EG Workforce Solutions Puts Candidate & Recruiter Experience First with Able

With Avionte as their system of record, EG was using an Adobe Docs process for their onboarding processes, and it was a labor-intensive endeavor.

“The time that it was taking for us to get a candidate through our onboarding process was about an hour, maybe even a little bit more, and it was very much a hand-holding exercise,” explains Michelle Hoke, Director of Training and Operations Support at EG Workforce Solutions. “People would constantly get stuck, would constantly need help, and this took recruiters away from filling jobs.”

The manual nature of the process meant candidates would often need to come into the office to complete it because they couldn’t fill the paperwork out remotely.

The issues were particularly acute when it came to I9s and e-verification. All e-verification was done through official government sites, and such was the difficulty, complexity, and tedium of the process that EG had to devote a full-time staff member to the cause. The process was also a delicate one: missing a single middle initial amongst all these complex forms could bounce you back multiple steps. The forms also needed to be formatted in a certain way to pass through the system correctly.

These onboarding issues were far from terminal, they just weren’t as efficient nor effective as they could’ve been. But a global pandemic would serve to highlight the vulnerabilities of the current system.

“When our offices closed, we had a situation where we weren’t able to offer that extra onboarding help, and candidates began to fall off because they couldn't get through our onboarding paperwork,” confirms Michelle.

EG was ready for change.

EG had been introduced to Able at an Avionte conference a couple of years prior. “We wanted a really easy onboarding process that was a great user experience for both our recruiters and our applicants. When we discovered Able, it seemed to really fit the bill” says Linda Miller, CFO/COO. Understanding the increased reliance on smartphones, the EG team was also after a solution that was mobile-optimized, which Able certainly was.

They were already in talks with Able when COVID hit, but the situation certainly helped to spur the implementation.

EG Workforce Solutions found Able to be exactly what they were looking for. The user interface is simple, visually pleasing, and easy to navigate, both for the candidate and the recruiter. “I love when I type or click on a name I can instantly see if their documents are done,” says Jillian Wesolowski, Recruiter at EG. “And even though I should really be going to our system of records for things like phone numbers, sometimes I just pull people up in Able because it’s quicker and easier.”

Perhaps the starkest improvements came in the efficiency and accuracy of data entry and management. Able automatically checks data inputs. If data is entered that doesn’t look right or make sense, the user is alerted before they’re allowed to move on.

For EG, this made a huge difference in how they deal with e-verification and I9s. Able guides candidates through the process and checks the formatting, ensuring that every field is filled out as it should be. It also customizes the experience for each user based on the inputs. An example: if you upload a driver’s license for ID purposes, it suggests an appropriate form of secondary ID.

The implementation of Able has transformed onboarding at EG. Because accurate information is collected the first time, every time, data quality has gone through the roof. The intuitive and clear process, featuring explainers wherever they’re needed, avoids candidates getting stuck like they used to, or indeed needing their hand held at all.

Where previously it would take EG a little over an hour to onboard someone, it now takes them less than 1/6^th of that time: approximately 10 minutes in total. And the EG team is hardly ever required to step in during that process.

Michelle says that the feedback from candidates on the process has been clear. “They say it's so much quicker. They finish it and they're kind of like, ‘Oh, I'm done? That was it? Wow!’ They’re genuinely surprised.”

Jill concurs: “I get feedback from candidates that we have the easiest top tax process of any agency they’ve worked with. 99% of candidates can do it on their phone, and very few ever need any help.”

Suffice it to say that EG no longer devotes a full-time staff member to e-verification. The process has been reduced to some very simple audits and checks, freeing staff up to concentrate on higher-value work. All in all, Able has streamlined EG’s onboarding process to the point that it almost takes care of itself.

And in the process, EG has put itself in a position to lead the market for another 60+ years.