Yello for New Zealand Basic Edition — Tips for Small Businesses

Getting the Most from Yello for New Zealand Basic EditionYello for New Zealand Basic Edition is designed to give small businesses, event teams, and HR departments an affordable, straightforward way to manage candidate sourcing, event check-in, and simple recruitment workflows. This article walks through the product’s core features, practical setup steps, workflow tips, and real-world examples so you can get the most value from the Basic Edition without paying for features you don’t need.

What the Basic Edition includes (core capabilities)

• Candidate profiles and resume storage — capture basic candidate details and CVs.
• Event check-in and badge printing — run career fairs or hiring events with fast attendee check-in.
• Simple job posting & application tracking — create positions, collect applications, and move candidates between basic stages.
• Email templates and communication tracking — send standardized messages and log replies.
• Reporting dashboards (basic) — view summary counts for applications, hires, and event attendance.

Quick setup checklist (first 60–90 minutes)

1. Create your admin account and set your organisation name, timezone (New Zealand), and holiday/working-day settings.
2. Add core team members and assign roles (admin, recruiter, event staff).
3. Create a standard job posting template: title, location (include city + NZ), core responsibilities, and minimum requirements.
4. Set up two or three consistent application stages (e.g., Applied → Phone Screen → Interview → Offer).
5. Prepare common email templates: application received, interview invite, rejection.
6. Configure your event check-in settings (badge fields, printer setup, onsite QR codes).
7. Import existing candidate CSV or resumes so historical applicants are searchable.

Best practices for job postings and candidate flow

• Use NZ-specific language and legal clarity: specify work eligibility, required qualifications, and whether an NZ work visa is acceptable.
• Keep job descriptions scannable: use short bullets for responsibilities and must-have skills.
• Standardise stages and tag usage so teammates understand candidate status at a glance (examples: “phone-screened”, “needs-portfolio”, “offer-accepted”).
• Automate routine messages: use the Basic Edition’s email templates for confirmations and interview invites to reduce repetitive work.
• Regularly archive stale postings and candidates to keep dashboards fast and focused.

Running events and career fairs efficiently

• Pre-register attendees online and use Yello’s QR check-in to speed lines onsite.
• Print simple badges with name, role-of-interest, and a QR that links to the candidate profile.
• Assign staff to scan interest levels and tag candidates immediately (e.g., “hire-now”, “follow-up”).
• After the event, prioritise follow-ups: send a rapid “thanks + next steps” email within 48 hours to top prospects.

Communication & candidate experience

• Keep timelines clear in every communication: indicate expected response windows (e.g., “You’ll hear from us within 7 working days”).
• Personalise high-touch messages for shortlisted candidates — small notes increase accept rates.
• Use the Basic Edition’s logging to record call notes and candidate preferences so any team member can pick up the conversation smoothly.
• Be transparent about salary bands and benefits where possible; lack of clarity increases drop-off.

Reporting: what to watch and why

• Track time-to-fill by role to identify bottlenecks in interviews or approvals.
• Monitor source-of-hire so you know which events or job boards are giving ROI in New Zealand.
• Use event attendance vs. hires to measure recruitment event effectiveness.
• Keep an eye on candidate drop-off rates between stages to improve messaging or screening criteria.

Integrations and data hygiene (practical tips)

• Regularly export backups of candidate data and job histories.
• Use consistent naming conventions for locations and job titles (e.g., “Auckland — Customer Support” rather than variations).
• If you use calendar apps or email providers, link them so interviews and communications sync; this reduces scheduling confusion.
• Periodically purge duplicates and merge profiles to avoid fragmented histories.

Real-world scenario: small Auckland startup hiring a support rep

1. Post a concise listing mentioning “Auckland-based, NZ work-eligibility required.”
2. Use a short pre-screen form asking about availability, start date, and right-to-work.
3. Run a small campus event using Yello check-in; tag interested prospects as “high-interest.”
4. Use an automated interview invite template and schedule phone screens within seven days.
5. Select top candidates, hold one structured interview round, and send an offer with a clear response window.

Result: faster time-to-offer, higher candidate engagement from timely follow-up, and clearer event ROI tracking.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Too many custom stages — keep workflows simple in the Basic Edition.
• Inconsistent tagging — establish a short tag glossary for your team.
• Delayed follow-up after events — set reminders to email within 48 hours.
• Poor data hygiene — assign someone to monthly clean-up tasks.

When to consider upgrading from Basic Edition

• You need advanced sourcing automation, predictive candidate matching, or deep analytics.
• You want multi-round interview scorecards and structured assessment workflows.
• You need richer integrations with large ATS/HRIS platforms or custom APIs.
• You run high-volume hiring events and require advanced onsite logistics and analytics.

Final tips — small habits that add up

• Batch email tasks and set template variations for common scenarios.
• Use tags consistently and keep the number of stages minimal.
• Follow up quickly after events; speed is a big differentiator in NZ’s competitive talent market.
• Keep your reporting simple and review it monthly to spot trends.

If you want, I can convert this into a one-page checklist for your team, draft NZ-specific templates (email and job posting), or create a short onboarding script for event staff.