Making life easy for contractors
KeyApps allows contractors to manage their work on their mobile – any time, anywhere
Advance Contracting and JMK Group are among those who have signed up to a new mobile contracting app from mobile applications specialist KeyApps. iContractors allows contractors to carry out a range of tasks on the move, such as shift management and expenses and tax calculations, and is about to be updated to include a timesheet management tool.
Tim Hunt, managing director of Advance, told Recruiter that he believes the app will take the company “even closer” to its contractors and employees, while JMK’s MD Sergei Ermack reckons it will speed up and streamline processes, and allow contractors to engage with the company in a more timely manner.
“The main benefit of integrating [the timesheet management tool] into our app is that it will allow users to save their submission even if they have no internet connection,” Ermack said.
John Edwards, mobile software consultant and team lead at KeyApps and a former recruiter at Elan IT/Experis, told Recruiter that this approach underpins all of KeyApps’ products.
“It’s the advantage of having a mobile app rather than a mobile site,” he said. “The major drawback to some other mobile solutions on the market is the reliance on an internet connection. Developing native mobile applications for the biggest platforms seemed like a no-brainer to us.
“Apps are easy to use, make the most of device hardware and, most importantly, allow you to view content in the same format even if you go out of a 3G or WiFi area,” he added.
“If you want to browse jobs while commuting, in front of the television or at lunch, our apps allow you to do so. You’re no longer stuck to your laptop or in a WiFi hotspot.”
Edwards said the company is working in partnership with a number of leading umbrella businesses on bespoke application technology for contractors.
Ermack said it is essential for a company like JMK to have a mobile presence to connect with contractors on the device that they use most often. “Mobile apps offer added value and the accessibility that is now expected by mobile users who want to be able to make the most of technology at their finger tips,” he said.
KeyApps was set up by MD Paul Dawkins who has more than 30 years’ experience in the IT industry and believed that the recruitment industry wasn’t making the most of the mobile revolution.
Alongside its involvement in the contractor market, KeyApps works with agencies and direct recruiters on mobile strategies.
More than 30 recruitment agencies have signed up to its mobile solutions, including The Apprentice 2012 winner Ricky Martin’s new company Hyper Recruitment Solutions.
