employment

Client Spotlight: “Envy-able” Employment

We extend our congratulations to an individual supported by Rimland who recently secured community-based employment at an Evanston boutique called Envy. She works during the mornings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and helps with sorting, folding, and displaying clothing items and accessories.

The Portal’s Progress

Beginning with our rebranding process and the launch of our newly designed website, Rimland has been working since 2012 to build a comprehensive website infrastructure – a web “portal” – and transition to a paperless administrative process. Over the past year, the transition has continued steadily to incorporate various human resources components into the portal. In summer 2013, Rimland began working with Ascentis software system to incorporate Rimland’s payroll, managers’ and employees’ self-service (permitting staff to access time cards, to view the employee handbook and other company policies, and to view and edit contact information, etc.), and timekeeping – Rimland now uses biometric (fingerprint) time clocks at all of our locations – into the portal. “We were drawn to Ascentis because of their innovative and all-inclusive system,” explains Associate Executive Director Tina Jones. “They continue to evaluate the needs of the consumer and expand their brand to meet that need.”

The most recent component to be integrated into the portal is our employee recruitment system, which went “live” on the portal on July 16, 2014. The system allows Rimland to manage applicant data online, including contact information, referral source, résumés, references, etc. The recruitment component is the first phase of a two-part process.  The second phase will allow the organization to complete the entire hiring process via the portal, from submission of an application (through Rimland’s website as well as via external employment websites such as Careerbuilder, Illinois Job Link, Indeed.com, etc.), to the signing of the notice of employment. Upon selecting the position an applicant would like to apply for, s/he completes a pre-screening questionnaire. If the applicant meets the position requirements, s/he moves on to the application. Once an application is completed, Rimland supervisors may review the application and make notes in the system regarding each applicant. Supervisors will be able to track an applicant throughout the hiring process to remain up-to-date on the applicant’s employment status. Finally, the system will be able to generate reports to determine applicant source summaries and demographics to assist the organization in determining where and how recruitment efforts are best deployed.

Our work with Ascentis software is only one way in which we are improving the capabilities of the portal for the benefit of our staff and the entire Rimland community. Please visit our website often for updates on the ongoing expansion of our web portal.