For several years, rexx systems has been the fastest growing provider of modern HR software with a particular focus on talent management.
In recent years, the company has won on numerous occasions, auditor Deloitte’s prestigious "Fast 50 Technology" award - most recently in 2016.
As early as 2010, rexx systems launched the first participation programme, at that time only for executives. Those who are in the programme regularly look forward to the company's high profit distributions.
Due to steady growth and many enquiries from interested employees, there was a need to widen the scope for participation to a larger group of employees.
At the end of 2016, the decision was made in principal to make an attractive offer, of directly sharing in the company's profits, to all rexx people who had reached a certain period of employment. In the so-called "Windhund" (grey hound) process, the interested parties were able to register for the programme. After just three tenths of a second after the opening of the distribution process more than 90% of the shares were given out. After 8 tenths of a second the distribution process was finished!
More than half of the employees now directly share in the company's profits. The forecast for the current year of 2017 is bright: Growth during the first two months of the year was significantly above-average.
"Executives in other companies allow employees to choose and they make a big deal of it. but at rexx systems, executives do not have a conventional role because we primarily rely on the independence and responsibility of all employees. Direct participation in the company with high profit shares for employees are the basis of our success, much more attractive than choice of executives" in the words of CEO Norbert Rautenberg.
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You can easily use the current version of rexx HR and rexx Recruitment ("rexx Suite") with the WHITE SPACE interface on mobile devices. Traditionally, the classic interface for the rexx Employee Portal with its self-service, networking and collaboration features was already optimised for smartphone use.
This manual shows rexx users how to place a start icon on your iPhone/iPad home screen, so that you can easily start the rexx Portal or rexx HR Backend and bring it back to the front when switching between different apps.
The rexx app in 3 steps
1.
Open the Self-Service Portal in Safari on your iPhone/iPad and log in to the rexx application using your login details. PLEASE NOTE: if you do not log in to the application before continuing with the next steps, when you exit the app you will need to re-enter your authentication data when re-launch it later. Therefore, is it important for you to successfully log in to the rexx Portal or Backend before performing the following steps so that you do not have to constantly enter your username and password!
You will see a screen like this on your iPhone when you log in to the Self-Service Portal:
Tap on the icon with the red border at the bottom of the screen to move on to the next step.
You will see the following view:
Select the "Go to Home Screen" icon with the red border at the bottom of the screen.
You now have the option of adjusting the settings for your iPhone/iPad home screen, for example, by selecting a name for the icon. Normally, you do not need make any changes here, however, and you should simply tap on the "Add" icon with the red border at the top-right of the screen:
You will then find the rexx icon placed on your device's home screen so you can easily launch the application. For ease of use, we recommend creating a start icon for each rexx application (rexx HR Backend, rexx Recruitment Backend, rexx Self-Service Portal).
Once you have accessed the app and performed authentication, stay logged in to the customized settings in the app, so that you can easily return to the app once you have left it assuming you have not exceeded the timeout limit.
If you would like to remove the rexx icon from your home screen, for whatever reason, use the standard procedure you are familiar with below. Touch the icon you want to remove and leave your finger resting briefly on it until it starts to wobble:
Then touch the icon again and confirm deletion. If you press the iPhone/iPad Home button, you will exit delete mode (which also makes the icon stop wobbling).
By the way: The instructions described above also work with the browsers Chrome and Firefox on Android smartphones.
The consulting firm Deloitte awarded the Technology Fast 50 Awards to leading companies in the technology industry for the fourteenth time yesterday in Frankfurt on Main. Above-average growth over the past four financial years, along with the use of proprietary technologies exemplify the winners.
The fact that rexx systems was already amongst the Fast 50 winners in 2011 and 2012 made it quite clear to most of us that it would be impossible for them to win again. This is because companies who have been in the market for longer find it much more difficult to achieve such a high percentage growth, since the calculation base becomes larger from year to year. This make it easier for start-ups or other young companies to achieve high growth rates.
However, rexx systems seems to have managed the impossible and again have succeeded in ranking amongst the 50 fastest growing companies in Germany. This success very clearly demonstrates that the ongoing innovations in talent management that rexx systems develops are a real motor of success for the company.
"Since the company was formed in 2000, our software solutions for complex processes in recruitment, talent management and human resources now provide support to 800 companies in more than 20 countries." explains Stefan Daufenbach, Associate Director rexx systems. And with a view to the future: "The fact that rexx systems is still one of the growth drivers in tech after 15 years proves our high level of innovation. This award motivates us to continue to develop market-leading software and services!"
rexx systems stands for easy-to-use, highly scalable software for customers from every industry, and software which is used by more than 800 companies in over 20 countries.
The software solutions for the recruitment, talent management and human resources segment impress with their outstanding efficiency and reliable technology. With its workflows and networking, the rexx Suite caters for the optimum cooperation and support of the HR department, managers and employees – whether in performing regular activities or supporting complex and individual processes.
In Switzerland and Austria, several rexx branch offices provide qualified sales consulting and project support through a local presence and offer experienced sales managers and consultants for project management.
The winners of the Technology Fast 50 Award use new technologies as a basis for development and are the fastest growing companies in the IT, communications and life sciences sectors. Deloitte honours top entrepreneurial performance each year with the Technology Fast 50. The competition was launched in the USA in 1995 and has since developed into an international initiative. The Technology Fast 50 Award is being held for the fourteenth time this year in Germany.
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Roto Frank AG is one of the world's leading producers of hardware technology for windows and doors and a major supplier of roof windows and loft ladders. The Group of companies consists of 17 production facilities and more than 40 international sales companies. With a workforce of some 4,500, it generates net sales of over 620 million Euros.
In applicant management, Roto has been relying on rexx Recruitment and its career portal since 2016, thus allowing corporate identity, employer branding and job advertising to be brought together conveniently under one roof. Important for a company with worldwide locations is what is referred to as multi-client capability. rexx Recruitment scores highly here with its various options. This not only makes it possible to design templates for job advertisements, headers and footers for email communications or permissions specific to each company, but also individualise processes or permissions for each site.
The switch to the new version of the rexx Enterprise Recruitment software was carried out for the DACH region at the end of 2016. As a part of this, a complete relaunch of the Roto Frank Career Portal took place in responsive design. This means that visitors to the portal now get to see the job postings and additional information concerning the application process displayed customised for each screen size layout, regardless of whether you are using a standard desktop PC, tablet or smartphone.
As the new release offers many more possibilities for elegantly supporting processes, and specially launched careers pages, it is now being introduced at Roto Frank sites in six other countries: France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Great Britain and The Netherlands.
Roto is not without reason one of rexx systems' most satisfied customers. The many years of excellent cooperation with the Customer Advisory Team and the professional support provided by experienced consultants during the migration phase show how smoothly software projects can run.
"Once we had taken a detailed look at the new Enterprise Recruitment system, the migration went ahead with absolutely professionality. We are looking forward to going live with the system in six new countries. My thanks go out to the consultants at rexx systems and the advice and action they provided us as support!"
Mathias Kießig - Human Resources Officer, HR, Roto Group
As with all rexx Recruitment customers, Roto Frank jobs are automatically published on the free German-language job portal www.finest-jobs.com.
Enterprise 2.0 refers to the future-oriented use of social technologies and dynamic management methods. The aim is to breathe life into what today is mainly a static intranet, to link customers, departments and employees, hence fostering company knowledge. In-house networks are frequently and gladly used these days. As a form of communication link, they are no longer a trend. They are pretty much here to stay. Lots of companies have realised that "a company's extra knowledge" secures a decisive competitive advantage. Or to put it concisely:
To make sure everything (knowledge) can be found and used, everything that can be digitised should be transformed accordingly. |
HR frequently (again) gets locked out when it comes to key issues like this, or looks the other way or falls behind. It is rare for HR to take over as an active driving force. Was that formulated too hard? Whatever the case, please note the following: numerous studies show that HR is not well positioned in this topic. While IT may be the driver, it still fails to succeed, because it forgets to take the employees - and HR - with it on this important internal journey. The following appeal, therefore: Dear HR officer, please position yourself! Now! You have all the levers available here to support your company in its transformation. Explain to everyone from the management to the doorman why it is important to acquire knowledge and distribute it.
Change, communication and enabling: these are the parameters for successfully establishing and implementing an Enterprise Social Network. Everyone needs to be involved here: the management (without their support it won't work), departments, the works council, IT suppliers/service providers and Marketing.
In business and especially in sales, the Internet of Things will soon be the norm. Yet many are still not familiar with the existence of this expression. The Internet of Things closes or minimises information gaps between the real and the virtual world.
The proliferation of so-called "wearables" (mini computers) will accelerate this trend. This may sound abstract and remote from everyday life.
However, several examples show that this is no longer science fiction:
Below, a few more examples that already exist today:
You can probably only imagine what this could mean for HR development. New blended learning concepts are needed here. This allows you to distinguish yourself from other market competitors and get the attention you want. Which is what it is all about.
If you were unable to answer one or more of these questions convincingly, then you now know where your deficits lie, which that you can convert into benefits. Take a good look at the following aspects:
The following applies here: think - do! Act and define your strategic goals including the corresponding success parameters!
For digital business, it is essential to deal with the above points, so that you are well positioned for future development in your business sector. Symbolically speaking, this is not a sprint but a long-distance run. But if you do take this route, you will succeed. And this is not a question of budget, as is often argued: it depends on your will. Digitisation presents many opportunities, particularly too small to medium-sized enterprises, because: “The fast eat the slow", so: be quick and clever – take the leap into the digital age! Once you have chosen to do so, you generally need a set of social media guidelines. Interestingly enough, in my internal workshops I often find out that many a social media strategy is already in place, without hardly anyone knowing about it. Let alone that HR has broken it down for themselves and the entire workforce has picked it up.
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There are masses of suppliers around: specialists, generalists, some very "stale", some highly innovative, etc. To name them all here would makes little sense, since the list changes continuously. This is why selection criteria help you to achieve your aim faster when searching for the right supplier. Even if I were to raise the flag for social media here: in the first place, your HR software needs to offer the key functions required for your recruiting process in a clean form. While this is obligatory, the cure comes in the form of all the new topics, such as the connection to social networks and CV parsing.
One tip I can give you is that the suppliers arrange themselves into a defined ranking. It may sound naive, but it does work quite well for the initial screening. This is because if the supplier ranks moderately or very well in the strengths/weaknesses criteria defined, then the first filter has already been set. Often, the first useful step comes in the form of an online seminar presentation, where you can have the system shown to you in just over an hour. You will notice that you become more familiar with the topic every time you see the presentation, because each supplier has its strengths and weaknesses, along with questions for you. Incidentally, you can also work through your criteria at the same time and check it for completeness.
A lot has changed when it comes to applications: HR prefers to receive applications digitally these days - in their email inbox or via an online form on the company's career page. And even that is virtually obsolete. Application 2.0 is popular, which is to say, the digital business card is more important than a covering letter and résumé these days. Job seekers are urged to actively expand their personal network and use social media for job searches and present themselves there.
“Show who you are!”, thus is the motto for the young job seekers of today and tomorrow. Maintaining a presence in Web 2.0 - that's the point. Presenting oneself on the Internet using videos, images and text should not present a problem to most of today's graduates and young professionals, since using Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Co. is common practice for Generation Y and Z. Self-marketing on the Internet is something they are totally familiar with.
Of course, employers have in turn recognised this long ago and many of them have already firmly established social media as part of their employer communications. Technology-driven companies in particular are already using social media to find and appoint employees, and other companies are following suit. In fact, so should you, if you want to win the battle in the competition for talent. But are employers keeping their digital personnel files up to scratch as well? It is not enough for them to simply write down their flood of data on XING and LinkedIn, instead they need to give their companies a face as well. Portals like absolventa, kununu and watchadoo may certainly help in doing this. The employer just presenting himself on his company career page alone is no longer sufficient. You need to get out and hang out where your target audiences are.
A fairly new and rapid development is taking place in the video segment. You will experience it increasingly in the coming months: you suddenly receive an application in the form of a video that the candidate has probably recorded on his own smartphone. The era of receiving applications with just CVs is over and qualifications are often glossed over anyway. Progressive companies are also open to receiving videos from candidates, a trend which will continue to grow. This is because it is becoming increasingly important for job seekers beyond the formal motivation letter to present themselves in an authentic light. The personal impression you make and the personal match count increasingly.
To present themselves as attractive employers, companies are increasingly discovering the power of photos and videos. Corporate videos, for example, provide job seekers with a glimpse of aspects of corporate values and culture, as well as the working atmosphere at the company. Doing this with online employment ads is virtually impossible. You can use your corporate videos to let your employees to talk about you as an employer, so that, in turn, you can convince your would-be-employees.
In the USA, it is long since common practice to interview your candidates via video link, such as Skype, and increasingly companies are doing the same in this country as well. Many companies are already approaching job interviews in this manner, thereby saving on time and money, for the candidates as well.
Lots of systems will dovetail into this new market niche, ranging from time-delayed video interviews (such as viasto and cammio) to portals. The advantage of these systems is that the interviews are recorded and can be imported into the BEMS over an interface. This is not so easily possible with Skype. Another problem with Skype is that the data centers are outside the European Economic Area, which would have privacy advocates up in arms.
A live link has the advantage, of course, that you can assess spontaneous reactions like in a real conversation, and quickly come to a conclusion together.
Why not try posting a job ad with a background video attached, which you can distribute in the various social networks, and then post an advertisement without the video and compare the results. You will notice there is something in the air - videos pull!
The golden rule of HR: |
Your videos do not have to be blockbusters, but they must be authentic. It does not matter here whether they are 8 seconds or several minutes long. Whether your record them with your smartphone or use a specialist producer. The main thing is the result speaks to your target group |
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rexx systems wants their customers to make the most out of the potential of our products. To prove that the implementation of an e-recruiting software is worth its price is interesting for the managing board, but often hard to assess.
rexx systems therefore provides their existing and future customer with a tool for evaluating the software. The tool should help the users of rexx Enterprise Recruitment to evaluate the benefits e-recruiting offers and to give an overview of its profitability and usefulness for the company, the recruiters, the hiring managers and the applicants.
The evaluation tool is a simple to use Excel file where the evaluator is required to fill in data and to answer statements according to the evaluators own assessment. At the end of the evaluation process, the evaluator will get an overall result, which indicates the degree of the usefulnessof the software. Besides the Hr department the tool may be especially interesting for the managing board who will have the possibility to see if the company has a clear benefit since the implementation of rexx Enterprise Recruitment.
The tool was developed by a student of the IMC University of Applied Sciences in Krems (Austria) who wrote his Bachelor thesis with rexx systems about e-recruiting. For his study, the student conducted several interviews with specialists in Human Resources and recruiters to find out the interests and goals recruiters have as well as the general benefit potential of eRecruiting. The knowledge gained was used to create this Benefit-Evaluation Tool. The tool applies comparative analysis of numerical data and opinions before and after the implementation.
What is occupational health and safety management?
Occupational health and safety management is the systematic and target-orientated control of all relevant company processes, with the aim of promoting and retaining health, performance and success for the organization and all of its employees.
The concept is therefore is to try and achieve one of the most frequently targeted win-win situations. Healthy and motivated employees are more productive and thus perform to a higher level. This simple equation relating to occupational health and safety management is at first glance interesting and engaging for the majority of companies. In addition, some countries such as Germany are already calling for concrete measures such as the assessment of potential hazards and psychological stress.
Beside a fundamental knowledge of the basics, occupational health and safety management objectives and measures as well as the supporting tools are essential foundations for a successful implementation.
Thereby a central role in most organizations lies with the human resources department. Besides knowledge of the rationale, objectives and measures of the organization’s occupational health and safety management, an essential foundation for the successful implementation by HR managers are the tools that support these processes.
How can HR Software support OHSM?
Good software solutions for human resource management can lead to a significant reduction in workload for those involved in the process and implementation of occupational health and safety management. This is mostly due to large amounts of key data stored in the system, which assists in streamlining the conception of company processes and procedures.
Via self-service portals, HR Software additionally provides opportunities to carry out employee surveys, to communicate tips and measures as well as supporting the entire HR development process, including the documentation of relevant employee training etc.
Roughly sketched, occupational health and safety management should be a continuously repeating cycle of inventory, goal-setting and the implementation of concrete measures. In each of these three phases a modern software solution such as rexx HR can bring clear benefits to a company.
The inventory is divided essentially into two main areas: the first concerns the evaluation of the relevant performance indicators of the OHSM (see below), and secondly, the process of employee surveys. The data warehouse, integrated into the human resources software is the ideal tool for individually (and if required per company department) evaluating health statistics, age structure, fluctuations and much more. Survey modules simplify the creation of questionnaires, the filling out by staff via the self-service function as well as the comprehensive (and if required, anonymous) evaluation.
As part of the definition and monitoring of set targets, limit values for various key indicators can for example represent a practical tool. “Speedometer” charts (see graphic) in the system display at first glance which goals have already been achieved as well as goals where the green zone has not yet been reached. |
And in the third important phase, the implementation of concrete measures, suitable HR software can also be of great value. Just think of the organization and handling of staff training, the relevant development of management or the integration of OHSM-related issues in employee appraisals. For all of these points the software can considerably assist in the areas of planning, implementation and documentation. But also specifically an employee portal – or even perhaps an Enterprise Social Network – is an ideal tool for communicating information about occupational health and safety or to distribute tips for healthy work practices.
Which Key Indicators play a role?
Here are some key indicators that are particularly relevant in practice for OHSM and which should also be utilized in a comprehensive HR software:
Sick leave (partly with details to the cause: e.g. accident, burnout) | Fluctuation (individually per manager) |
Overtime in hours (per employee per year) |
Age structure | Productivity / efficiency | Number OHSM-relevant training days |
Satisfaction (with the supervisor, working conditions) | Number of terminations with relevant reasons (e.g. bullying) | Number of employees who recommend their employer |
The recognition and promotion of young professionals within an organisation has become a central part of today’s talent management. By promoting such employees, organisations are able to increase the motivation and career perspective of young talent, thereby creating and strengthening the bond between employer and employee. The systematic promotion of young professionals doesn’t just prepare them for more demanding tasks, but also for positions of authority with decision-making responsibility, which in the future will need filling. The career path of internal talent can be conveniently navigated and supported by succession planning software.
The benefits of systematically promoting young talent
The benefits of promoting young talent within an organisation are clearly defined:
Such competition can of course occasionally lead to internal problems, these however can easily be avoided if the employees are aware that it is their performance that is being judged, as opposed to a personal preference.
Practical tips for promoting young talent
With the help of flexible talent pools it is possible to concretely identify and support the career path of employees. Talent pools support the internal employment process, thereby creating a transparent overview of the candidate’s skills. Here are a few tips:
The software from rexx systems fulfils all of the abovementioned requirements, and much more. The interface is intuitive and enables organisations to conveniently determine key positions of high importance. This helps to optimise the organisational process and ensures that, if possible, the placement ensues from within the company’s existing ranks. Recognising positions where, for example, departure or early retirement are of high risk assists in identifying successors and filling important positions within an company.
The following article is based on excerts from a piece by Alexander Popp in the German publication "Sozialwirtschaft aktuell", published in March 2014. Alexander Popp is a personnel officer for the Bank für Sozialwirtschaft AG (social economic bank), and was responsible for the selection and implementation of an applicant tracking system.
The Bank für Sozialwirtschaft, based in Cologne, is a specialised credit institute for companies and organisations from the sector social economics. As a mid tier business, the Bank für Sozialwirtschaft has to deal with the same recruiting challenges as any other comapny from differing industries.
Preparing for the decision-making process
Firstly, we undertook an investment consideration, taking into account parametres such as number of vacancies, number of applications, legal requirements and related documentation and retention requirements.
We then subsequently analysed the already-established recruiting processes. This analysis lead to identifying the required core functions, which the desired software had to deliver. These functions included the management of intuative applications, mass actions, automated ranking functions, corresspondance, administration of talent pools, schedule planning and archiving.
Distinctions at a second glance
Having established and catalgoued the requirements, the numerous systems available on the market were then considered. At first glance the majority of the systems seemed to fulfil the majority of the necessary requirements, albeit in varying degrees of clarity and applicability. This meant, that e.g. creating a job within a system didn't necessary mean that said job could be published automatically via the utilized channels, or that job applications accepted by email were automatically available and viewable in the system.
The time and effort required per job application has been reduced considerably!
Alexander Popp Personnel officer
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft
Choice of suppliers
As a result of the pre-selection, the representatives of six ATS system suppliers were invited to present their solutions. Several provided us with the option to test their system for a specific time frame, in order to obtain a feeling for the usability and handling of the software.
Having conducted a final evaluation of all suppliers, we finally decided on the rental version of the applicant management software rexx Enterprise Recruitment from rexx systems.
Initial impressions
After just a few weeks of going live, the positive effects of the system are already discernible. Right from the start, the process was supported and adopted by all internal applications. Through automatically sent acknowledgments of receipt as well as the possibility of mass activities, such as the simultaneous transfer of several applications within the system to the appropriate line managers, the time and effort required per job application has been reduced considerably. This has thus enabled us to invest more time in issues such as Employer Branding and Individual Recruiting Strategies.
References from rexx systems in the banking and financial sector also include: