Security is top of mind for most, if not every company. But for a national security contractor, that takes on a whole new meaning. When it comes to keeping candidate data secure, NSTXL needed an ATS it could rely on.
NSTXL (National Security Technology Accelerator) is a prime contractor for the US Department of Defense helping the government source what they need faster including prototypes, artificial intelligence (AI), and simulation software programs.
From a software developer still working in their garage to a multinational technology provider, companies of all sizes can be contracted for their helpful and emerging technology.
Laura Collman, VP of Operations, HR, and IT and Facility Security Officer (FSO) is the true definition of a multi-hyphenate. Overseeing all operations, human resources, and all technical aspects of NSTXL, she is responsible for hiring staff with high security clearance and even holds one herself.
We were grateful to sit down with Laura for a chat about how Recruitee has sped up NSTXL’s hiring.
Managing hiring in silos and folders
Over a year ago, hiring at NSTXL meant Laura was managing multiple folders on her computer, organizing requisitions submitted through a form, and constantly checking in with hiring managers on the status of resume screenings, interviews, and hiring decisions. After passing a candidate to a hiring manager, there was no easy way to collect information regarding how the interview went than for Laura to individually follow up.
The manual work was vast and tiresome. Notes, evaluations, and feedback were scattered across hiring managers' mailboxes and the mere thought of automation seemed like a distant dream. That all changed less than 1 year ago.
Enter, Recruitee.
When managing recruitment and hiring in folders became too overwhelming, it was time to find a new solution. Laura did her due diligence and researched ATSs, looking for one with capabilities that matched the hiring and security needs of NSTXL.
The first thing that Laura noticed when starting to use Recruitee was the ease of use. It was visually appealing and did everything that she had been looking for.
I would say the pipeline is my number one thing that I love about [Recruitee] because I can go in and find out where everyone's at.
Doubling the team in less than 12 months
With the help of Recruitee, Laura grew the NSTXL headcount from around 20 to 44 in just under a year.
When she first started, it took her about a week to understand the basic capabilities of Recruitee and get things up and running. Then she took 2 more weeks to work on the “fun things” like automation, notification settings, email templates, tasks, and more!
I am 100% confident that the reason why we were able to hire all those people last year is because of Recruitee.
Laura loves the careers site builder and even built NSTXL’s careers site herself! The ease of use made the process a breeze and the end result benefits her daily. Once she sets up a job, it shows up on the careers site in seconds.
Bringing hiring managers up to speed
As the only admin using Recruitee at NSTXL, Laura is responsible for her 10+ hiring managers. She held a training session and made sure to get everyone set up by connecting their inboxes and calendars to make scheduling interviews and replying to candidates faster.
She walked everyone through the pipeline and explained how to either move a candidate to the next stage or disqualify them and what the lightning bolt meant (hint: there’s an automated action connected).
While the hiring managers were a bit intimidated at first by all of the capabilities, once they understood what an automated action actually did, they loved it.
Laura has given her hiring managers autonomy and automation within the system to disqualify a candidate or move them forward in the hiring process which helps her out immensely.
The overdue candidate reminders are a game-changer, “It alerts me if nobody has touched that candidate for a while.” This makes following up with candidates a breeze and improves their experience since they aren’t left waiting for too long without a response.
Keeping candidates and employees top of mind
Laura has connected Recruitee with other aspects of her job. This includes integrating Recruitee with Gusto, a people platform that manages onboarding, payroll, and benefits.
Candidates turned employees are kept top of mind even after hiring has been completed. She conducts a new hire survey after onboarding and one of the key questions is ‘How was your interview process?’. According to Laura, “We’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback, like “It was an outstanding, yet simple process”.
When it comes to collaborative hiring, Laura loves to manage the visibility of her hiring managers so not everyone can see the salary of a candidate, for instance. The collaborative aspect of team notes and evaluations is the cherry on top.
The ability to put a message in the candidate profile and then tag 'em [the hiring managers]. It can either be visible to everyone or just that manager. I like that feature a lot.
Planning for year 2 with Recruitee
In 2022, Laura has approximately 10 new hires planned, more if NSTXL wins another contract.
Being a small team, 10 new hires is still a big endeavor. But with Recruitee, this hiring goal is less daunting because all of the data is in one place and can be easily managed.
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