Pan Eight for Dummies

At Pan Eight, we are always getting asked: "What is it exactly that you do?".

The reason for this is simple:
There are not too many companies out there that provide the type of service that we do. So for us, this is an educational process. To that end, here is the Pan Eight for Dummies overview! (Please don't take the 'dummies' part personnally!)

Simply put, Pan Eight Consulting helps recruitment companies increase productivity, decrease operating expenses and gain competitive advantages through the innovative use of technology solutions.

We provide services that allow recruitment companies (regardless of size) to strategise, procure and implement the best solution for their business.

So, what type of solutions are we talking about? Here is a categorised list:

For Recruitment Agencies:
Customer
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Sales Force Automation
- Business and Marketing Intelligence
- On-Line Ordering / e-Procurement

Candidate
- Candidate Attraction
- Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
- Front Office Recruitment Databases
- Assessment/Screening Centres
- Background Screening
- CV Management & Cleansing
- CV Parsing & Validation
- Learning & Development
- Online Candidate Portals
- Social Media and Networking

Job/Vacancy
- Online Advertising
- Job Aggregation and Public Posting
- Vacancy Tracking & Metrics

Placement/Assignment
- Compensation
- Salary & Benefits
- Rate Management
- Contract Management
Time & Attendance
- Paper Based Timesheets
- Web/Mobile Timesheets
- Fax Timesheets
- OCR
- Data Validation

Back Office
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Payroll
- Billing
- Finance & Accounts
- Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS)

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
- Process Optimisation
- Operational Streamlining
- Focus Alignment

Internet / Social Media Strategies
- Online Presence Development
- Search Engine Optimisation
- E-Marketing
- Social Media and Networking Channel Recruitment (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook).
- Mobile Recruiting


For Human Resources
Workforce & Talent Management
- Objective Alignment and Management
- Performance Management
- Salary and Commission Management
- Succession Planning
- Learning & Development
- Business Intelligence

For Corporate Recruitment
- Candidate Sourcing
- Candidate Screening
- Vacancy Requisition Management
- Vacancy Publication & Portals (Career Sites)
- Applicant Tracking
- On-Boarding
- Off-Boarding
- Agency/Vendor Management

General Expertise
Business Intelligence
- Business Metrics
- Management Information
- Report Scheduling and Delivery
- Dashboards and Analytics

Document Management
- Shared Workspace
- Search and Retrieve
- Archiving
- Collaboration

Data/Application Migration
- Data Conversion
- Data Migration
- Data Cleansing

Application Integration
- Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
- Application Mash-ups
- Application Programming Interface (API)
- Web Services

Software Development
- Software Customisation
- Bespoke Software Development

Technology Concepts
- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
- Cloud Computing
- Client/Server
- ASP
- SOA
- Web 2.0
- Mobile Recruiting
- Green IT

Wow! Thats a long list. But it is realistic - we can provide consultancy across any of the areas mentioned above. And because of our vast knowledge and network within the Recruitment and Technology industry, we like to consider ourselves as trusted advisors within this area.

Now the great thing about us is the fact that we are independent. This basically means that we will only talk to you about solutions and suppliers that are right for your business from a functional, technical and commercial perspective. Whats even better is because we are independent, we can drive down the cost of these solutions and forward 100% of the savings on to you!

Why do we provide these services?
Well, in our experiences working with recruitment companies, we have seen two distinct scenarios:

1 - Small to Mid sized recruitment businesses:
A recruitment company of small/mid size has minimal or zero dedicated IT employees. So, when it comes to looking at say replacing their front office database, what do they do?

Typically, they would go out to the market, and sift through a list of dozens of database solutions and suppliers. They may post a message on a few forums to gain feedback, or perhaps even visit trade shows, however ultimately they would setup 3-5 software demonstration sessions from the suppliers they think can provide them with the right solution at the right price.

This may be followed by Q&A sessions until one solution and supplier is selected. This may then head into pricing and contractual negotiations until the everything is signed and ready to go.

The next step would be to actually implement the shiny new software within the business. This would require time from individuals within the recruitment business to act as project managers, or 'expert users' who can work with the supplier's project manager to configure, customise and tailor the software to their needs.

Typically, this would require a lot of attention to detail, as well as phone calls, meetings, re-iterations, until everything is ready.

In parallel to all of the above, we need to consider data migration. Wow! Almost forgot that one didn't you! We need to ensure that data from your existing database is transfered to your new database. This includes candidates, clients, jobs, rates, activities, communications, tasks, calenders, assignments, placements, timesheets, pay/bill, references, attachments etc - you get the picture. This isn't always as simple as it sounds, as you will need to ensure the data from the old database actually fits into the new database and all corresponding drop-down lists are mapped correctly. More work!

Let's not forget a critical aspect of any project that is the definition of requirements. 60%-70% of all projects fail purely because the objectives, and requirements have not been defined up-front.

Let's also not forget training. Take a couple of days out to be trained on the new database, so that the 'expert user' can spend more time training the other consultants within the company.

There is a lot more I haven't mentioned here, but the fact is, in order to deliver a solution that is right for your business, there is a stellar amount of time and effort required. All of this time and effort is spent NOT servicing your existing clients, calling new opportunities, maintaining candidates, generating revenue and maintaining growth.

How much is this time worth?
What is the cost of the lost opportunities?
What is the cost of a failed database software project?

You see where Pan Eight fit into all of this......

The second scenario relates to:

2 - Mid-Large recruitment businesses:
Those companies where an IT team exists. Perhaps a mix of permanent IT support staff, project managers, and contract consultants.

Projects within larger companies typically require resources on a bandwidth basis. That is, when a project comes up - additional resources are taken on, or let go as and when projects close.

In today's economic climate, IT departments have seen significant staff reductions, however still have a need to reduce comany operating expenses, increase employee productivity, and gain competitive advantages through strategic technology projects.

So what do these companies do?

Usually, project consultants will come from other specialist IT recruitment agencies, where interviews will take place, background checks may occur and a contractor is on-boarded for a duration that is specific to the project (3-6 months typically).

The problem here is, it is very difficult to find contractors who have the specialist knowledge that is required within a Recruitment business. Usually, a hiring company will end up paying for the contractor's learning curve at a cost of £500+ per day!

Another option is for a company to head towards a top 4 consultancy. Have you ever noticed that NONE of the top 4 technology consultancies have 'Recruitment' as a specialist vertical.....hmmm learning curve at the recruitment companies expense again - this time probably more around £800+ per day.

So again, you can see where Pan Eight fit into all of this. We bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to our clients. We also arrive with tons of intelligence on software solutions, suppliers and the industry trends in general - before we even step into your office!

As businesses await the economic upturn, it is now more important than ever to ensure their technology platform and systems are ready to not only scale up, but also stay ahead of the competition - whilst remaining cost effective. Many companies see 'IT' as a black-hole - well it is our job to ensure you see a direct, and measurable return on any investment that is made.

And we do it with a passion for the recrutment industry!

So, we hope that has cleared things up!