Skills-Based Talent Platform

How do other companies deal with such kinds of challenges? Let's explore the case study of our client, the global enterprise, with 15000+ employees in 7 countries. Reasons to Build a Custom HR Portal Our client decided to develop a custom HR portal after considering some well-known disadvantages of ready-to-use HR software which are not be addressed individually for each customer: user functionality and interface may be not intuitive to end users (product may look and feel like it was built 20 years ago), there may be too many dashboards; data sharing between modules may be non-seamless, dashboards may not populate the correct data; modules may be unexpectedly clunky and difficult to use, there may be too many individual steps to accomplish one task, and so on; Another essential reason for creating a customized recruitment software or Project Management software is the goal to get full security and control over data. Mostly, it’s hard to obtain by using somebody else's software. It's about assurance in the safety of personal and company data inside such system, namely: encryption of user data, internal security controls, controlled access of data to prevent unauthorized access, physical security of user data and more. To avoid such shortcomings and to get the functionality that strictly matches their business needs, our client preferred to build custom HR software and was looking for software engineering companies. HR Portal Development as a Solution We have created an HR portal that has managed to resolve all the business challenges of our client by automating the following processes: Gathering and tracking HR data to get full visibility of the staff capacity. Allocating human resources to save managers' time. Prioritizing projects to avoid the wrong resource planning and allocation. Requesting new hires to close skill gaps and deliver projects in time. How does the HR Portal Work? User roles within the Human Resource Management system: Mr.Promy - a project manager who is responsible for planning, managing, and delivering projects. Mr.Deppy - a department manager who is responsible for managing the team and allocating employees to projects. Mr.Biggy - a top manager who is responsible for resolving all high-level questions. To perform their tasks, all the managers need full visibility of their current workforce capacity. For that, the HR portal has the employees' database that gets updated regularly. Having all the data gathered in a single dashboard, the system gives full visibility of employees' availability and facilitates talent management, their contract end dates, workload, financial details, etc. All resources are systemized for easier management. Let's picture a typical situation for our client. They get 2 overlapping projects - "Alpha" and "Beta" - that must be completed within 2 months. Mr.Promy creates a project "Alpha" and determines resource requirements: 5 seniors, 15 middles, and 10 juniors for 2 months. An algorithm automatically assigns the requested roles among the available resources by matching the indicated criteria. Mr.Deppy gets this information and checks it. If he disagrees with the automated distribution, there is an option to adjust resources manually. Either way, the work on the project "Alpha" gets started. Then, Mr.Promy creates a project "Beta" and requests 5 senior and 17 middle-level specialists. The software detects a Conflict when several projects need the same resources for the same period of time, but the amount of resources is insufficient. This is when Mr.Biggy, who has a full picture of concurrent projects across the company, gets involved in prioritizing projects and optimizing resource allocation. Mr.Biggy opens a custom application built by our team from scratch. He can see all the concurrent projects, including our "Alpha" and "Beta" projects, together with the amount of available and required resource units. Mr.Deppy re-assigns available resources among the concurrent projects, leaving project "Beta" without 6 specialists. Now Mr.Deppy can see that the project "Beta" cannot be completed in time due to the lack of resources. He creates a request for a new hire that goes to the integrated system for the HR team. After hiring a new specialist, the information about a new employee gets from HR database into the HR portal with all the collateral data. That's when a new employee becomes available for current projects. And Mr.Deppy can use him for the project "Beta". In the meanwhile, Mr.Deppy notices one more available specialist who has finished another project and can be used for the project "Beta". He assigns a task to this employee. However, the system detects that the project term is outside this employee's contract term. So Mr.Deppy automatically gets a notification with a contract extension request and details. Smart and streamlined human resource management saves managers' time and stakeholders' money by automating the most time-consuming, repetitive processes in allocating and prioritizing resources and projects. The major outcomes of using the resource management software for automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks in planning projects and allocating resources: projects are delivered in time; human resources are used smartly, without under- or over-use; the number of project and department managers is optimized; employee retention has grown; significant budget saving is achieved. The Process of HR Portal Development in Details When the client realized that we were the partner they needed, we agreed on all legal questions, signed an NDA, and could proceed to the project details. Why did the Global Enterprise Choose Belitsoft? The global corporation expressed interest in Belitsoft as the long-term partner due to some solid reasons: Positive experience in the past. The enterprise already collaborated with us and was very satisfied with the result. Competitive price for software development services. Belitsoft's prices are 2-3 times lower than in the EU where the client is based. Ability to start the project quickly. As our company has a large team of in-house developers, we could kick off immediately. Flexibility and scalability. Enterprises with a fast-changing and scaling array of tasks and ideas need a partner that can adapt to any client's idea quickly. Transparent and effective project management. Belitsoft's experts with 10+ years of experience in building and managing teams for clients' companies have elaborated their own best practices that have made the mutual work highly effective. Gathering project requirements and estimating the cost Our Business Analyst and Business Development Manager talked with the company's top managers to get a comprehensive project vision and gather project requirements. Taking into account the received information, we agreed on a Time and Material cooperation model when the client doesn't pay monthly salaries to the development team. Instead, they pay only the time and resources spent on the project. In addition, we guaranteed the client to retain the same specialists in the project to minimize industry-specific knowledge sharing and to avoid downtime and lower productivity. Choosing Agile project management methodology for fast and productive work We stick to the most flexible Agile approach in projects like this where a client is constantly coming with new ideas, and the project scope is changing. Turning software development into an iterative process guarantees frequent and regular results delivery. So the entire development process looked like an iterative cycle with a well-defined series of steps in pre-defined periods of time (2-week sprints): Step 1. The Project Manager passes our solution (prototype or description) to the Client for further approval. Step 2. After getting approval, our team starts working on the task(s). Step 3. The result is delivered to the Client. Step 4. The Client gives feedback. And our team adapts the result accordingly if needed. For meetings and daily communication, we mostly used Slack and ClickUp. Other online means suitable for both parties can also be applied. 3 Phases of the Development Process Upgrading As the client came to Belitsoft with its proprietary legacy HR software, the initial request was to increase its functionality. At first, we switched from JQuery to VueJS. Afterward, we refactored the software to find and fix bugs. Both steps let us increase the functionality of the app at a significantly higher speed. Custom development At this stage, our team passed from customization to custom software development of new features and even integrated apps from scratch. Our experts precisely detected the business challenges of the client and suggested corresponding solutions. Challenge 1. Smart project prioritization in conflict situations. Solution 1. A new custom app, smoothly integrated into the HR portal, was built to detect conflict situations and automatically pass them to the company's top managers for resolution. Challenge 2. Time-consuming manual resource allocation. Solution 2. The new custom Auto-assign feature was developed from scratch for automated resource allocation based on predefined criteria. Challenge 3. Rigid and scarce management permissions for all user roles. Solution 3. The possibility to assign user roles with unique and flexible permissions to different managers was added. Challenge 4. Management of a rapidly increased number of projects. Solution 4. A new custom feature was added to plan activities within projects daily, not weekly for adding more flexibility and handling the overload. Having resolved its business-specific challenges, the company thrived even during the harsh pandemic times. Migration to the Cloud The infrastructure of the enterprise was growing in line with the functionality of the HR portal. Finally, the company faced some serious issues: slow page loading speed and troublesome access to the portal. And migration to the Cloud looked like the most cost-effective and logical solution. The client opted for Azure as they already used Microsoft infrastructure. Here is how we performed the smooth migration: Step 1. Assessment of expenses and scope of work. Step 2. App optimization before migrating to Azure. Step 3. Migration to Azure. Step 4. Further optimization of performance and minimization of expenses. The enterprise quickly reaped rewards after the migration, which proved the validity of the decision - access problems were fully resolved, the page loading speed was reduced twice. Features that Can Be Implemented in Your Custom HR Portal Each company interested in a custom HR portal development, needs some unique features based on the specifics of their business. The enterprise has chosen a list of features to make its business thrive. And your business may need completely different functionality. That's why we have summed up all the major features that our team can suggest to you in a single list: Recruitment and hiring management: Job requisitions and descriptions Job board posting Job applicants filtering Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Onboarding module Employee data management: Employees database Employees performance and job history Employees salary history Extra details (insurance plans; banking details) Time management: Scheduling work shifts; Clock in/out tracking; Overtime tracking; Holidays and sick leaves management; Notifications about schedule changes. Project Management: Allocating employees on projects; Tracking employees workload within a project; Prioritizing projects. Finance management: Payroll management; Compensation and rewards management; Accounting and budgeting administration. Employees' learning: Integration with LMS, LXP, and TMS for learning; Performance tracking; Professional certification management. If you see that the available HR software lacks the features your business needs, let us suggest you a custom solution. Contact our business development specialist to estimate your idea.

Recruiting software automates many tasks throughout the hiring pipeline, which is particularly useful for larger companies with a high volume of job openings and applicants or for research businesses providing recruiting services. With multiple ready-to-use offers of recruiting software, there is still a need for many companies to create their own system. Usually, the reasons are to: Get a proprietary SaaS product to provide services or sell it to other businesses. Save in the long run due to avoiding subscription fees. Get unique functionality that corresponds to the specific company workflow. Have total control and security over the stored data. The 3 domains and use cases that most frequently turn to recruitment software: Healthcare. Patient recruitment for clinical trials and research. HR. Employee recruitment for finding and acquiring the right applicants. Marketing. Candidate recruitment for all types of market research. Healthcare Use Case: Patient Recruitment High risk of trial failure and money loss 86% of the clinical studies performed by pharma and other healthcare organizations in the US fail to timely recruit a sufficient number of patients needed to perform a trial. It usually means the termination of a trial, resulting in huge financial losses.  Patient recruitment software to ensure a sufficient number of patients on time Patient recruitment software helps clinical trial sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), and researchers accelerate, automate and improve the complex and time-consuming process of recruitment, screening, and management of potential participants for clinical trials. The customized recruiting software acts as a single controlled-access collaborative system.  Must-have features of patient recruitment software New patient screening and eligibility assessment. Usually, the software gathers potential participants directly from research sites and specific landing pages. The candidates get pre-qualified by completing online forms and are sorted among trials they are eligible to participate in based on the pre-defined trial criteria. Patient database management. All the collected data is immediately available in a single database via controlled access by the appropriate managers. The database allows storing and managing information about potential clinical trial participants, such as their demographics, medical history, and contact information. Patient communication and outreach. The integration with communication tools, for example, Twilio, for automating SMS or email sending allows communicating with potential participants, including scheduling appointments and providing information about the clinical trial. The software also automates messaging with patients based on certain triggers, such as a left voicemail or visit confirmation to increase patient conversion rates. Patient tracking and retention. The tracking tool helps monitor the progress of potential participants through the recruitment pipeline and to retain them once they have been enrolled in a clinical trial by sending timely follow-ups and notifications. Reporting and analytics. The analytical dashboard may include various KPIs of the patient recruitment process on demand. Usually, it analyzes and reports the number of potential participants screened, enrolled, and retained, the average number of contacts with each patient, the patient conversion rate, and much more. Integration with other systems. Patient recruitment software may be able to integrate with other systems, such as electronic health records (EHRs) to get new patients directly from it individually or in bulk. Belitsoft's Healthcare development team has expertise in building a custom solution for patient recruitment for the US digital health company. Contact us to use our experience for your business case. HR Use Case: Employee Recruitment The difficulty to find enough employees with the right skillset Attracting and retaining enough employees with the necessary skillset is the key to developing a robust leadership pipeline, meeting the needs of a company's growth, and transferring key knowledge. However, the difficulty to find and retain the right talents is the number one problem for CEOs and business owners these days, impeding business growth. Employee recruitment software to find the required employees quickly Effective employee recruitment is vital for businesses of all sizes, as it helps ensure that the business has the right people in the right roles to support their operations and achieve business goals. To find the best candidates for the job, in terms of both their skills and their fit with the company's culture, customized recruiting software is the right option. It can also help reduce turnover and improve retention by ensuring that new hires are well-suited to their roles and the company. Must-have features of employee recruitment software Job posting. API integration with career sites, job portals, and social media like LinkedIn allows advertising job openings directly from the customized recruiting software. Resume parsing. This tool automatically exports candidates' details from 3rd-party sources and extracts information from resumes, such as work experience and education, and organizes it in a usable format. Applicant tracking and qualifying. The tool tracks applications from candidates through the hiring pipeline and measures candidate skills based on pre-defined questions to mitigate bias. Applicant communication. This allows companies to communicate with candidates through the software, including scheduling interviews, sending messages, and sharing feedback. Interview scheduling. This tool helps schedule and coordinate interviews with candidates. Offer management. This helps companies create and manage offers to candidates, including tracking acceptance and rejection status. Automate and speed up time-consuming tasks by setting up automatic replies, alerts, and notifications based on pre-defined rules. Onboarding. Some customized recruiting software solutions may include tools for onboarding new hires, such as creating employee profiles, setting up payroll, and scheduling training. Reporting and analytics. This may include tools for tracking such KPIs as the number of applicants, time to fill positions, employee retention rates, and offer acceptance rate. The recruiting software ensures controlled access to information by setting up the company's hierarchy structure based on the managers’ roles. Integration with other HR systems. Many customized recruiting software solutions can integrate with other HR systems, such as an HR portal or performance management software. Example of a dashboard for employee recruitment Belitsoft can develop a stand-alone employee recruitment system or make it a part of an end-to-end Talent Management System or Resource Management System like we did for our clients. Or just let us know about your specific needs. Marketing Use Case: Candidate Recruitment for Market Research Error-prone and time-consuming data gathering and analysis leading to poor experience of end clients Gathering enough candidates with the right characteristics for certain research on demand of other companies can be a highly profitable business on the condition you do this process quickly and provide your B2B clients with the right candidates.  Traditionally, to deliver the eligible candidates to each end client, managers manually gather and analyze multiple requests from a range of sources. All this data is usually stored in many diverse .xls files and even papers. Such a workflow is slow and prone to human errors, which delays the delivery of final results to end clients and makes the results less accurate. Candidate recruitment software to ensure accurate and quick results delivery Effective candidate recruitment is important for market research firms, as it ensures that they can gather a sufficient number of eligible candidates to provide the end client with accurate and representative data in their research.  A custom candidate recruitment software for market research automates the entire recruiting pipeline, including advertising the opportunity to participate in market research studies, reviewing resumes and applications, conducting interviews, and making offers to candidates. Must-have features of the recruitment software for market research Participant database gathering. The software automatically imports data about potential participants from multiple sources, such as their demographics, interests, and contact information. Participant database management. The system clears irrelevant data. Then it structures the data and brings it to a single format for further convenient storage and management of the information. The managers of a research firm can get different levels of access to the candidate database. Participant screening and eligibility assessment. The screening function helps identify potential participants meeting the criteria for a particular market research study and are eligible to participate. Within the system, it’s possible to divide participants among various projects based on these criteria, apply advanced filtering, create lists, and get real-time database updates.  Participant communication and outreach. Sending and receiving emails and text messages directly through the system allows market researchers to communicate with potential participants, including scheduling appointments and providing information about the study. Participant tracking and retention. This tool helps track the progress of potential participants along the recruitment pipeline and retain them once they have been enrolled in a study. In addition, the software has automated notifications and follow-ups to boost retention.  Reporting and analytics. This may include tools for tracking and analyzing the effectiveness of candidate recruitment, such as metrics on the number of potential participants, the retention rate, and more. The data are conveniently visualized, favoring more effective and accurate business decisions. Integration with other systems. Candidate recruitment software for market research may be integrated with other systems, such as online survey platforms or data analysis software. Interested in building a proprietary custom recruiting software for your business or integrating a certain feature into your existing system? Drop us a line to get a free quote and professional consultation.

The essence of a skills management system is not merely in its tracking capabilities—it's in how it discerns, assesses, and fosters employee skills, connects them with enriching training resources, and aligns talent with the most fitting projects and roles. "To improve career management, talent mobility, or recruiting effectiveness and we need to know what skills people need in each job." Josh Bersin Set of Criteria for Identifying Top Skills Management Software Skills Inference The system utilizes a machine learning (ML) model to identify, categorize, and assess skills. Data is gathered from job descriptions, courses, projects, reviews, career histories, and even the content users engage with. Once identified, the skill set is sent for the employee's approval. Skills Verification While the system automatically infers skills from undertaken projects or tasks, users can adjust these inferred skills. The skills endorsed by an employee are then confirmed in a work context by peers and managers. Such endorsements are instrumental in pinpointing genuine experts in certain fields. Skills Strength Monitoring If an employee hasn't used a specific skill recently, the system can detect a decrease in its strength. The system then suggests that the skill needs to be refreshed or enhanced. The duration after which a skill needs reinforcement can be customized as per requirements. Upskilling and Reskilling When the need to refresh a skill arises, the system recommends relevant training content. Typically, integrating the skills management system with a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Learning Experience Platform (LXP) addresses this need. Such integration promotes a continuous learning culture within the company and automates the entire learning cycle. Job and Skills Matching Through the use of APIs, skills management software can be integrated into any HR software. This provides HR managers with a centralized skills database, enabling them to align the right individuals with the most suitable roles. This alignment is rooted not merely in formal criteria like job titles, CVs, or interviews, but is based on authentic and validated skills. Top 3 Ready-to-Use Skills Management Software Cornerstone Founded in 1999, US-based Cornerstone OnDemand has evolved from focusing on online education to becoming a global frontrunner in human capital management. Their suite now emphasizes contemporary skills management, overseeing the management, development, and utilization of workforce abilities. Central to their approach is SkillsTech, an AI tool that discerns individual skills, refining its accuracy over time. Cornerstone merges data from its skills management framework with diverse content libraries. As users engage in projects, the platform efficiently assembles teams, considering both skills and learning experiences, which enhances HR functions. With a nod to integration's significance, Cornerstone boasts robust APIs and connectors, ensuring smooth collaboration with major HR tech entities. Their skills software also ties into their Content Studio and Learning Experience Platform. Cornerstone dashboard with skill levels for an employee ServiceNow Established in 2003 in Santa Clara, California, ServiceNow has diversified eLearning solutions. Their recent standout is a skills management application aimed at streamlining skill identification, management, and deployment, bolstering efficiency and productivity. With ServiceNow, companies can delineate, sort, and assign skills. Distinct roles like Skill Administrator, Manager, and User are defined, each having unique skill management permissions. Comprehensive dashboards and reports offer a clear view of skill deficits, aiding employee training planning. This software meshes flawlessly with other ServiceNow offerings, ensuring optimal skill application throughout the enterprise. ServiceNow dashboard with a skill matrix Workday Founded in California in 2005, Workday is a premier enterprise cloud application for finance and HR. Their Workday Skills Cloud offers a holistic view of an organization's skill set. The system discerns and organizes skills by evaluating job profiles, feedback, and more, facilitating an understanding of talent dynamics. Additionally, it supports peer validation, letting managers endorse specific skills. The tool recalibrates based on recent skill engagement and integrates seamlessly with other Workday modules to boost functionalities like hiring and training. The platform quickly adjusts talent, such as finding replacements for employees who leave or are absent, and prioritizes the organization's collective capabilities over individual skill. It continuously updates required skills by analyzing job descriptions, feedback, and customer data. Workday's skill-centric job matching dashboard Custom Skills Management Software vs Ready-Made While the market is flush with ready-to-go skills management solutions, using them may present challenges. Whether you've experienced these issues or are selecting your first SMS and wish to sidestep pitfalls, a custom SMS can be advantageous. It offers a tailored experience, ensures precise skill tracking, and enhances your return on investment. Both an off-the-shelf skills management platform or a custom-made one have their distinct merits. Benefits of Ready-Made Skills Management Systems Quick and cost-effective deployment. These systems are pre-developed, allowing immediate implementation. Vendor-backed support. Bypass the need for a dedicated tech team, as system maintenance is vendor-handled. User community. Popular platforms foster large user communities, enabling knowledge sharing and maximizing system utility. Common Issues of Ready-Made Skills Management Systems While the skills management arena is rife with AI-driven vendors like Workday, Service Now, Eightfold, and Cornerstone, closer scrutiny shows a disjointed picture: Narrow scope. Each system is tailored for distinct uses. For example, while Eightfold zeroes in on discerning skills in job descriptions, Cornerstone emphasizes highlighting skills in learning catalogs. But a complete solution that covers skills verification is still missing. Absence of a unified skills database. The quest for a one-stop solution for all skills management persists unless developed in-house. Functionality constraints. Leading players like Oracle and SAP are still refining their skills management offerings. Their tools often function more as skill data coordinators, using APIs for integration with specialized systems, rather than as an all-in-all solution for all corporate needs. Top 4 Reasons to Get a Custom Skills Management System 1. Perfect fit due to personalized customization Ready-made systems have challenges, so a universal solution may not work for all organizations. Instead, a custom skills management system, tailored to your company's jobs structure, will reflect the skills uniquely relevant to your industry, rather than just general ones. 2. Complete control and enhanced security With custom software, organizations have full ownership and discretion over its functionality, design, and branding. Furthermore, you can fortify the security to meet your standards, ensuring data protection without third-party interventions. 3. Savings in the long term While most Skills Management Software operates on a SaaS pricing model, causing regular subscription fees, a custom-built solution side steps these ongoing costs. After recouping the initial investment, your custom software evolves into a valuable, cost-effective asset for your organization. 4. Opportunity for product commercialization Analysts, including the renowned Josh Bersin, underscore the growing emphasis on skill-centric organizations. This trend suggests an expanding skills management market in the coming years. Early entrants stand to benefit, presenting lucrative commercial prospects for custom solutions. How Belitsoft Can Help Belitsoft offers quick and cost-effective development of your own, custom skills management software that would seamlessly align with your specific requirements. For that, we have built a robust framework with all essential modules. If certain modules are not relevant to your needs, they can be effortlessly deactivated. This adaptability ensures that you receive a tailored solution optimized for your organization's unique demands. Skills Inference into a Centralized Skills Database To timely detect employees' skills gaps, assign the right people to the right roles based on their skills, and optimize your workforce allocation, all the skills required in your organization should be structured and accessible through a centralized inventory. The skills management platform provides a hierarchical structure of skills that serves as an inventory where managers can create, view, and manage skills. The skills can be assigned as skill tags to match job roles and training courses, providing versatile talent management tools for skill allocation and targeted training. An example of a skills tree for a sales representative where skill tags are created by mentors or heads of departments and then assigned to employees and training courses Skills Verification through Employees Assessment Once the skills library, or skills matrix, is created, you can use it as a unified tool for identifying the competencies of each employee within the organization. For that, the skills management platform offers various assessment approaches. The employees can be manually assessed by mentors or managers, or the system provides quizzes and tests for automated knowledge testing. Upon assessment, each employee gets a list of mastered skills that will later be used for the employee's job role assignment, closing their skills gaps, and building skill-based teams for projects. An admin dashboard where a head of the department assigns a quiz to an employee for assessing certain skills that the current employee's job role of sales representative requires Tracking Employee Skills Having a full picture of each employee's current competencies facilitates identifying skills gaps that may impede the company's growth, future competitiveness, and successful project completion. In order to effectively identify skill gaps within an organization, the platform provides a comprehensive dashboard that consolidates all the skills and training data of each employee in an easy-to-navigate view. It not only highlights the specific skills assigned to each employee but also pinpoints areas of skill gaps. By tracking employees' skills and training data, the best skills management software can provide a clear focus for their work and development. Furthermore, it offers associated learning resources to help close skill gaps. An example of an employee dashboard with information about mastered skills, current learning paths, and experience level. Based on the revealed skill gap (58% out of 100% expertise) we see a CRM course assigned by the head of the department for closing the skills gap Upskilling and Reskilling Employees with AI Authoring Tool To effectively tackle the identified skill gaps, it's essential to develop a learning path with the relevant content. For that, our new skills management system has advanced AI authoring tools that automate course creation. An admin just enters a prompt and gets a ready-to-use training course with articles, images, videos, and other content formats of their choice for developing skills. The more specific prompt is entered, the more diverse, rich in content, and tailored-made content you get. An example of a course outline generated by Artificial Intelligence integrated into talent management software, with the possibility to customize each content chunk manually Matching Employees with Job Roles and Projects The grading matrix serves as a powerful tool for aligning employees with specific job roles and projects based on their skills. It visually maps out your team's strengths and weaknesses, providing valuable insights that can guide strategic decision-making. Managers can utilize this skill management tool to filter their teams by specific skills to match employees to roles and projects where their skills are most needed. This not only optimizes team performance, but also fosters individual skill development. In essence, the grading matrix is a strategic resource for effectively managing talent and driving team growth. An example of a grading interface where business stakeholders get a full picture of the employees' skills throughout the organization to plan business growth, while managers can effectively gather teams and assign roles based on the mastered skills REQUEST DEMO