I visited the site of a mid-size, 80 person client during Bullhorn training and go-live yesterday. It\u2019s been a while since I walked around an office during those early days of a launch. And, I had forgotten how intense and emotionally charged go-lives can be. The employees of this particular client had spent years learning to perform their jobs a certain way. Software systems were a very large part of their day. They had a system of 6 different databases \u2013 candidates, clients, jobs, placements, housing and documentation all lived in separate, entirely disconnected systems.<\/p>\n
You would imagine that the transition to Bullhorn from a system that required users to keep track of connections between records in their head would be easy \u2013 Bullhorn\u2019s so easy to use and everything\u2019s tied together for you. You would expect people to be overjoyed. Users are never prepared for the challenge of unlearning their old systems. \u201cYou\u2019d be amazed at how comfortable I was in 6 systems\u201d, one recruiter told us. It\u2019s like users develop a Stockholm Syndrome with their old software systems. No matter how painful or cumbersome the system, moving away from it and out of their comfort zone is incredibly stressful. One woman had become overwhelmed the day prior during her training sessions. Her husband sent her flowers with a card, \u201cTame that Bull\u201d.<\/p>\n
The stress of having to juggle candidates and clients while you\u2019re learning adds yet another dimension. \u201cI\u2019m looking for a resume. Where\u2019s my G Drive?!\u201d, \u201cI\u2019m looking at a client record. How do I change over to the candidate database?\u201d The response to these questions is good news, \u201cYou don\u2019t need those things any more. Just type the name of the person or company you want to find and hit enter.\u201d Once they actually try it and see that every thing they need is there and it\u2019s really easier to find, they loosen up. It\u2019s like watching someone learn to ice skate \u2013 they hold on to the railing, let go for a second, get nervous and grab it again. And finally, they trust themselves, smile and say, \u201cHey, this is actually really good!\u201d<\/p>\n
Near noon, the woman whose husband sent her the flowers asked me a question. She was zipping around the system so quickly that I actually had trouble keeping up with her. The whole process was very gratifying to watch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I visited the site of a mid-size, 80 person client during Bullhorn training and go-live yesterday. It\u2019s been a while since I walked around an office during those early days of a launch. And, I had forgotten how intense and emotionally charged go-lives can be. The employees of this particular client had spent years learning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n