Recruit - Support for multiple candidate import/export formats and associated UX improvements

We've added something new to the product update which has just rolled out to all clients to support multiple candidate import and export formats. This new functionality will be of particular interest to our clients who import candidates from NHS Jobs, as they have recently introduced a new export format. Click here for more information.

For clients effected by the change in NHS Jobs, there will be a transition period whilst some historical vacancies in NHS Jobs will still export candidates in the previous 3438 format, whereas newly posted vacancies will export candidates in the new 3519 format.

We will be working on adding the new import format to all the relevant systems over the coming days.

For clients who only require one import/export format, you will get some improvements to the user experience, but you will not see the options mentioned below regarding selecting which format you wish to use when doing candidate imports, exports or updates. Speak to Kallidus Support if you have a requirement for a new candidate import or export format.

Backoffice

Improvements to candidate export
Some improvements have been made to the usability of the Candidate export functionality (Candidates list page > Bulk action menu > Export candidates). The improvements include:

• Support for multiple export formats (if configured) - a field to select the desired export format will appear if this is the case
• All columns are now selected initially by default
• If a user attempts an export with no columns selected, a warning message will be displayed
• A warning message will be displayed if a user does not include the Candidate GUID column in the export (to confirm that they are not exporting candidates with the intention of updating candidate data)
• Improvements to the messaging and useful links included when an import is initially in progress, when it completes or when it is scheduled in the queue

Improvements to candidate import
Some improvements have been made to the usability of the Candidate import functionality (Vacancies list page > Actions > Import candidates to this vacancy). The improvements include:

• Support for multiple import formats (if configured) - a field to select the desired import format and to download the templates for the available export formats will appear if this is the case
• Rearrangement of the page and updated guidance text to make the various options clearer and the process simpler
• Box to "automatically submit imported candidates" will now be checked by default, as in nearly all cases, users want to submit imported candidates, rather than import them as unsubmitted candidates
• A warning message will be displayed if a user does not include the Candidate GUID column in the export (to confirm that they are not exporting candidates with the intention of updating candidate data)
• Improvements to the messaging and useful links included when an import is initially in progress, when it completes or when it is scheduled in the queue

Improvements to candidate update
Some improvements have been made to the usability of the Candidate update functionality (Settings page > Data Import/Export > Update candidate data from CSV. The improvements include:

• Support for multiple formats (if configured) - a field to select the desired update file format will appear if this is the case
• Improvements to the messaging and useful links included when an import is initially in progress, when it completes or when it is scheduled in the queue

Improvements to Data import/export tasks list
Some improvements have been made to the usability of the Data import/export tasks list (Settings page > Data Import/Export > Data import/export activities. The improvements include:

• All information now visible in the table with no scrolling required
• Hover over the Date field to view all relevant dates (Created, Started, Last updated, Completed)
• Order of fields updated to improve usability
• New column included to indicate the data format selected/used
• Created by column is now a link to the User timeline page
• Source, Success, Failure and Duplicate file list download links now all combined into a single "Records" column

System Builder

New options to configure multiple import/export formats and improvements to the usability
Some improvements have been made to the usability of the Candidate import/export configuration area (System configuration > Candidate import/export). The improvements include:

• New import/export format list page (only displayed if there is more than one format configured)
• Ability to name/rename an import/export format (the name is what will appear on the various pages shown above for clients to select)
• Ability to add a new import/export format (button at the bottom of an existing format if there is only one; or on the new format list page if there are already multiple)
• Ability to copy an existing import/export format and make changes to create a new one (button at the bottom of an existing format definition)
• Drag and drop columns into order (previously columns could only be moved one step at a time)
• Import/Export formats will now initially list and include all available form fields, both compulsory and non-compulsory by default
• New "Exclude" check box option to quickly exclude any fields that are not required in a particular import/export format
• Option to Delete a format (should only be used if the format has not yet been used in Test, Staging or Live, otherwise the Development team will be required to clear out historical data import/export tasks which used the deleted format prior to publishing changes