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Configurability vs. Customization: Implications for Staffing Management Systems

Software from Staffing Management Solutions vendors, whether delivered as a client-server system or as an ASP, exists in some default state, prior to a particular implementation. Typically, work must be done to alter this preexisting state to meet the needs of a company. Some vendors offer to “customize” the solution, while others speak of their solution as being “configurable”. What is the difference between these two terms, and is one approach inherently preferable?

Customization
Customizing software means, basically, writing new programming code. The advantage of custom software is that in theory you get exactly what meets your requirements. However, the pitfalls of custom software are many.

  • Customization adds cost, both for the initial development, but also for long-term support.
  • Customization can add delays to the implementation, for code to be written and thoroughly tested. Even with careful project management, there is the possibility of the project’s slipping due to scope creep and other factors, and ultimately missing its deadline. If quality assurance is undercut in order for the project to come in on time, the result can be buggy software.
  • Vendors that customize their solutions for individual customers commit significant resources away from the rest of their customer base. 
The most serious, and often overlooked, disadvantage to customization is that the new code must be re-written each time the customer wants to upgrade to a new version of the vendor’s solution.
 

Configuration
Configuration is the opposite of customization. Configurable software has the flexibility to adapt and tailor the system to fit a company’s particular recruitment process, through the extensive use of switches built-in the system. A configurable solution will, for example, allow the company to tailor the Careers section interface using different fonts, colors and layouts. Configuration may occur at implementation, and during steady-state use through administrative control panels.

 
Certain of the key benefits of configurable solutions stem from the fact that all of the vendor’s customers are running identical programming codes.
 
  • It is efficient for the vendor to support only one version of the software, which means better support for all customers.
  • Quality assurance remains focused on one version, which means that the system is more stable and reliable.
  • The ultimate benefit to the customer is tremendous flexibility to tailor the system to internal processes, without ending up with a version that is so customized that it can no longer scale or upgrade to the next version seamlessly.
With the configuration strategy, though, requests by a customer for enhancement or additions of new functionality have to have broad appeal and applicability in the vendor’s overall customer base.
 
Workflows
Most vendors only have one structure for an online job application process. A configurable solution can construct different application “flows”, by selecting sections of the application process and arranging them into a desired order. A configurable solution may also support the creation of multiple application flows. For instance, a job family of particular importance to the company, such as nursing or IT, may have a dedicated careers section with its unique application flow. Finally, if there is a piece of information the company requires of all candidates, a configurable solution allows for this request through the creation of user-defined database fields.
 
Workflows for such core processes as candidate selection may also be modified as needed. A configurable solution can allow for multiple candidate selection workflows, each adapted to a particular by division, location, or job type.
 

Outcome
Configurable solutions allow for better match to needs without the disadvantages of customization. Large organizations especially have a great deal of variability in their staffing processes. As recruiting becomes more sophisticated, enterprises are moving from mass recruiting to segmentation. Configurable software can support the need for segmentation at the enterprise level.

 
Set-up and workflow options allow an organization to configure the end-to-end recruiting workflow – both for the candidate facing front-end as well as the back-office candidate selection and assessment process – for each segment. Configurability’s ultimate value is in helping recruiters and hiring managers do their job faster, more efficiently, and with a higher quality outcome.
 
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