xApplicant - Application Questions

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xApplicant - Application Questions

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Page Location: Admin > Page Builder > Applicant > Application Questions

If a significant change to a question needs to be made, instead of changing the wording in Page Builder, edit the question and check the 'hidden' field. This will save the question and applicant answers for historical purposes. Then, make a new question with the new wording and options. Changing the wording in Page Builder will change the wording throughout the system, even on applicants who have previously answered the question with different wording.

Application Questions are questions that will be asked of every applicant regardless of to which position/requisition the applicant applies. This page of Page Builder is divided in two sections: Questions & Groups.

Groups

(the bottom section) are used to help organize the questions. Once a group is created, it can then be assigned to a specific question. Questions are ordered on the page first by the group assigned and then by the order number assigned to the question. The group name will only appear on the Application page in the Applicant's file. It does not show on the printable report or in the Applicant's view.

This option is completely custom and each company may decide to group questions different. There is not a limit to the number of groups which can be created. Two examples are listed below on how this section can be grouped:

Example 1:
Application Questions
Background Screening Questions
On-Boarding Questions

Example 2:
General Questions
Residency Questions

To add a group, click the 'Add new record' link on the top left of the grid for the Groups. Each group must have a unique identifier (aka code) and a description.

Questions

(the top section) are the individual questions which will be connected to the Applicant's record. Creating a specific question will add the question to the Applicant's Application page so an answer to the question can be tracked. However, these are not necessarily questions which are posted publicly to be completed by the Applicant. The summary grid gives some general information about the specific question. The grid can be sorted by a specific column by clicking on the column name.

Summary View

Field	Purpose
	The pencil icon allows the user to edit the question details.
Question	Displays the question.
Group	Displays the group connected to the question. This is the first sorting level. All questions will be organized first by this group (alpha-numeric sorting) and they by the order number assigned.
Order	Within each group, this is the order the question will appear on the page.
Type	Displays the type of answer tracked (No Answer, Short Text, Long Text, Drop-Down). If Drop-Down is selected, this field is a hyper link to another page which stores the specific answers to the questions.
Public	Displays a Y or N. If the column displays a Y, then the applicant can see this question as part of the online application process.
Required	Displays a Y or N. If the column displays a Y, then the applicant must complete the question before saving the page as part of the online application or if he/she is viewing the profile via the Self Service module.
	The X icon allows the user to remove the question from the system. NOTE: Pressing the X icon will remove the question from the set-up page as well as from the Applicant record. So, all information connected to this question will be lost. It is recommended that a question not be deleted but rather it be hidden (edit the question to see this option) so the data can remain attached to the Applicant's file.

Underneath the tab, there is a check-box which will display all questions (even hidden questions) when checked. Any hidden question will be highlighted in pink so they are easy to pick out of the full list.

Detail View

If a new question needs to be added, press the 'Add new record' link above the summary grid. If a question needs to be edited, press the

icon to access the details.

Field	Purpose
Text Box	Type in the text which should be displayed to the user or the applicant. This box is designed for text but HTML keys can be embedded into the text and the web pages can translate the formatting (bold, italics, colors, etc.) Note: If quotation marks are needed; text should never have double quotes ("something") but instead always use single quotes ('something')
Order	Enter the order of this question for display purposes. Remember, the order will relate to the question within the group assigned.
Group	Select the group (set up previously) to which this question pertains.
Answer Type	Select the type of answer which should be entered (No Answer, Short Text, Long Text, Drop-Down, Multiple choice).
Public	Check this box if the question should be viewable to the Applicant during the Online Application process.
Required	Check this box if the question must be answered before the page will be saved during the Online Application process or if the page is accessed via the Applicant's Self Service profile. Note: It is recommended that any questions which will have a drop-down or multiple choice answer and which will be used to generate a score OR to track acceptable/unacceptable answers be set as Required. If a question which should be factoring into the score or the filtering is skipped (because it is not required) it WILL NOT factor into the automatic scoring/ranking.
Hidden	Check this box if editing a question previously created which should no longer show in the system (to users or applicants).

Answer Types

This section has four types of answers which can be entered.

No Answer
Select this answer type if the 'question' will be a place holder on the page or will give an explanation for a set of question which will appear after the explanation. For example, use this type of answer to explain the felony policy before asking about any convictions.

Short Text
Select this answer type if the answer would be less than 50 characters. For example, if the question is related to working at the company in the past and is requesting dates of employment, then a Short Text answer should be long enough to capture the details.

Long Text
Select this answer type if the answer would be more lengthy. For example, there may be a question which asked for a Yes/No answer but a follow-up question for an explanation if the answer to the first question was 'Yes'. A Long Text answer will provide more space for a better answer.

Drop-Down
Select this answer type if the goal is to have a set answer for consistency. Selecting this answer type will lend itself to setting up Cyber Searches on the answers to questions. In addition, any question which has a drop-down answer can be scored and it can be set up as a filter question for the application process. Once this question type is selected, save the question and then click on the words 'Drop-Down' in the summary view to complete the setup.

Drop-down Answers will appear in an alphanumeric order. So, before adding possible answers, determine how to display the answer choices ahead of time so they don't have to be added and removed later.

Field	Purpose
	Click this icon to add a new value to the table. When adding, the user will be able to enter in a value for the drop-down menu, decide if the answer is acceptable or not and assign a value. NOTE: Answers cannot be edited but the values for 'Value' and 'Acceptable?' can be change in the summary table. After making a change, press the icon.
Drop-Down Choice	Displays the answer which will be in the drop-down.
Acceptable?	It is recommended that all questions should be check-marked as Acceptable UNLESS the website should prevent a routing, prevent notification or change the status of the applicant based on the answer to this question. If an answer to any question marked as unacceptable it will 'knock-out' an applicant. The applicant will still be connected to the requisition for which he/she applied; however, based on the settings determined for the website, certain actions and statuses will or will not occur.
Value	Select a number (1-10) to assign to the answer of this question. The accumulation of all the answers will be consolidated as the 'Score' for the Application Question. If this feature is being used, the Score will display as the first number in the Score column on the Applicants page of the Requisition, and on the Application page of the Applicant's record.
	Click this button to remove this answer from the drop-down list.

Multiple Choice
Select this answer type if the goal is to have a set answer for consistency but more than one choice can be selected. Selecting this answer type will lend itself to setting up Cyber Searches on the answers to questions. In addition, any question which has a drop-down answer can be scored and it can be set up as a filter question for the application process. Once this question type is selected, save the question and then click on the words 'Multiple Choice' in the summary view to complete the setup.

Multiple Choice Answers will appear in an alphanumeric order. So, before adding possible answers, determine how to display the answer choices ahead of time so they don't have to be added and removed later. All answers should be no more than 54 characters (including spaces).

Field	Purpose
	Click this icon to add a new value to the table. When adding, the user will be able to enter in a value for the drop-down menu, decide if the answer is acceptable or not and assign a value. NOTE: Answers cannot be edited but the values for 'Value' and 'Acceptable?' can be change in the summary table. After making a change, press the icon.
Drop-Down Choice	Displays the answer which will be in the drop-down.
Acceptable?	It is recommended that all questions should be check-marked as Acceptable UNLESS the website should prevent a routing, prevent notification or change the status of the applicant based on the answer to this question. If an answer to any question marked as unacceptable it will 'knock-out' an applicant. The applicant will still be connected to the requisition for which he/she applied; however, based on the settings determined for the website, certain actions and statuses will or will not occur.
Value	Select a number (1-10) to assign to the answer of this question. The accumulation of all the answers will be consolidated as the 'Score' for the Application Question. If this feature is being used, the Score will display as the first number in the Score column on theApplicants page of the Requisition, and on the Application page of the Applicant's record.
	Click this button to remove this answer from the drop-down list.

Frequently Asked Questions

When the questions are posted for the applicant to answer on the online application, even though the question is marked to force the applicant to provide an answer, the requirement is not enforced.

Answer: Check the application questions and the requisition questions on the page to see if quotation marks are used. Make sure that when using quotes, that only single quotes ('something') NOT double quotes ("something") are used. Go to Admin > Page Builder >Applicant > Application Questions or Admin > Page Builder >Requisition > Requisition Questions or to fix the questions with double quotes.