Oklahoma Baptist University completely transformed their employment application and hiring process – resulting in 2x faster application processing and a cost savings of 56%.

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Dr. Heath A. Thomas became Oklahoma Baptist University’s president in 2020, focusing on how their teams could continue to “move OBU forward.” This initiative aligns with the university’s mission of preparing students to become agents of change. When Vice President of Technology Josh Shoffner joined the university in 2022, he found an institution in the midst of transformative changes.

However, Shoffner quickly identified a significant challenge: manual, paper-based processes were holding them back.

Starting with their hiring and other business processes, OBU embarked on a digital transformation that would ultimately spread through many departments across campus, changing how they handle everything from employment applications to event management. Most importantly, they’ve created efficient, secure, and organized processes while making the most of their budget. These updated processes better fit their needs, resulting in more positive experiences for their staff.

The Challenge

When Shoffner joined OBU, he encountered stressed teams struggling to keep track of the countless tasks and processes in their daily work. Their hiring process was cumbersome, causing frustration for their team. Additionally, with Shoffner’s focus on cybersecurity, the university’s hiring process raised security concerns.

Manual, time-consuming processes

Candidates need to download PDFs, fill them out, scan or photograph the paper, and send them in via email.

• Why this matters: This created a frustrating hiring experience for candidates and projected an outdated image of the university.

Applications often got lost in email threads or ended up in junk folders due to applicants emailing them directly.

• Why this matters: Their small HR team wasted valuable time searching for and organizing applications in their inbox.

Security vulnerabilities

Applicants transmitted sensitive employment and personal information via unsecured email.

• Why this matters: This unprotected file sharing process posed risks of data exposure.

The combined effect of these challenges was taking its toll, and Shoffner knew that a change needed to be made. OBU began searching for software that would address these challenges and a few additional requirements.

Why Cognito Forms?

Having experienced success with Cognito Forms at his previous company, Shoffner knew the form builder could meet their requirements. But the decision went beyond familiarity. Cognito Forms offered several key benefits, making it the clear choice for OBU.

Enterprise-level features without the enterprise price tag

• The Cognito Forms Enterprise plan provided a robust return on investment with clear, transparent pricing.
• No long-term contract was needed to begin using the software.

Robust security compliance

• Secure file upload capabilities ensured the safe transmission of sensitive information.
• End-to-end encryption was a must for OBU, along with encrypting data at rest with 256-bit encryption for sensitive data such as SSN and other PII.
• The ability to use third-party payment integrations to remain PCI-compliant was important, so OBU didn’t need to take on that burden.

Flexibility and customization

• OBU could achieve high levels of form customization and create complex workflows without coding.
• Integration with Microsoft Power Automate provided a seamless connection to SharePoint for document management, providing them with more versatility in their processes.

The platform’s combination of enterprise capabilities and an intuitive experience made it the perfect choice for OBU’s online forms. “Cognito Forms let us be a lot more versatile,” explained Shoffner. They could now move forward with modernizing their processes while staying within budget and improving security – all without sacrificing flexibility or ease of use.

The Solution & Implementation

Using Cognito Forms, OBU implemented a comprehensive set of employment applications and HR processes that increased data security, streamlined their processes, and saved them money. Rather than simply digitizing their PDF forms, they took the opportunity to reimagine their entire workflow.

Their applications & workflows include:

Simple management of open positions

Integrated Lookup fields pull a list of open positions directly from a master form, while also automatically selecting the correct hiring manager.

• Impact: Their HR team doesn’t need to manually update multiple application forms when positions change, reducing their workload.

Secure document collection

File upload fields securely collect, store, and transmit sensitive employment and personal information.

• Impact: The security risk of unsecured email attachments is now eliminated, keeping confidential applicant information safe.

Multi-step approval workflows

Custom Workflows were built to streamline each application’s review and approval process, automatically sending email notifications at the appropriate times to both the hiring and HR manager.

• Impact: Staff can now track the status of applications in real time, eliminating needless status inquiries.

Power Automate integration

Documents are automatically routed to the correct SharePoint location, using the Microsoft Power Automate integration.

• Impact: They eliminated manual document management tasks and employee confusion by automatically sending applications and applicant information to one central location.

Implementation Approach

A team member, with no coding experience, was selected by Shoffner to set up the forms. They took a thoughtful, phased approach to roll out their new system:

1. Initial form creation and basic workflow setup
2. Testing period with key stakeholders
3. Process refinement and stakeholder feedback
4. Integration setup and full rollout

The ease of implementation meant OBU could focus on getting the process right rather than struggling with the technical setup. “Get in Cognito Forms, you’ll see for yourself how easy it is to create a form and customize it,” shares Shoffner.

Template

Employment Application with Connected Job Openings List

• Easily manage open positions
• Securely collect files
• Automatically notify people involved in the workflow

Use this Template

Results & Impact

Since implementing Cognito Forms, OBU has transformed its manual processes into efficient digital workflows, leading to significant operational improvements across campus.

Cost savings of 56%

At the end of the day, the university saw cost savings of about 56% when comparing their new Cognito Forms Enterprise plan to their previous form-builder. This cost reduction allowed them to allocate funds in their budget elsewhere, increasing the impact of their technology department.

Improved data security

By moving away from email-based document collection, 100% of applicant PII is encrypted and secure. The HR team now manages applicant information through secure file uploads and automated document routing, protecting confidential information and eliminating any risk of data breaches.

2x faster application processing time

OBU has eliminated lost applications and simplified their inbox by automatically routing applicant documents to SharePoint. With their digital applications and standardized workflows in one place, the team increased their efficiency by processing applications 2x faster than before.

Increased team satisfaction

Staff members across departments expressed relief at having modern, reliable systems that reflected their professional standards and provided visibility into their processes. Their modernization effort aligned with Dr. Thomas’s vision of moving OBU forward and created a positive ripple effect throughout the institution.

Best Practices Learned

Through OBU’s successful implementation, Shoffner and his team developed effective strategies for converting manual processes into efficient digital workflows. Their key insight? Simply digitizing a paper form isn’t enough; the entire process needs reimagining.

"You had it on paper because that’s how paper has to work,” explains Shoffner. “We had a moment of thinking, ‘Okay, this digital form is now different. What else do we want this to do?’”

Their streamlined process now follows four essential steps:

1. Build the basic digital structure based on the old form’s fields.
2. Identify past frustrations and process goals with key stakeholders involved in the process.
3. Customize the new, digital form to address past frustrations and process goals.
4. Evaluate whether the new solution truly meets your objectives or needs a complete redesign.

This approach has proven successful for their teams, and now OBU’s tech services team uses this framework when helping other departments build their own forms and workflows in Cognito Forms.

Up Next

With HR and business processes running smoothly through Cognito Forms, OBU is setting its sights on new opportunities for digital transformation across campus. The Academic leadership has shown great interest in expanding their use of Cognito Forms beyond their current graduation and repeated course applications.

“It’s just going to continue to evolve,” says Shoffner. His team is seeing increased interest in payment-enabled event forms, and academic departments are exploring new ways to improve student-facing processes. The platform’s versatility continues to open doors for innovation across campus.

What started as an initiative to modernize hiring and specific business processes has become a campus-wide movement toward more efficient, secure, and user-friendly systems. As OBU continues to move forward, Cognito Forms remains a key tool in its strategic technology vision.

Modernize Your Institution’s Workflows

Are you struggling with manual processes, paper forms, or outdated systems in your educational institution or HR department? Cognito Forms enables you to build custom digital forms, secure your data, automate your workflow, and integrate with your existing systems – all without complex setup or code.

Join Oklahoma Baptist University and hundreds of other educational institutions in processing forms 2x faster with our intuitive form builder. Whether you’re managing employment applications or academic processes, you can start creating professional, branded forms in minutes.