Web-based and mobile application software developer Ovation Technologies announced the launch of Ovation, a mobile and cloud-based social recruiting application aimed at small and midsize businesses with limited human resources and recruiting capabilities.
Available through the Google Apps Marketplace, Apples iTunes store and the Google Play store, the app connects small businesses to a slew of job boards and social networks, including Craigslist and Indeed, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Monster.
In addition, the app leverages Google Apps Marketplace with instant sign-on and streamlines scheduling and communication through integration with Gmail, Google calendar and contacts. The free app allows businesses to recruit on the go by passing job opportunities to prospective candidates with QR codes, text messaging and email, and review incoming applications from their phones as they arrive.
The app also allows digital background checks and electronic delivery of new-hire paperwork, in an effort to reduce the average cost of a new hire in the United States, which can reach $3,500, when taking into account time and recruiting costs, according to a 2011 study by talent management specialist Bersin and Associates. The app also includes a grading system denoting the best-suited candidates, based on a star ranking tied to a list of required skills. Businesses can also set criteria and add custom questions.
"Most small businesses don't have full-time recruiters or even an HR department and find finding and hiring employees to be a daunting and distracting task," Pete VanSon, CEO and co-founder of Ovation, said in a press statement. "They're trying to grow their business and serve their customers. By putting the power of cloud recruiting into the hands of the business owners, we're giving them a competitive advantage to find, perform background checks and bring onboard the best talent as quickly as possible at an affordable price. Cloud-based software applications are to small businesses as spinach is to Popeye; it empowers them to take on large companies."
The service is offered free for the first month, with subscriptions costing $39.95 per month, and electronic delivery of new hire paperwork priced at $5 per hire. For companies requiring more in-depth hiring procedures, background-screening services, including a NationScan criminal search, a Sex Offenders and Homeland Security database check and social security number verification, are available for $20. Drivers' record verification checks round out the package with a price of $7.50 per check.
"Ovation isn't priced too low," VanSon said. "The competition is priced too high, considering the automated nature of the cloud. Many small-business owners do their own hiring, and they dread sitting behind a computer building spreadsheets and going through resumes. Ovation was designed as their HR expert in the cloud, to help them draft effective job posts, and organize and execute the hiring process, so businesses can connect with candidates any time, anywhere."
Editor's Note: This story was updated to show correct pricing for background-screening services.
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