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Recruitment Area Wizard

RETURN TO: External Availability (Factor 1)

KEY TOPICS:

  • Use the Recruitment Area Wizard
    • Determine Wizard Settings
    • Establish Assignment Rules
    • Append or Overwrite if Changes are Made
  • Review Summaries of Settings and Rules
  • Assign Areas and Review Results
    • (If applicable) Review and Edit Recruitment Areas for Drilldowns
    • Include Areas created by the Wizard in Assignment Menus
  • Wizard Settings for a Master Plan

Follow Guided Prompts to Build and Assign Recruitment Areas

Use the Recruitment Area Wizard

On initial entry to External Availability, balanceAAP will open the Recruitment Area Wizard when Zip code data (e.g., plan, employee work, employee home, Drilldown Zip codes)Drilldown) are included in balanceAAP Data Tables. If you have Zip code data are available, the Wizard automates the process of creating and assigning Recruitment Areas, based on settings and rules you determine.

Quick Tip: The wizard can be re-accessed from the [Recruitment Area Wizard] button in the External Availability upper toolbar. Summaries of the current Assignment Settings and Assignment Rules will display, as outlined below under Review Summaries of Settings and Rules.

The Recruitment Area Wizard is comprised of three task areas, which are described below:

  • Wizard Settings
  • Assignment Rules
  • Assign (Recruitment) Areas

The system will detect the data available, and the wizard will provide an appropriate series of questions for you to answer. Default selections will display in answer to each question. Typical questions and the corresponding answers are shown below.

Note: If a Drilldown for Zip code was created, the Recruitment Area Wizard will show specific menu options, related to Drilldown. Also refer to Review and Edit Recruitment Areas for Drilldowns below.

Determine Wizard Settings

1. How do you want to assign the Recruitment Areas for this plan?

The options for a Regular plan include:

  • One recruitment area for each plan that represents the workforce across the entire plan
  • Separate recruitment areas for each Job Group that represents the workforce contained in that Job Group

2. Do you want to use zip code when calculating External Availability in your plan?

If Yes, the system asks: Which zip code would you like to use when calculating External Availability in your plan?

Select one of the following:

  • Plan Code Zip Code (Multiple plans, if you previously chose to create areas by plan)
  • Roster Work Zip Code
  • Roster Home Zip Code
  • Applicant Zip Code

Validating Zip Codes

  • For types other than Plan Code, the number and percentage of records with missing Zip codes will be displayed. Return to the Data Tables, and correct the information, as necessary.
  • Click [Validate Zip Codes] to verify accuracy against the census database. Invalid Zip Codes will display. Click an entry. Select a new code from the provided drop-down, where necessary, and Save.

3. How would you like the system to round the region weights when building Recruitment Areas?

The rounding options include:

  • Two decimal places
  • Nearest whole number
  • Nearest multiple of five
  • Nearest multiple of ten

Note: Numbers below the midpoint are rounded down, and numbers from the midpoint and above are rounded up.

4. Would you like the system to use a minimum representation threshold when building Recruitment Areas?

When building Recruitment Areas, the system can exclude Zip codes with limited employee representation. To set a minimum representation threshold, click Yes, and enter a threshold percentage (e.g., “5”).

5. Would you like to include the United States census area when building Recruitment Areas?

In addition to including and weighting other Census Area Types, the United States may be a recruiting source. If so, select Yes; and enter a percentage weight on the Assign Areas screen. The other percentages will be adjusted accordingly.

6. Would you like the system to include employees marked as Annotation Only when building Recruitment Areas?

If you have Roster employees who are Annotation Only,^ determine whether their Zip code data will be used when building Recruitment Areas.

^Employees marked as Annotation Only work at a location, with less than 50 employees. Because that location is not required to develop a plan, they have been rolled into the current plan.

Cross-reference: For more information on the Annotation Only label: Data Tables > Roster.

7. Would you like the system to include employees marked as Reporting In when building Recruitment Areas?

If the Roster included off-site employees who are marked as Reporting In, choose whether to include their Zip code data when building the Recruitment Areas.

8. Do you want to include the entire US Population or US Citizens only?

Make the appropriate selection, or retain the default.

9. Do you want to use data based on where individuals live (residence data) or work (worksite data)?

Make the appropriate selection, or retain the default.

Once the questions are answered, the wizard will advance to the Area Assignments Order Rules menu, which is described next.

Establish Assignment Rules

Once the wizard advances to the Area Assignments Order Rules menu, check one or more Census Area Types to include:

Include Census Area Types —

  • Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA)
  • County
  • State
  • Place

Quick Tip: To access this menu or return to it later, click the Edit Rules link, located at the bottom of the wizard's landing page.


Prioritize Assignment of Census Area Types
Because one Census Area Type may not cover all Zip codes in the data, they may be prioritized from highest to lowest so that system can assign another Census Area Type when necessary. To change the order of priority, click a region, and drag it to a different location within the list.

(Optional) Check off when the system stops prioritizing: Once an employee’s zip code matches an Area Type above, do not search for subsequent Census Area Types. This option prevents the wizard from assigning more than one area to a Zip code.


(As applicable) Set Assignment Rules for the United States Area
If for the wizard’s question 5, you answered Yes, the United States area Assignment Rules menu will display a Job Groups list, with a column for assigning US Weight to each one. Enter a percentage amount, where appropriate, and click [Save].

Append or Overwrite Assigned Areas if Changes are Made

Choose one of the following:

  • Assign recruitment areas not already assigned
  • Assign areas where they have changed or have not been assigned
  • Overwrite all recruitment areas

Caution: If settings or rules are changed, make a selection on the Overwrite menu carefully so that prior calculations are not unintentionally lost.

Click [Next].

Review Summaries of Settings and Rules

Once the wizard has been completed, the system will display summaries of the selections made under Assignment Settings and Assignment Rules, respectively. To adjust the selections, click the provided links for Edit Settings or Edit Rules, respectively.

Quick Tip: To review the summaries at a later time, reenter the [Recruitment Area Wizard] from the Recruitment Areas tab. Click [Cancel] to exit the wizard.

Assign Areas and Review Results

Click the [Assign Areas] button to initiate Recruitment Area calculations. Once this process is complete, the External Availability > Recruitment Areas tab will display the results, based on Assignment Settings you chose in the wizard (per question 1. above). Results will display as editable links on either of the following sub-tabs:

  • By Job Group (Recruitment Areas for Job Groups)
  • By Plan (Plan Default Recruitment Area)

Quick Reminder: If a result is edited, click Save; and consider any "manual" changes if the Wizard's assignment process is rerun.

(If applicable) Review and Edit Recruitment Areas for Drilldowns

If you used the Recruitment Area Wizard and selected to calculate External Availability by a Drilldown, the Recruitment Areas tab will display sub-tabs for:

  • By [Drilldown name] — Review and edit the assigned Recruitment Area by Drilldown value.
  • By Job Group/ By [Drilldown name] — Select a Drilldown value from the Filter drop-down and review/edit the Recruitment Areas by Job Group.

Include Areas created by the Wizard in Assignment Menus

If you used the Recruitment Area Wizard to automatically develop areas, they can be made available for selection when you are working with standard Recruitment Area tools. Scroll down the Recruitment Areas tab, and check the box next to the tagline: Include areas created by the Recruitment Area Wizard in Recruitment Area drop-downs.

Caution: The inclusion of these additional areas may slow page-loading times and markedly lengthen Recruitment Area menus. The box may be deselected at any time.

Wizard Settings for a Master Plan

Representation Threshold for Zip Code Areas

While determining Wizard Settings, a threshold can be set under question 4 (shown above): Would you like the system to use a minimum representation threshold when building Recruitment Areas?

As a result, some Zip code areas may be excluded, and the system must be directed to apply an alternate area, either from the Master plan or at the sub-plan level.

To align the alternate area to the sub-plan’s default RRA, check the box next to the tagline, which is the default setting: Use sub plan default Recruitment Area for Job Groups that do not meet the above threshold. When the box is unchecked, the alternate area will be chosen from the Master Plan.