Highlights of the Application
Prudential's field recruiting and selection is now an easier process, thanks to the new Field Recruiting & Selection Test application. Candidates can take the test online using a laptop computers at the branch offices. The tests are scored in just 30 minutes, which is a dramatic improvement over the previous 24-hour turnaround. In addition, tests can still be taken using paper tests, which are scanned into the application also for fast turnaround. No other insurance company offers such a rapid scoring timeframe.
Utilizing this application enables field managers to know whether candidates, before they leave the office, have the potential to pass the required NASD Series 7 licensing exam and become agents. And viable candidates can progress more quickly to the interview stage of the selection process.
The testing process is simple. The office administrator uses Lotus Notes to create a local copy of the test on a laptop computer. Candidates can take the test in Prudential offices, at recruiting fairs, in their own homes, or wherever else a sales manager is located. Once a candidate completes the test, it is uploaded to the server application where it is scored within 30 minutes.
Feedback on the Application
"Everyone wins with [this application]" says Renee Artiges, Director, Technology Enablers, Lotus Notes Development. "The ... test results are available to a larger audience in a secure environment. Managing directors can view test results immediately, even for candidates being tested in remote sites. Regional recruiters can also access test results for all candidates within their assigned areas. This speeds the hiring process significantly, which benefits candidates as well as field managers. Our Customers also benefit because [the application] helps to ensure that we're hiring the best-qualified individuals," adds Artiges.
Hundreds of candidates are tested monthly, and an increasing proportion are taking the test online using the application. Feedback from the field has been very positive, especially considering that paper tests can still be given.
"Field managers like [the selection test application] because it's so easy to use," says Patty Farrell, Business Systems Analyst. "They know immediately whether a candidate is viable, and they like the professional image the online test conveys to candidates," Farrell continues. "It gives managers an opportunity to showcase the [laptop] computer as a tool that candidates can look forward to using if they join Prudential."
AcroVision's Role
AcroVision Business Systems personnel played a key role in the design and development of the application. Key technology features include: extensive security of applicant information, ensuring that only local branches and upper level managers can access applicant information; tight security on the laptop computers, preventing the application from accessing anything but the test on the computer; field and document level security on the application form, securing private candidate information; backend 'pumping' of test result information to corporate relational databases for data warehousing and reporting; supporting Lotus Notes application for rapidly publishing additional tests and test versions.
The Future
Future plans are to extend the application to include the creation of additional tests for testing different types of candidates, and eventially to create single consolidated test to be used to predict probablitly of success of a candidate in a variety of different positions.
