Stages: Feature Overview

The Stages feature provides at-a-glance visibility of all applications in the recruiting pipeline. It is a reflection of the job application evaluation steps and the number of applications in each of those steps. This feature was designed to give hiring managers a clear and accurate view of their recruiting pipeline.

Each newly-issued system contains a default set of evaluation steps (i.e., stages), as shown below. You may modify this default set to align to your organization’s processes by adding, deleting, and/or modifying stages. For example, you may want to introduce an "Assessment" stage just before Stage 5 or you may want to delete one or more of the default stages.  

There are six default Stages available in the system (asterisk stage cannot be deleted or modified):

Stage 0: Received*
Stage 1: Qualified
Stage 2: Interviews Complete
Stage 3: References Complete
Stage 4: Hired*
Stage 5: Rejected*


Step 1: Creating a Stage and Controlling Permissions

System Administrator is the only user role that can create or edit stages.

To create a new stage, or edit an existing stage, click Admin > Settings > Stages. Click the ‘+New’ button to create a new stage.



From here, you can give the stage a name, create a description, and control which user roles are able to see applicant activity in this stage.

Note: User Roles restricted from a Stage will not be able to see any applicants placed into that Stage, even for positions they are Assigned. Example: if "Managers" are restricted from seeing "Stage 0: Received," no Manager will see any applicants in Stage 0. Applicants will only become visible to Managers when the applicants are placed into Stage 1 or higher by another permitted User (such as a System Administrator).



Stages can also be reordered at any time by simply dragging and dropping them within the list. 


Step 2: Changing an Applicant’s Stage

There are three areas in the system where a user may change an applicant’s stage:
1. Applicant File
2. Applicant Queue
3. Talent


Applicant File

To change the stage of an applicant, go to the Applicant Profile Card (the top portion of an applicant’s file), click on the current stage name, then select a desired stage from the dropdown. Alternatively, you can click the Stages tab on the left side of the applicant’s file and select a stage from the dropdown.



 

Applicant Queue & Talent

From the Applicant Queue and Talent, simply click on the stage name next to the applicant’s name to change the applicant’s stage. You can multi-select applicants and change their stages at one time by clicking Take Action > Change Stage.

All changes to an applicant’s stage will be recorded in their file under the Stages tab.



 
Deleting Stages

In the event you wish to delete a stage currently applied to one or more applicants, the system will notify you to select a new stage prior to deleting the stage. You will then be required to select a new stage to apply to the applicant(s).




Stages Bar Graphs

To see an illustration of the stages associated with your overall recruiting process, simply navigate to the Dashboard where you will find a bar graph that depicts the number of applicants in each stage.
 


Want to see what your processing pipeline looks like for a specific position? A position-specific bar chart is also available for each of your posted positions. To view a position-specific bar chart, click My Positions, click on a position name, then click the Stages tab.


Applicant Processing and Stages

All new applicants are automatically assigned to Stage 0. All subsequent stages must then be manually selected/applied by a system User when a new stage is desired. The only exception to this rule is the Hired and Rejected stages.

Active Applicants
All applicants within a position are classified as "Active" until they are either Hired or Rejected - they can be in any other step of your hiring process or even be brand new.

If the Hire or Reject Action has not been taken on any applicants in a position you Unpost, technically you will be Rejecting all of the "Active" applicants at the time of Unposting. It is therefore advised to actively Hire and Reject applicants as you are processing on a regular basis to prevent them from being continually considered Active for the life of the position. It is normal to have some Active applicants at the time of Unposting, but normally they should not all be Active if it can be avoided.

Note: By regularly Hiring and Rejecting, your default Views will become much more useful as well. As an example, if you have your "Active" View applied in the Applicant Queue, as soon as you Reject an applicant, they will be hidden. This can make it much easier to compare the candidates you have who are still in consideration. If you change your default View to "Rejected," you can then easily see how many candidates have been eliminated even prior to Unposting.


Action vs. Stage
It is important the Hire and Reject Actions are taken because they impact a variety of other functions in the system, such as sorting, Views, Reporting, and tracking Disposition Codes (your reasons for Rejecting candidates).

Manually moving an applicant to the Hired or Rejected Stage without taking the Hire or Reject Action does NOT Hire or Reject the candidate. Placing an applicant into either the Hired or Rejected Stage without taking the Action means your applicant is still classified as "Active." By taking the Hire or Reject Action, the Stage will update automatically for you.

It is also possible to Hire an individual applicant or Reject multiple applicants at once while in the Applicant Queue. Place a checkmark next to any desired applicant(s), click Take Action, and select "Hire" or "Reject." Applicants can only be Hired individually in the Applicant Queue. When Rejecting multiple applicants at once, be aware the same Disposition Code and e-mail Message (if issued) will be applied to all selected applicants.