WEB BASED CANDIDATE BACKGROUND ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

Introduction
This document is a brief overview of a proposed Web based Candidate Background Assessment tool. Agencies that act on behalf of Employers (clients) go through a recruitment process and find themselves with a large number of candidates or applicants. They need to reduce this to a shortlist that they can invite for an interview. This requires further knowledge of the candidates' personal and professional background. This information cannot be obtained from a résumé. The need for candidate assessment system stems from the fact that employers are increasingly turning to agencies in the staffing industry to carry out and report reliably on these background checks. If the candidate assessment process is delayed until after an interview, then the background checks need to be made before a formal job offer can be made. Typically the following checks need to be made (North American and International if required):

  • Education Verification (both Professional Certification and Academic) 
  • Criminal Record Checks
  • Employment History Verification

  • Credit Status and Bankruptcy Checks

  • Interview reports from phone calls and interviews with specified and unspecified professional and personal references
  • Eligibility to work (Citizenship, Green Card or Immigration status) 
  • Security Checks with FBI, CIA, RCMP, CSIS databases.

Most of the above processes would require the candidates' signed consent forms. Multiple requests for background checks, involving several clients, each with one or more candidates, need to be processed. Clearly the candidate assessment process needs to be automated in view of the large amount of information that needs to be tracked. The proposed system will consolidate the entire process from receiving a service order request from a client and a signed consent documents from the candidates, to the final delivery of the background reports.

Technical Overview 
It is proposed to develop a hybrid client/server and Web based system. The corporate office Local Area Networked (LAN) based client/server system will cover processes and data that do not need to be exposed to the Internet. The Web based interface will allow registered clients to directly order Background checks for candidates and also view completed background documentation for their candidates. Both these systems will feature database replicas. They will exchange and synchronize data through a proprietary Data-Tunnel that facilitates the updating of information on the Web site by actually updating the Web Replica database that supports the Web site.

Client/Server System Functionality
The client/server system, on the corporate LAN, will contain the main corporate database that stores links to all background documentation. The following list contains the major functionality of this component:

  1. Client and Candidate Registration
    This is a contact management sub-system that manages information about corporate entities, HR staff (i.e. multiple contact persons for each entity) and their candidates

  2. Service Order Request module
    This consists of a form to enter a new service order, find and edit an existing service orders. 

  3. Process Log
    This interface is a spreadsheet like form that tracks the progress of all service orders. All completed service orders are removed from the Process Log and stored in a History Log that can independently searched and reported on.
  4. Document Creation and Locator modules
    In practice, the information gathering process that goes into producing any of the background checks, listed on the previous page, come from a variety of sources: phone calls, faxes, and meeting notes, Internet searches and extracts through membership of subscription databases. The Document Creation Module consolidates this information into standard background reports. These reports are converted to Portal Document Format (PDF) file that are suitable for viewing and downloading from the Internet.
    The Document Locator module locates all candidate related background documentation. Search engines will find the path of a document on the corporate server or create a path for new documents. A component of this application can be used to transfer completed Background documents to identically named folders on the Web Server. These will only be accessible, on the Internet, to clients associated with the requested background checks and agency staff.
  5. Client Accounts
    This module balances the client's current account. The account is automatically debited when a service order is completed and credited via manual input when the client submits funds to the agency. Invoices are created from within this module.
  6. Database Administrative (DBA) Tools
    Only staff with DBA authorization can use this module. New clients can be created, client accounts can be credited and pricing and rates for each client can be set-up. 
    The Data-Tunnel facility that allows the Web and Corporate components to be synchronized and can be operated through an option in the DBA tools. 

Candidate Assessment Web Component
The Web component serves registered clients who can log-on via a Web Browser and check the status of their Service Orders for one or more candidates. They can also check their account balance for the Assessment system. The document locator application, described above, will also be available to clients on the Web. Clients can locate, view and download completed background documents for their candidates.

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