Taxwell / Recruiting systems

Recruiting workflow

I built a recruiting workflow to make intake, communication, and reporting more consistent. Technically, it worked. Then some of the recruiters worked around it.

My part

Built shared intake, candidate records, communication, and reporting, then revised the workflow through direct feedback from recruiters.

The outcome

After the redesign, use improved and recruiters began bringing me ideas for what we could improve next. I continued maintaining the system as jobs, screening questions, and reporting needs changed.

Explore the workflow changesCompare the original design, what recruiters did, and the revised process.

How the recruiting workflow changed

OriginalIn practiceRevised

Stage 1 of 3

The original design

The original intake required automated communication.

Structured intakeJob and candidate information

Automated communicationRequired by the original workflow

Consistent recordsShared visibility and reporting

Intake, automated messages, and records were linked in one required path.

Stage 2 of 3

What happened in practice

Some recruiters skipped intake because it forced automated communication.

Structured intakeIntended path · not used

Automated communicationForced after intake

Shared recordsUpdates missing

Outside the workflowIntake bypassed entirely

Personal outreachRecruiters contacted candidates directly

Inconsistent recordsUpdates did not reach the shared record

Bypassing the entry form also bypassed the consistent record the system was meant to create.

Stage 3 of 3

The revised workflow

Personal outreach is an explicit option, followed by a form update.

Choose the communication pathAutomated or personal outreach

Structured intakeEnter candidate information

Automated outreachMessages and updates in the workflow

Personal outreachRecruiter handles communication

Form updateRecord the result after outreach

Consistent recordsBoth paths feed shared visibility and reporting

Recruiters could keep personal outreach and submit the outcome through a form. Both paths ended in the same shared records.

Sanitized reconstruction of the candidate-communication path.

More about the buildImplementation details and decisions.

The shared record

The first major seasonal program hired 900+ employees and contractors, including 288 CPAs and EAs. Those are program totals. We needed shared intake, candidate records, and reporting while recruiters wanted to keep personal communication with candidates.

I asked recruiters directly which parts were getting in the way. We kept the shared data and reporting and made automated communication optional.

Implementation

Microsoft Forms, Power Automate, Smartsheet, and Outlook supported intake, records, communication, and reporting. I continued maintaining forms, screening questions, integrations, and reports as requirements changed.