 102 can use Search Interface 105 to search for prospective businesses 101, based on those roles that have been posted by a business 101. Based on the criteria specified by the Contract Personnel 102, a resulting list of potential roles fulfilling some or all of these requirements will be presented. Once a business 101 confirms that Contract 10 Personnel 102 applying for the role may be progressed to interview stage, the business 101 will ideally select one candidate for the role. Business 101 will be charged a success fee at this stage. No shortlist fee is charged for a job notification by a Contract Personnel 102 applying for the role. ;Upon successful selection of a candidate for the position as confirmed by the business 101 15 or Contract Personnel 102, the candidate selected for the role is to be flagged as the successful incumbent. The status of the role/position is to be updated to now no longer being available. The Contract Personnel 102 calendar is to be updated to reflect revised availability (Contract Personnel are further able to update the calendar direcdy from their home page screen, at any time). ;20 When the successful candidate is flagged, the business 101 will be prompted for a notification to be sent to unsuccessful candidates in the short list process advising the role has been fulfilled. ;Businesses 101 will also have the ability to the remove specific unsuccessful and / or candidates that they have engaged, from future searches. If so required these candidates 25 will be excluded from future searches by the business 101. ;The business 101 will be presented with a "Terms of Contract" template for completion, to record details related to the contract that may be used for time keeping etc including start end dates of contract, no. hours per week, contract rate and conditions surrounding the engagement. The completed template will be sent to the successful Contract Personnel 102 30 for acceptance. ;A success fee will be charged immediately to the business's 101 account. This will happen before the notification to successful and unsuccessful candidates occurs. ;1249959_5.DOC ;-9- ;Once the close / end date of the contract has passed, Contract Personnel 102 will receive a notification that their profile and career summary will be updated with the details of the contract they have completed at their agreement. Upon agreement of the Contract Personnel 102, their profile / career summary will be updated with the Job specification 5 details. ;Contract Personnel 102 are then able to update their profile with responsibilities and achievements. Once the close / end date of the contract has passed, businesses 101 will either receive a post contract evaluation survey requesting feedback of the Contract Personnel's 102 performance or be contacted direct via call centre for performance 10 response. ;Contract Personnel 102 will receive a notification that the post contract evaluation (Performance Feedback Survey) has been sent to the business 101. Contract Personnel 102 will be able to view the results of the survey and will have the option to prevent the addition of the business's 101 fccdback to their profile. A defined number of feedback 15 surveys may be prevented from appearing in the Contract Personnel 102 profile per annum - this will be based on the anniversary date of the Contract Personnel 102 registration on to the site. ;Information provided by businesses 101 in response to the question "Any specific positive feedback you would like to provide on the Contract Personnel?" may be suppressed by the 20 Contract Personnel 102 so as not to appear in their profile. ;The business 101 will be prompted to confirm the addition of the Contract Personnel 102 to their watch list, the details of the Contract Personnel 102 will be added to the watchlist for future reference. ;Figures 5 to 31 illustrate a web interface of an implementation of the present invention. ;25 To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting. ;1249959_5.DOC *

Claims (10)

1. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment without - 10- 10 15 20 25 external traditional recruitment agency, the system comprising: a database to store a plurality of records, said plurality of records including a record for plurality of contract personnel; an interface on a web-portal for allowing contract personnel and businesses to register and for entering and updating said plurality of records with contract personnel information; a feedback interface on said web-portal which is automatically triggered by a feedback trigger upon completion of a contract, allowing the business to enter contract personnel performance information, wherein said contract personnel performance information is stored with said plurality of records in said database; a search interface on said web-portal allowing a potential business to search for contract personnel by using a plurality of attributes, wherein said search results are affected by said stored contract personnel performance information, and a watchlist; and a "terms of contract" template which contains terms of contract information for hiring personnel which will be completed by the business to generate a job contract and then sent to selected contract personnel after the contract personnel has been selected.

2. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment without the need for an external traditional recruitment agency as claimed in claim 1, wherein said watchlist is an optional list in which the business can list down contract personnel that have been employed by the business in the past.

3. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment without the need for an external traditional recruitment agency as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said contract personnel information comprises contract information; personnel details; location, preferred contract rate, preferred working hours and contractor availability.

4. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment without the need for an external traditional recruitment agency as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said contract personnel performance information comprises performance rating, performance feedback, details of the contract. 11 -

5. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment without the' external traditional recruitment agency as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, attributes comprises role function, level of role experience, business sector experience, availability, preferred contract rate, key skills, anticipated start date. 5

6. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment without the need for an external traditional recruitment agcncy as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said contact personnel information comprises the contract personnel's calendar.

7. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment without the need for an external traditional recruit mem agency as chimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said 10 interface is a web interface.

8. A method for facilitating contract personnel recruitment, comprising the steps of: obtaining a plurality of contract personnel information via a web interface and entering and updating said contract personnel information into records; storing a plurality of said records in a database; 15 providing a feedback interface on a web-portal which is automatically triggered by a feedback trigger upon completion of a contract, allowing a business to enter contract personnel performance information upon completion of a contract; wherein said contract personnel performance information is stored with said plurality of records in said database; providing a search interface on said web-portal allowing a potential business to 20 search for contractors by using a plurality of attributes, wherein said search results are affected by said stored contract personnel performance information and a watchlist; and providing a "terms of contract" template which contains terms of contract information for hiring personnel which will be completed by the business to generate a job contract and then sent to the selected contract personnel for agreement and acceptance 25 after the contract personnel has been selected.

9. A system for facilitating contract personnel recruitment as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A method for facilitating contract personnel recruitment as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.