ERE.net

If a startup can land $3 million in angel investment in a market like this, it’s a company worth watching even if it is a close DNA relative to Facebook and LinkedIn and only a gene or two removed from what Jobster once hoped to be. keep reading…

Like prospectors during the gold rush, recruiters everywhere are flocking to social networks in search of hires. But like the experience of many during the gold rush, getting results in not easy. Reaping the benefits of social networking requires engaging with those networks. There’s plenty being written about how to do so, but to know if what you’re doing is working, consider the following metric:

EE = (1-N) X (R/P)

Where:

EE = Effectiveness of Engagement, expressed as a percentage

Engagement, in this context, means getting ready access to employees’ networks, regardless of the mechanism for doing so. Virtually 100% of employees have social networks and connect to them using different means (networking sites are not the only way to do so), but only a certain proportion of employees may be willing to give an employer access, by either making the contacts available or agreeing to forward job postings to them.

N = The proportion (%) of employee networks that an employer or recruiter has engaged with.
R = The average number of qualified referrals received per month per employee
P = The average number of postings accepted by employees to their networks per month

So if an employer is engaged with 10% (N) of employees’ social networks, and on average each employee accepts 3 (P) postings per month, and produces 2 (R) qualified referrals:

EE = (1-10%) X (2/3) = 60%

If the same results are achieved by engaging with 50% of employee networks, EE = 33%

Engagement is more effective the larger the number of qualified referrals received for the same proportion of employee networks an employer is engaged with. However, this is not a bottomless pit. Research shows that beyond a certain threshold of postings, the volume of qualified referrals starts to flatten out and even reduce.

Reality Meets Hype keep reading…

Article and research by Charles Handler and Mark C. Healy

For the last seven years, Rocket-Hire has surveyed users of web-based pre-employment assessment tools, so we again asked members of the ERE community to tell us about their usage of typical pre-employment screening, testing, and assessment programs. As with years past, we zeroed in on the pulse of pre-employment assessment usage. And in an increasing climate of legal scrutiny for testing, and the hoopla surrounding the Ricci case, we decided to focus the content of today’s article on two issues that are inexorably linked: Implications of evaluating one’s assessment strategy, and attention to relevant legal issues.

Those interested in obtaining a copy of our full report can email us (chandler@rocket-hire.com) and we will be sure to send you a full copy once it has been completed.Or, check out an upcoming Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership, probably the October 2009 issue, where we’ll have an in-depth analysis.

A Word About our Methodology
This year, 148 recruitment and hiring professionals completed the Rocket-Hire Online Assessment Usage Survey. Respondents were evenly representative of recruiters, recruiting leaders, HR executives, business owners, and hiring managers, and featured a wide variety of organizations and hiring situations.

Use of Assessment Tools
Overall usage of assessment tools was generally about the same as in past years — roughly two-thirds of respondents. Of that two-thirds, 54% are deploying both paper-based and online assessment, and 30% are using exclusively online assessment. The remaining employ only paper-based tools. Most use a variety of different assessment methods, with the majority using between one and three different types. The table below reveals the proportion of firms using various common tools.

Usage rates of common assessment tools

keep reading…

When many organizations are faced with the need to cut labor costs, the approaches taken are generally unscientific and poorly researched. Many simply do what other organizations acting before them have already done. The decision-making seems almost whimsical, with the final option selection process akin to throwing darts.

The end result of such whimsical action is well established; most labor-cost-containment strategies seem to be effective in the short term, but fail big time when it comes to meeting longer-term goals. It’s not uncommon for cost-containment strategies to negatively impact the organization long term, as the costs of containment paired with the cost of recovery exceed the short-term savings produced. That said, cash flow can be difficult to manage and even as the economy starts to recover, chances are organizations are going to need labor cost-containment options. If you want a more effective and well-thought-out approach, read on. keep reading…

Here is what is going on around the ERE.net world this week:

• On Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. ET over on our sister site, FordyceLetter.com, we will be premiering another brand new episode of Fordyce TV. On this week’s episode, Lynn Hazan, recruiter and professional storyteller, will show how to use storytelling techniques to better communicate with candidates, clients, and new business propects. Hear examples of when stories made a difference in her recruiting practice, and begin to consider how to make effective use of your own recruiting stories.
• On Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET, sign up for this week’s free webinar – Adjusting Talent Acquisition to a Changing Operations Model, led by Robin Ritter, Director of Talent & learning Systems at General Mills and Kristy Sidlarm Managing Consultant at Futurestep. In early 2008 General Mills created a talent initiative that optimized candidate quality, streamlined recruiting operations, and delivered the talent needed for change. This webinar will draw lessons from the initiative and provide insight to help you address key questions that drive the success of a challenging talent acquisition effort.
• This Friday is the last day to take advantage of the $200 early bird discount for ERE Expo 2009 Fall. This year’s expo will be taking place from September 9 – 11 at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, FL, and will feature nearly 30 speakers from companies like Adidas, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, American Cancer Society, Fifth Third Bank, Intel, the EEOC, Fluor, Sodexo and many more! And ERE subscribers can save an additional $200 by using the product code FL09ERE when registering.

Have a great week, and feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below.