What Is An Applicant Flow Log Report?
What’s an applicant flow log? Many of our clients are required to comply with Affirmative Action and OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) regulations. While these regulations are wide-ranging and very comprehensive, they typically apply to organizations that have government contracts (or sometimes subcontracts). At their core, these programs help to ensure that organizations don’t discriminate in their hiring processes. Of course, there’s more to it than this, but I’m not an Affirmative Action consultant.
What You Need To Know
The primary way these regulations are measured and enforced is through analysis of applicant records. In very simple terms, employers must keep very good records to show key things such as:
- the number of applicants per open position posted
- whether or not those applicants volunteered their race, gender, and ethnicity
- if they did volunteer this information, it must be listed per applicant
- the disposition of each applicant (i.e. how far did they get in the hiring process and why they were exited from the process)
The Challenge of Applicant Flow Log Reports
While the intent of these regulations probably wasn’t to overburden employers, the reality is that they do. As you can imagine, recording applicant flow log information in a spreadsheet for each applicant…for every job–while keeping their race/gender/ethnicity information separately, as required by law–is beyond painful. Then, once this data is collected, it needs to be analyzed and reported to authorities in very specific ways–typically by an Affirmative Action consultant or Labor/Employment attorney. On top of all that, if the employer fails to adequately keep these records, they risk fines and penalties if audited, including the loss of any future government contract. This clearly isn’t an optional task.
Ease the Compliance Reporting Burden
This compliance headache is a major reason why many organizations (even those in the small and mid-sized business space) are turning to applicant tracking software. A good ATS gathers, segregates and allows for automated reporting of the information described above–an applicant flow log report.
However, before working with an applicant tracking system vendor, be sure to ask for proof that they can do this type of tracking and reporting. The best way to do this is to talk with clients who are using this component of the applicant tracking software already. They will be in a great position to help you understand how well the ATS works for these specific purposes.
For more information about ExactHire and our Affirmative Action reporting capabilities, please contact us today.
