Selecteev vs. Microsoft Forms: Which Tool is Right for You?

Finding the right online form to collect applications can be the difference between getting high-quality responses and low-quality ones. 

With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to determine which platform truly delivers maximum value for your investment.

Two such heavyweights, Selecteev and Microsoft Forms, have strong arguments. But look under the hood and you’ll soon realize how Selecteev outpaces Microsoft Forms in nearly every arena that counts when organizing a call for application or managing a business plan competition.

In this article, we take a look at how both these form builders compare so that you can find the ideal one for your application processes.

Selecteev vs Microsoft Forms: Main features explained

1. Data Ownership and Control

Data is a precious commodity in today’s age.

That’s why the ability to maintain complete ownership and control over your information is priceless. 

With Selecteev, you have full data transparency as your data belongs to you. Forms, submissions, and analytics insights live in your hands alone. 

With European data centres and SOC 2 compliance, data integrity is central to Selecteev’s mission. Microsoft Forms, on the other hand, can create data ownership uncertainty as the servers are located in the US.

As a Microsoft service, your data becomes part of its ecosystem. While Microsoft claims not to use your data for marketing or advertising, its legal specifics remain murky.

2. Tailored User Experiences

One size rarely fits all.  That’s especially true when managing an application process across diverse stakeholders like employees, customers, partners, and recruits.

Selecteev empowers you to customize forms for different audiences. 

Conditional logic, personalized communication, and role-based permissions let you curate unique experiences for each group.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Forms promotes a more generic approach. All respondents see the same standardized forms with limited tailoring available.

3. Robust Security Protections

When collecting sensitive applicant information, security is paramount.

That’s why Selecteev employs encrypted data transfers, two-factor authentication, and Single Sign On (SSO) integrations. The data is encrypted at rest and backed-up on two different locations.

In comparison, Microsoft Forms has faced past criticism over lax security controls. These include unencrypted data storage and transfers. 

While Microsoft has since improved security, concerns linger over Forms’ hyper-scale approach versus Selecteev’s specialized focus on security.

4. Specialized in calls for applications

Do you need a platform that can handle complex application flows which further requires specialized tools built for recruiting and admissions?

Selecteev has your back: It goes beyond basic forms to handle critical recruitment tasks like role-based portals, automated scoring, and bulk candidate communications.

By tapping into Selecteev’s purpose-built toolset, you streamline the end-to-end application journey from start to finish.

However, Microsoft Forms focuses primarily on general surveys. If you attempt to force-fit Forms into managing complex applications processes, it tends to create a clunky, disjointed experience.

Hence, Microsoft Forms can only be used for general purposes rather than specialised one.

5. Superior Customer Support

When issues arise, you need help faster than you can lookup an FAQ.

That’s the benefit of Selecteev’s dedicated customer support team which is ready to assist you via live chat, email, or phone.

At Selecteev, customer success is personal. You can expect speedy resolutions when you need help in optimizing your workflows, resolving technical hiccups or anything else.

In comparison, Microsoft Forms relies heavily on self-service through its static help documentation. 

While you can find answers, wading through them can be a slow and time consuming process, especially when you need quick guidance.

6. Branding Flexibility and Seamless UX

First impressions matter. That’s why Selecteev lets you customize forms with your branding to complement your website and amplify your organization’s identity.

It ensures flexibility, keeping the experiences on-brand so that users and applicants engage with your organization alone.

With your own domain name and logo on forms, the applicant journey flows seamlessly and stays polished from start to finish.

Microsoft Forms, on the other hand, retains the Microsoft aesthetic throughout. 

Limited branding and customization flatten the experience, sending users offsite and diluting your messaging. 

7. Team Collaboration and Approval Workflows

Hiring top talent takes time and effort.

Keeping this in mind, Selecteev enhances the recruitment process by enabling collaborative team reviews. It offers custom roles and permissions for precise control over the application access. 

Team members can review and comment on applications, and its approval workflows ensure each application receives a thorough review. 

By centralizing applications and feedback, Selecteev allows for a holistic and calibrated hiring decision. 

Microsoft Teams, however, neither allows multiple approval levels nor has an in-built workflow process. You have to use a third-party tool for multiple approvals and create your own workflow using macros or scripts.

8. Evaluation Funnel for Quality Check

Selecteev’s evaluation tools offer automated, configurable scoring systems for effective applicant evaluation and filtration. 

Applications meeting specific score thresholds progress automatically, while those falling short are filtered out. 

Custom questionnaires and assessments ensure further focus on necessary skills, allowing for a refined talent funnel where only the best candidates emerge in the final rounds. 

Microsoft Forms, however, lacks native scoring and the robust evaluations needed for high-volume hiring. 

For example, it does not allow you to create criteria for each question in your application form or filter out applications that do not meet your score.

9. High Volume Management

Selecteev’s enterprise-grade architecture readily adapts to fluctuating applicant volumes, turning hiring surges from a challenge to an opportunity. 

Its cloud infrastructure prevents server overloads, while its bulk actions and automated scoring allow for easy high-volume management.

Selecteev ensures hiring velocity and quality persist even in high-demand periods, unlike Microsoft Forms which can struggle under heavy applicant loads. 

10. Automated Messaging

With Selecteev, you can send automated notifications, reminders and emails to applicants, team members and evaluators at various stages of the application process.

Moreover, you can create custom messages, create templates for the frequently used ones and schedule them at a later date as well.

All of these features help you streamline your application process and build relationships with the people involved.

With Microsoft Forms, while you can send automated messages like Selecteev, you cannot customise them, schedule them or create etmplates. 

11. Analytics and Reporting

For those who value data-driven decision-making, Selecteev delivers the depth of metrics needed to optimize for hiring top talent.

It provides visual analytics and custom reports to help you track form performance, monitor bottlenecks, pinpoint drop-offs, identify top sources, and quantify lead quality.

Robust analytics transforms data points in the applications into actionable strategies to guide your recruiting and admissions efforts.

While Microsoft Forms offers basic analytics and reporting features, they pale in comparison to Selecteev as it lacks custom reporting or visualizations.

The Superior Choice

When it comes to finding the top online form builder for streamlined applicant management, Selecteev checks all the boxes and is a better alternative to Microsoft Forms.

With robust security, automation-enabled workflows and proactive support, Selecteev creates application flows suited to the needs of your organization. 

Sign up with Selecteev today and get the best responses to your application process as per your custom requirements.

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