On Thursday, January 25, 2018, APS, Inc., Chief Technology Officer, LJ Morris held a presentation to discuss recent updates and enhancements to the SmartSearch system, along with upcoming advancements and events, and ended the presentation with a question and answer session with clients.
The turnout was a true testament to the engagement LJ has with our clients and based on the number of great questions and high interest, LJ did a thorough job at presenting the information.
In addition to mentioning our 30th Anniversary and providing a brief overview of the company’s history, he proudly stated our 2018 marketing slogan, “True Partnerships Matter.”
The next item discussed was the updates to the Portals: Vendor Management System (VMS), Hiring Manager and Candidate Portals. LJ described how the redesign and layout are more focused on increasing candidate engagement and raising the bar on the candidate experience. All the portals have a responsive design that is 100% mobile-friendly and are flexible, allowing companies to adjust the options to their desired settings. Additional features include a map for candidates to identify the geography of a job, and an email notification alert so candidates know if they’re already registered with a company. Interactive graphs, screening questions and candidate responses, and single-click approval options are available for hiring managers.
SmartSign, a proprietary APS, Inc. developed eSignature tool to complement onboarding are also designed to be 100% mobile responsive. SmartSign offers all the same capabilities as other eSignature options, but at a fraction of the cost to buyers. SmartSign allows users to access a list of all docs requiring signatures for onboarding new hires and protects the information by encrypting it and storing the information in a fortress located in the Cloud.
One of the most exciting items LJ discussed is Gamification and the new Training Snippets. Users will see icons on the dashboard which directs them to view short instructional videos on various SmartSearch functions. Users will then receive rewards, which they can redeem in the soon-to-be-released online SmartSearch Store. A complete list of Training Snippet Videos can, also, be found under “Help” on the SmartSearch toolbar. Anyone interested in a unique Snippets library specific to your organization can contact ljm@smartsearch.plus.
Express Find is another exciting option that has been enhanced. At the suggestion of Brian Haddad, Staffing Manager at Amtec, the enhanced Express Find allows users to key in their search criteria that fit the search values and receive a list of all corresponding records which match. Further, the user may choose to configure the records with color coding to indicate recent and past data.
New vendors Arya, an AI tool for resume mining, Universal Background Screening, and CareerBuilder Employment Screening are a few of the recent integrations with SmartSearch. Additional vendor integrations are in the queue for 2018.
In keeping with the high-standards of protecting our clients’ information, LJ reminded everyone that APS complies with the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the US Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information from European Union member countries. To view our certification page, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/welcome.
SmartSearch Light is the mobile and agile option that allows users to add notes on the fly and offers an improved viewing screen. As with all SmartSearch products, this is a fully responsive interface and is designed to suit the needs of a mobile workforce.
The email templates will be undergoing a major update with the addition of many templates and enhanced UI functionality similar to Constant Contact. Metrics to monitor campaigns will, also, be available.
SmartSearch is currently working with a database of 15 million people to develop and hone a proprietary Artificial Intelligence product. LJ referred to the upcoming product as a “Deep Learning Engine” designed to better understand which candidate qualities are being aligned with certain jobs. During the course of this testing and development, LJ and his team are looking to finely tune the product based on user feedback in support of making the AI system an intuitive, continuous learning machine.
Smart Search has a new API which allows users to add and pull records, various data and run searches. The new API reduces time to search and creates a seamless experience for SmartSearch users.
Additionally, a soft launch of v20.1 enhancements can be found in “Release Notes” under “What’s New in SmartSearch.” Please visit the page to learn more about these recent updates, as well as upcoming enhancements.
For further information, please contact Sylvia sylvia@smartsearch.plus or Tyler tyler@smartsearch.plus with questions and to get the link to the recorded Q1 SmartTalks and a copy of the presentation slides.