Our client, a City-based recruitment firm, depends on the ability of its staff to place the right people in the right job quickly and efficiently. The solution, designed and developed by OCC, is the Search and Selection database for recruiters.

Jonathan Wren's Search and Selection staff are those on the front line in providing their clients with suitable staff. They need to have instant access to detailed information on companies, prospective candidates and their respective requirements, as well as the minutiae of previous recruitment assignments.

OCC's task was to create a database, simple and quick to use in real-time situations, for Jonathan Wren's Search and Selection team's telephone operations. The database had to be structured to maximise possible search parameters, but be flexible enough to accommodate subsequent modifications and amendments. The success of the system that OCC designed to meet these requirements owes much to achieving these goals, in addition to the development of a system characterised by its simplicity of use.

The system comprises four main groupings of information relating to: assignments, organisations, people and action taken. The priority in the design of the data structure was to blend maximum searchability with flexibility in the type and quantity of information to be stored or retrieved. This was achieved by storing information about each of the groupings in a series of tables, while providing dictionaries to ensure standardised entry of key data. Additionally, a 'scratch pad', a table of date-stamped memo fields allows entry of information for cutting and pasting at a later date, thereby significantly reducing the length of time spent on the telephone.

Chief amongst the requirements of the user interface was that it be user-friendly and robust. OCC's system is both. The user moves round the system intuitively to access the information needed, when needed, thanks to the integration of the multiple tables and relationships within the user interface. Information can be accessed by applying filters to a search, and then typing in a person or organisation's name or by browsing through the database record by record. Tab controls allow easy switching between a person's job history, education, skills, etc.

OCC's Search and Selection Database offers three report facilities:

• Assignment Description shows details of a given assignment, such as the company and the requirements of the position to be filled.
• Target Summary summarises details of those who are being considered for a particular assignment
• Assignment Shortlist provided detailed information of people shortlisted for an assignment.
  All of these reports can be exported to Word files, allowing them to be edited later.

Only minimum training was needed before the Search and Selection team were able to use the database, which has proved to be highly successful and reliable ever since its implementation.

Jonathan Wren Recruitment