Advanced Insights: How to report numerical custom field answers

How to report numerical custom field answers as the text answers you recognise in Jobtrain.

If you are reporting on custom fields or if the answer format is a dropdown, checklist or radio button, the system stores the answers as a number - this number is the ID of the answer option. This way of storing data is required to give you the flexibility to add the answer choice options you desire. However, it doesn’t make a lot of sense in your report.

Take this question for example. The applicant can choose from these 3 answers:

But in your report you will get an outcome like this:

To remedy this, first you need to work out the answer for each number in the red box.

To do this, find a job record in Jobtrain that used an application form with this question and has a good range of candidates against the job. Then find a candidate who has answered the question and not their answer. You will need to find one candidate for each answer option.

Then filter on that job within your report (using job reference or ID) and also add either the candidate’s name (or their unique ID number) to the report. Like so:

By matching the Candidate details in the report to Jobtrain, you can work out what each of the custom field answer ID numbers equates to.

• 0 = Not answered
• 409 = Yes
• 410 = No
• 411 = Prefer not to say

Now that this is known, you can use a calculation to create a label. Click here:

Then:

1. Type a label in the label box
2. Click Case
3. Click When
4. Select Field, then Custom Field Candidate Answer
5. Select Operator, then Equal
6. Click Add
7. Add 409 in the blank box to the left of the Add button highlighted green, then click the green Add button (note this is a different Add button than step 6)
8. Then moving to the ‘Then’ section, type Yes in the blank field to the left of the Add button highlighted green then click the green Add button
9. Click Save
10. Repeat steps 2 – 9 until you have finished all statements (one for each option)
11. Click End
12. Click Validate
13. Click Save

It should look like this:

You will find your calculation here on the left in views and sources as a red folder:

You can now drag this item into the columns in your report.

You can then hide the original column with the numbers: