I've got nothing against spreadsheets. They're one of the most useful business tools ever made.
The problem is what happens when a spreadsheet quietly becomes the recruitment system.
It starts sensibly. Applications arrive. Someone makes a list of names. Columns get added for experience, interview status and comments. Another panel member wants a scoring column. Someone saves a second version. Interview dates go somewhere else. Candidate emails stay in the inbox.
- More than one version
- Scores nobody can explain
- Emails still sitting in the inbox
- Referee notes somewhere else
For a while, it works.
The problems appear when more people join the process. Which spreadsheet is current? Who changed the score? Has the candidate been contacted? Does the board member have the latest version? Where are the referee notes?
Which spreadsheet is current? Who changed the score? Has the candidate been contacted?
It's common in Sport, especially where there's no big HR team or enterprise recruitment system.
When we designed Hirello, one of the basic ideas was to keep the pieces of a hire together without making employers learn a heavyweight system. Applications, candidate status, collaborators, interviews, references, messages and decisions stay connected.
The spreadsheet was never the enemy. It was filling a gap. But if you're emailing versions around and asking which file is current, you're trying to build a recruitment system. You're just doing it in the wrong tool.