June 2005 — Applications

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Relying on Web-Based Technology to Secure Top Talent

www.netchemia.com), a Kansas-based technology company that specializes in software solutions for the K-12 market. From past experience, the company had shown they were willing to truly partner with us in the design, integration, and rollout of new Web-based software.

Managing Web-Based Staff Development

Our professional development tool is thorough in managing the training process. It gives teachers online access to all professional development options available— whether Web-based, instructor-led, inhouse, or external. It even moves teachers through the sign-up and approval processes. The tool also automatically checks to determine whether a teacher has an adequate number of hours allocated for development, then routes the online request form to the correct HR executive for review and approval. Once approved, teachers are alerted when they access the portal. This means no more paper forms, phone call follow-ups, or time wasted waiting for the approval process to play out.

Better yet, the software tracks all course history and results, which are critical to a teacher’s certification and salary progress. Also, all of our staff training is tracked, from district-wide development days and courses completed via Park Hill’s Macromedia Breeze e-learning system (www.macromedia.com), to external coursework offered by Connected University (cu.classroom.com), an online professional development resource. Automating these processes leads to efficiency and significant time savings. For example, every Park Hill staff member must complete a course in child abuse and neglect. When a class is held, the list of attendees is imported into the staff development database and instantly reflected as part of each staff member’s educational history.

Teachers can also analyze their course history for the purpose of certification advancement. For instance, the system tallies the number of certification hours needed to move from one level of professional development to the next. Certification data is also automatically imported to our HR and payroll system databases. As a consequence,the process for determining appropriate salary increases is streamlined and decisions are based on accurate, up-to-date data.

Help Wanted: Dealing With Online Applications

Automating the process. Our next step was to completely automate our job application process—the most complicated project we had yet undertaken. We already had the ability to post jobs and accept applications online, but that’s where the automation ended. Our new system was conceptualized by one of our HR executives, and is designed to optimize internal efficiencies, eliminate administrative burden, speed the job application process, and provide a highly professional face to job applicants.

All open jobs are posted online so applicants can easily apply for multiple positions. That way, if an applicant is certi

fied to teach science, she may choose to apply for a position teaching physical science at middle school as well as one teaching biology at high school. Applicants can also upload their résumés, letters of interest, and even an electronic copy of their transcript through the site.