For now, let me give you some of the highlights.

This is all based on a survey Bersin & Associates did of talent acquisition professionals, HR practitioners, and recruiters from organizations of all sizes across all industries; the final count was 320 responses. The purpose of this survey was to obtain opinions from talent acquisition customers about the performance of their primary talent acquisition systems, to obtain information on customer satisfaction, implementation challenges, and to identify industry trends.

Time to Deploy

Through our research, we found that the average time for implementation (click on the graph to enlarge it) ranged from three months to more than a year. Since the talent acquisition market is very mature and many companies have implemented talent acquisition systems several times, the majority of organizations (36%) were able to implement this system in three to six months and few organizations took longer than a year for implementation.

Challenges to Successful Deployment

Before an organization implements a talent acquisition system, they need to understand and evaluate all of the potential challenges that may occur during deployment. While the majority of organizations that we spoke to during our qualitative interviews expressed frustration with the solution providers during implementation, many of these obstacles are a result of the lack of preparation and planning from the organization itself. Organizations need to standardize processes in their talent acquisition process before deploying technology. Many organizations cited the lack of a well-defined process and process changes as the top challenge during implementation. We recommend that an organization carefully review best practices in implementation and use initial benchmarks before embarking down this path.

The most common challenge that organizations face during implementation is the system’s support for all of the organization’s requirements. Similar to other talent management systems, early adopters of technology typically implemented the basic features during the implementation period. Today’s talent acquisition systems support many advanced features and can support more requirements. There is enough self-configuration and solution provider configuration options to support these hiring requirements. As a result, in our research few organizations cited “the system is too hard to use” as a top challenge.

One challenge that companies should consider during selection is the “right cultural fit” of the solution provider. During implementation, the provider and organization act as partners during this process to work together to meet requirements, roll out the system, and train employees on using the system. In this respect, the organization needs reassurance that their provider understands their business requirements and will truly act as a partner during this process.

Additional Costs

Most organizations need to set aside additional budgeting for training, configuration, and services that are often associated with implementation. Ask about additional costs not only during your solution provider evaluations but also during customer reference interviews.

The majority of organizations indicated that the amount of additional costs were minimal compared to what they expected, while 20% indicated more than expected and no additional costs. One area of concern is the 12% of companies that “don’t know” about the additional costs. Organizations and talent acquisition professionals especially should be fully aware of what they are spending on these systems in order to show the value and ROI or any discrepancies.

Integration

Integration is an essential component of talent acquisition systems. Best practice organizations consider integration during the implementation stages. Some solution providers provide integration toolkits to handle data structures and make a more seamless process. More commonly, integration should be examined on a case-by-case basis and needs to be custom-built depending on the needs of the organization.

Several years ago, the majority of organizations were not considering integration when selecting and implementing talent acquisition systems. They were making decisions without thinking about a more strategic view of talent. If integration is done correctly and can easily transfer data, organizations do not need to consider one large platform but rather individual systems that can work together. Unfortunately, integration is not a seamless process for most organizations and can cause problems for organizations that did not consider transferring this data during implementation. Today, organizations seem to be more mature in their view of identifying, developing, and retaining talent but still are not making integrating various systems a top priority. This is evident in the number of “N/A” responses with satisfaction in integration (see the graph, click it to enlarge). We recommend that organizations consider their current HRMS, talent management providers, third-party recruiting providers, Outlook, and social media when implementing their talent acquisition system.

Organizations can solve most of the challenges with integration if they begin this process during the implementation timeframe with a full team to support them including the implementation team and additional training and support.

Delivery Models

Although many of the solution providers offer multiple models, the majority of companies we research in both of our qualitative and quantitative survey results use an SaaS delivery model. Seventy-eight percent of companies access their talent acquisition over the Internet where the data is hosted externally, while only 22 percent have the ATS installed locally and running behind their organization’s firewall. The three main industries that have systems hosted internally are banking/finance, aerospace, and technology. These industries have high security needs and need to have more sensitivity around data privacy. As a result, they can not afford to take any chances in hosting these systems over the web.

SaaS has many benefits for both mid-sized and enterprise customers including affordability and scalability, but organizations need to perform due diligence and ask the following questions when implementing their systems:

1. Is there a license fee cost up front? Although SaaS allows for regular payments, some providers require a large amount of money and commitment upfront.
2. Is the data readily available? Organizations need to make sure they have all the information they need on their solution provider’s data center.
3. Internet availability? Does your organization have Internet access for every employee in the organization?
4. Does your provider offer a free trial? Many SaaS providers will offer a 30-day trial.

Global Implementation

As companies become more global in scope, implementing a talent acquisition system across multiple countries requires additional planning and support. Global implementation of a talent acquisition system can create a new set of challenges for organizations. In order to overcome obstacles such as localization and data privacy, we recommend that organizations understand both their global objectives and their local needs for each county they will be rolling out the system. Also, organizations should expect a longer implementation time when rolling out the system to various locations in order to address various across different geographical regions. Some of these global implementation challenges include:

• Differences with labor markets
• Differences in technology adoption
• Security issues/data privacy issues
• Translation resources
• Compliance and legal issues
• Gaining support from local offices

Despite these challenges, organizations will find great value in implementing a global system. Some of the benefits for organizations to implement a global system include:

• Standard quality of hire
• More consistency in the recruitment process
• Reduced costs using one system
• Increased reporting capabilities
• Increased communication

Organizations also need to plan for the future and consider what decisions and choices they will be making around their global workforce. How many languages will they need to support? Where will they expand? What support will be available? What is the level of technology adoption from region to region? Organizations should create planning committees and include representatives from each country to participate prior to implementation.

Making the Business Case

Implementing a talent acquisition system can provide results in streamlining the recruitment process and improving overall efficiency. McDonald’s UK is one example of a company that moved from a paper-based process to an online recruitment system. Shortly after, McDonald’s experienced a 30% reduction in 90-day turnover.

Although most organizations like McDonald’s UK will be able to measure this efficiency shortly after going live with their system, within the first few months of implementation, organizations need to continually evaluate and measure this efficiency to make a case for this system. The most common efficiencies experienced with the implementation of a talent acquisition system include time savings and compliance, two critical drivers of an organization’s decision to automate.

In the aftermath of ERE’s successful social recruiting summit two weeks ago, we might assume that talent acquisition professionals are on the cutting-edge of the latest and greatest in recruitment technology. Many best practice organizations are turning their backs on traditional sourcing tools in favor of mobile recruiting, social networking, and search engine optimization. One thing is certain: the talent acquisition system market is one of dramatic change and innovation. Both during strong and weak economies, investment in talent acquisition systems remains a priority for best practice companies looking to gain competitive advantage and secure a solid talent pipeline of both active and passive candidates.

When it comes to technology, companies have a unique advantage in today’s economy. They are in a position to ask more from their current technology providers and competitive options abound. Solution providers are responding by offering more features both through product development and strategic partnerships with companies such as Jobs2Web and Jobfox.

Yet, such opportunities raise critical questions. Are more features truly better? Do companies need innovation or just improvements in existing features and functionality?

In March 2009, Bersin & Associates launched a research study about talent acquisition systems to answer these and many other questions. We conducted a survey to obtain opinions from talent acquisition customers about the performance of their primary talent acquisition systems. We also wanted to delve into customer satisfaction, implementation challenges, and general trends. The research initiative also included interviews and briefings with 17 talent acquisition vendors.

Highlights from this research will soon appear in our upcoming newsletter on talent acquisition.

Here’s a brief preview of what we found.

Traditional Improvements

Our research found that many organizations are not interested in advanced features available in talent acquisition systems. Organizations need to consider their unique hiring needs and overall talent processes before feeling pressured by the glitz and glam of today’s talent acquisition systems. Many companies want the basics — requisition management, improved user interface, applicant tracking, and search capabilities.

Improvements in ease of use and configurability remain a priority for the majority of organizations (see chart at the top of this article, or email me if you have trouble viewing it). Although not always a “must have,” every survey respondent identified enhanced search features as a priority. The good news is that many of the solution providers are focusing on search functionality and enhancing to give users the ability to search for duplicate candidates and to save searches.

Even though many organizations today operate on a global playing field, more than 20% of respondents said they were not currently interested in global capabilities such as multi-language support, time zone support, or localization and currency support.

Innovative Improvements

However, our research also found that some organizations, such as 7-Eleven, are eager to bring innovation to their talent acquisition processes and looking for technology to support search engine optimization, web 2.0 career sites, and social networking.

The use of social media has exploded in the talent acquisition arena over the past few years. While most solution providers avoided this area in the past, they are beginning to see customer demand in support for features leveraging video, social networking, and RSS feeds.

Forty-one percent of respondents indicated that Web 2.0 capabilities are a “must have” when it comes to advanced features. While Web 2.0 capabilities, particularly integration with social networking, are one way to improve employer branding, talent acquisition departments are also beginning to recognize the benefits of search engine optimization when improving the quality and volume of traffic to your corporate career site.

As today’s talent acquisition system market continues to evolve, solution providers are making dramatic changes to their product roadmaps in order to meet the current and future needs of their customers. Companies are looking to technology solution providers to act as partners rather than suppliers, and listen.

I’d welcome hearing what changes would you like to see from your talent acquisition system provider.

That’s data from the Bersin & Associates’ Workforce Planning survey (which a lot of people from ERE took earlier this year). Sixty-seven organizations, mainly in the U.S. and Canada, responded. Bersin partnered with the Newman Group.

The majority of workforce planning processes are owned by individual business leaders, and thus disjointed from recruiting and even HR. At many organizations, such as T-Mobile, talent acquisition directors expressed a strong demand for workforce planning, but the responsibility to lead this program lay with the benefactors of the data, the business unit leaders.

Workforce planning needs to be an integral part of the overall staffing and recruiting organization. In this capacity, talent acquisition should not only create interest around the topic; it should help drive the process.

In order to gain a seat at the table, talent acquisition needs to share in the level of ownership and accountability for workforce planning.

In strategic workforce planning processes (something I’m writing about in the June Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership), 43% of workforce planning efforts are conducted by recruiting and staffing. As a result, 64% are able to better plan recruiting and staffing needs. Companies that implement consistent workforce planning processes throughout their entire organization rely heavily on their talent acquisition departments.

They take a different approach and involve recruiting: 53% of these organizations indicated that workforce planning is conducted by recruiting and staffing. One key driver for workforce planning is to link recruitment, development, and training decisions to organizational goals. Without involvement and support from talent acquisition departments, organizations will not achieve this goal.

Companies such as T-Mobile and McKesson are stepping up to the plate by establishing a formal workforce planning process with a designated leader in order to achieve results. So, what exactly is workforce planning? How can it help organizations achieve these goals? And why should you care?

Workforce planning can help you strengthen and empower your role in the company by doing exactly what recruiters have been trying to do for the past 10 years: get a seat at the table. Workforce planning is a set of business processes which analyze the supply and demand of talent, ensuring that the organization has the right people in place to execute its overall business strategy. An effective workforce planning process allows you to:

• Understand current talent gaps
• Plan staffing and recruiting needs
• Help business leaders forecast revenue and operating budgets
• Drive business to partner with recruiting

Sounds simple? Don’t be fooled. Embracing the idea of workforce planning and implementing a strategic approach to your current and future workforce needs are two very different realities. Workforce planning fails when it lacks executive support, a clear methodology and business process, and the necessary tools and technology to execute the process. The workforce-planning process needs to correlate business strategies with workforce requirements. No easy task but one you should not ignore.

One important aspect to consider in workforce planning is your companies’ current level of maturity and the steps you need to take to become more strategic in your process. Mitzi Adwell of The Newman Group compares these different stages of workforce planning to driving a car. At the basic level, you are getting in your car and starting to drive with pretty clear direction of where you’re going — a staffing and headcount plan. At an intermediate level, you are looking in your rearview mirror to get a better understanding of the landscape around you (workforce analytics). At the advanced level, you are looking ahead and using your dashboard to gauge how you should proceed (strategic workforce planning with predictive modeling).

Stage One: Getting in Your Car

In the most basic level of workforce planning, companies are looking at current headcount in their organization. Some companies even take it one step further and look at forecasted vs. actual headcount in order to build staffing plans that close their talent gaps and keep them on target with their budgeted headcount. One challenge is that this level of workforce planning is often decentralized, viewing talent from the bottom up versus a top down view that prioritizes talent-sets from the most to the least critical to the business overall. This headcount analysis is performed in the individual business units and does not connect with the overall organizational business strategy.

More often than not, companies plan staffing and headcount on an “as-needed” basis when facing major external pressures or changes in workforce demographics. Volkswagen Group of America used this type of planning process when the company relocated its headquarters from Michigan to Virginia. Given that it planned to replace three-fourths of its workforce within a short timeframe, it was important to include a precise plan in short order to ensure the pipeline of talent and the timing of hires met its operating goals. Situational workforce planning like what Volkswagen did might help companies think about how to handle business plans with major talent implications. Of course the more you know and the earlier you know it, the more effective you can be at using more sophisticated means of workforce planning.

Stage Two: Looking In the Rearview Mirror

At the intermediate level, workforce planning looks at quantitative data analysis, including forecasted skills and competency needs. Companies look at a regular workforce profile with key data variables including demographic segment, compensation, turnover, and performance rating. Looking at historical trends of these variables and relationships between them helps companies to better understand their talent patterns and trends so they can incorporate that information into their talent plans going forward. Companies such as T-Mobile will rely heavily on scenario planning or “what-if” scenarios this year.

Scenario planning allows companies to prepare for different internal and external business conditions such as retirement, economic changes, and workforce demographic changes, and think through what strategies they will implement in order to overcome challenges they see through the ‘what if’ exercises.

Stage Three: Using Your Dashboard

While other levels of workforce planning inform business leaders about talent plans, a strategic workforce planning process integrates these plans with the organization’s business and financial planning. At this level, companies gain a deep understanding of their talent pipeline and how it aligns with the overall business plan of the company. Companies use technology to help map the talent needs and make more informed business decisions with cost implications.

How You Can Help Your Company?

Bersin & Associates, an industry research and advisory services company, is partnering with The Newman Group to publish a comprehensive research report on this topic. The goal of this study is to identify the current state of maturity in workforce planning processes, level of ownership, range of maturity in audiences served, processes included, and level of integration with other business planning processes.

We would love to hear from you. The survey contains 23 multiple-choice questions. Estimated completion time is 20 minutes. As a participant, you will receive a copy of the executive summary to be developed based on results of the survey and scheduled for release in March 2009. This is an opportunity to share what you know and receive great insight in return.

Twittering for Sourcing
We see it used at conferences. We read about it on our discussion boards. We might even be active “Tweeters” ourselves … but how effective is Twitter for sourcing and recruiting? Erika Hanson Brown recently joined the Twitter community and wants to know how it works in the recruiting world. John Kennedy is skeptical about Twitter. Although it can help save time when learning about a potential candidate, John relies on some advice he received years ago, “there are only three true productive tools in recruiting — the pen, the pad of paper, and the telephone.”

After reading several more responses to Erika, it is clear that John is in the minority. Twitter can be an effective tool if you follow the advice of Kelly Dingee and Mark Tortorici including search strings, and tying together SMS and social networking sites. If anyone is interested, you can check out Dennis Smith’s presentation on the Recruiting Road Show and tune in to ERE’s webinar series on November 5 for some tips and advice from Geoff Peterson.

ATS Wish List
Erica McNally wants to know what are your “must-haves” and your “nice-to-haves” when selecting your ATS. What’s on your “wish list”? Jake Stupak lists the following: scheduling for multi-users, resume parsing, email tracking, and candidate and position matching. Sylvia Dahlby astutely advises to identify your unique business requirements first. “The leading apps all have the basics” — think about what your company needs before creating your list. She recommends CareerXroads and HRchitect for additional information. (HRchitect, by the way, is doing a workshop in San Diego at ERE’s conference on “How to Save Your Current ATS and Get a Return on Your Investment.”)

I have to add The Newman Group (who will also be doing a session on HR systems at the Spring Expo) to that list since it has a wealth of knowledge in this arena. Dorothy Beach, unhappy with Vurv, has been very impressed with Avature’s Recruiting CRM tool as an ATS option. (I also sat on a demo last week with Michael Johnson and agree that it is worth checking out.) This makes me wonder…will CRM tools replace traditional ATS tools? What do you think? Would you take the leap?

Onboarding New Hires and The Buddy System
There are several programs that if implemented correctly can make onboarding strategies successful. Based on research and discussions, many companies would include the “buddy system” on that list. Laura Arnold is very interested in a program that would pair an internal employee with a new hire but wants a new name for “the buddy system.” Apparently, Laura is not alone. Several respondents use a variety of different names, including “Mentor Program.” Bryan Chaney also recommends “Internal Career Counselor” and “Coworker Coach” while Joann Robinson has used “New Hire Partner,” “Orientation Partner” and “Orientation Coach.”

I’m interested in knowing if any companies have been able to measure the success of their onboarding programs, more specifically the concept of a “mentor program.” Todd Raphael has an in-depth look at onboarding in the next Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership.

JobFox or Net-Temps?

Kathleen Coughlin wants to add a new job board to her list. Can anyone recommend JobFox or Net-Temps? Although Kathleen did not receive feedback on Net-Temps, JobFox (often considered the eHarmony of recruiting) has some work to do. Taryn Pfalzgraf has been satisfied with the customer service but feels that the process is too time-consuming. She recommends a “conditional trial membership” or “waiting a few months to see if they’ve ironed out their problems.” Kimberley Joyce would have to agree. As an Oracle-centric company, she was reassured that JobFox could meet her companies’ needs. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Among other complaints, they are unable to add different tools, languages, and functionality. Given this negative feedback, Eden Shaffer encourages Kathleen to consider Search Engine Marketing instead. What do you think?

Hiring a Virtual Recruiter/Sourcer and Unethical Competitors
These topics continue to dominate the discussion boards. We’d love to hear what you think about these critical and timely recruiting issues…

Problem solved? Not exactly … the conversation turned political and heated up this past week when Amanda Blazo and others recommended using an RPO firm operating in either the Philippines or India. Charles Hillman was left asking, “Why utilize an India based RPO when there are a ton of quality researchers right here in the USA that can do the job.” Jeff Altman responds with a call for patriotism…why aren’t we creating more jobs in the United States? Hope Blaythorne argued that we are in a global economy, and encouraged cooperation with overseas markets. While Josh Letourneau supported Jeff and noted that many of the responses in favor of outsourcing come from outsourcing vendors. According to Josh, “Arguing about whether offshoring is good or bad isn’t going to solve the problem — it’s overall job LOSS that is the issue (which comes in many forms), and I hope we can figure out a solution.”

Where do you stand on this issue? We would love to hear from you…

Unethical Competitors
Who knew recruiting could get so ugly?

Laura Nyp has a competitor who sends her great candidates who “ditch their interviews at the last minute without any warning.” Jill Gilliland, Paul Lipman, and Joseph Ray offer some simple advice that many others echo … stop working with them! Joseph Ray and Pam Claughton recommend doing your homework on both the client and the candidate. The reputation of a client can turn off a candidate before the interview process. Tracy McKenn and Jim Cargill want to know more … Is Laura sure the competitor is sending these candidates? What would be the motivation? How long have they been working together. We would love to hear an update, Laura!

Employer-paid Benefits
Tami Heyden wants to know what potential candidates would look for in a benefits package. What are the pros and cons of employee vs. employer-paid benefits? Peter Raloff’s company offers 80% of employer-paid benefits plus three weeks of vacation time … not too shabby for the D.C. area. However, Scott Robinson and Pam Claughton feel that companies can do better. Scott had a candidate who accepted a job where the employer paid 100%, in addition to country club membership, company cars, and flex time. Hmmm….are they hiring? Pam feels that 100% coverage is a “huge selling point.”

I Am Sensing a Freaking Out
Maureen Sharib is … from people in the industry. Times are tough and Maureen is noticing dramatic cuts in departments. I have been talking to companies that are “going back to basics” and cutting anything that doesn’t fall under recruiting basics (i.e, campus recruiting). Jim Constantine and Karla Baierl warn us of the negative impact of the media. “Keep your head down, deliver great value, and ride it out!” is Jim’s advice to staying afloat. Amanda Blazo would agree with Jim and shares a positive story in the construction industry. Maureen concludes by reminding us that “those recruiters that don’t embrace the fact that we’re in a sales business are gonna have a hard time.”

Monday’s Question of the Day
The discussion last week about keeping recruiting costs down is still hot this week … what’s your strategy?

Your Views on Video Resumes
It’s a question we see often on ERE discussion boards … are video resumes “just a trend?” Dianne Pierrot is looking for feedback that might be helpful for candidates rather than employers. After reading several posts on this topic, I think any vendor selling video resumes might be in trouble. Jeff Altman sums up the views of others when he writes “DON’T DO IT.” Jeff, Pam Claughton, and David Rees warn that video resumes can be dangerous for both candidates and employers. Not only are they time-consuming, but they expose candidates to unnecessary biases and leave employers at risk for violating EEO compliance. At HP, David Rees and other recruiters conducted all interviews over the phone to “reduce the influence of looks, dress, and the possibility that a disability might influence the decision.” On a more positive note, Paul Davenport feels the video can help employers identify skill sets for certain job roles such as field sales and marketing.

Monday’s Question of the Day
After reading a list of 10 ways to keep recruiting costs down, I wanted to hear what ERE members are doing in today’s economy to cut costs. Michael Finnell argues that now more than ever, recruiting goals need to align with overall business goals. Recruiters need to act more as consultants and work with hiring managers rather than outsource entire recruiting functions. Sound like a need for workforce planning during these tough times? Michael also recommends negotiating with your job boards for a better rate, and requesting referral fees from recruiting firms to use in your recruitment budget. Sounds like Rosita Cruz would agree with Michael, and offers some specific tips to cut costs including cutting benefits, turning to virtual workplaces, and automating phone messages. Josh Letourneau offers some comic relief on a sensitive topic and Michael Finnell closes his post with some encouragement: “Whatever you do, don’t give up!”

Should Corporate Recruiters Share Silver Medalists with Other Companies?
Sean Rehder thinks so. It can build strong relationships, and ties into an earlier ERE discussion about today’s recruiting field being more open than in the past. After a few heated posts and a little miscommunication, I think we found consensus … if a resume does not come from a TPR, “sure” — forward away. However, if a resume comes from a TPR, it is bad policy for a corporate recruiter to forward without the consent of the recruiter, and the recruiter who sent the resume is entitled to a fee. Rebecca DeBoer had a recent situation where her resume was passed over to another department and she was not informed. She asks, “why do people think our business is not for profit and that our bills are less at the end of the month than other businesss?”

Jobless Rate in CA: 7.7%
Maureen Sharib posts the “highest statewide unemployment rate since March 1996.” Danielle Canon brings the discussion to another level when asking how many of these individuals actually have degrees. Tessa Adler steps up to the plate by reaching out to the State Development Department to find out. They thought the question was very relevant and will provide us an update through Tessa soon. Although Jeff Altman argues that many of these jobs affect teachers, government workers, and manufacturing, Tessa learned that the mortgage and financial industries have been hit the hardest … not a huge surprise. In addition, CNAs and home workers have been heavily affected in California as nursing homes were losing money. One question Maureen brought up that I have also heard several times … is this recession different from past recessions because it is now impacting government hiring? What do you think?

Job Boards
Ah…the inevitable question of the week…what job boards are best? Dan Vaughn is joining a large insurance firm and wants to know what job boards will bring results in his industry. Are Monster and CareerBuilder worth it? Tim Davis and Scott Wilde recommend www.greatinsurancejobs.com. Scott also uses CareerBuilder. Denise Street-Roth is less enthusiastic about CareerBuilder and Monster. She has had success with closer.net but advises Dan to look beyond job boards. She contacts insurance-training schools, networks with insurance professionals and even real estate lawyers, professionals, and mortgage brokers. Good luck, Dan! Keep us posted….

• Non-compete clauses
• “Color tests”
• Internal recruiting
• Resume search/software tool
• Working from home
• Job board debate

Non-Compete Clause
Non-compete agreements are always a hot topic of debate on the ERE discussion boards. This week, Les Noonan wants assistance on updating his company’s non-compete clause. David Rees offers some practical advice: get a lawyer. Although not an advocate of non-competes, he understands that it can be a complex issue since most states have very different rules. He also wonders why “employers are willing to constrain the freedom of a departing employee for the purpose of protecting their financial interests.” Les agrees with David’s comments and clarifies his request. He is actually looking for advice on a non-solicitation agreement. He wants to protect the “time and money” his company has invested in their current clients. Seems like a fair request to David but Nick Cobb feels that companies need to focus more on retaining their current employees. Maureen Sharib directs our attention to a recent case in California that you might want to check out if you are facing similar challenges.

Wednesday’s Question of the Day
I wanted to know if anyone thinks “The Color Career Counselor,” CareerBuilder’s latest tool that links job choices to favorite colors, would benefit recruiting. David Rees does not feel that this tool is validated. “Can you imagine going to an interview for a career as a computer programmer and they ask you why you choose the profession and you say…’well…I have always loved the color green.’” He later takes the test and comes to the same conclusion. Paul Davenport agrees that it is just for fun, not based in reality. Stephanie Wolf disagrees and feels that this tool can benefit college students who may feel lost with a career decision. John Kennedy wants to know if there are any tests that can predict job-based personalities. You might want to read John Zappe’s article from August 13 on the topic. Just curious…did anyone else take the test?

Internal Sourcing
David Hafernik wants to know the general policy of “internal recruiting” in most companies. Can employers recruit away from another internal manager? Are there limits? Pam Claughton worked for a large bank that had strict rules around internal recruiting. Employees had to work for a certain amount of time before they could post their resume internally. However, recruiters had great success working with the hiring managers and their direct reports to locate candidates from direct competitors. Each employee was then rewarded with an employee referral bonus. JB Smith agrees with Pam and adds that “we posted all positions internally for the first seven days then posted for external candidates. Employees were still allowed to apply after externally posting.”

Resume Search/Software Tool
Amit N is looking to purchase “resume search software” that will search multiple job boards, and wants to know if anyone has suggestions. According to Ashley Schettler, the decision will depend on the specific industry. She recommends TalentHook for IT but needs a more effective tool for recruiting in health care. Ken Kimbrough disagrees. TalentHook is “superb” and should generate resumes for all industries. According to Ken, “if you had databases, sites, etc that you wanted to search, they would accommodate your desires without much hassle.” Carly Eriksen recommends AIRS Sourcepoint. Does anyone else have other suggestions? We would love to hear them!

Work From Home Jobs
This topic always interests me since I work from home! Mack Will is also interested in learning of any “legit work from home jobs other than virtual recruiting.” Apparently, this is a very popular nationwide topic. Tim Esse referenced a local CBS show that addressed the topic and Christy Grimske reminded us that Google’s “Rat Race Rebellion” publishes a weekly list of legit work from home jobs. Susan Carson and Cassandra Firnstah both shared success stories of a virtual advertising company run by a group of women, and a customer call center.

Monday’s Question of the Day
The debate on whether or not job boards are obsolete is still going strong! It’s not too late to post a comment.

Ravi Subramanian recommends hiring manager surveys and assessments. Michael Chernesky asks a very relevant question…who is accountable? Bonita Martin says recruiters and Steven Yeong says hiring managers. Joshua Letourneau offered some great insight based on his experiences. While many of his clients do measure quality of hire, their process often fails because of one of three problems. They don’t measure quality of hire beyond the first day; the hiring manager survey turns into a game since “recruiters are incentivized to make the survey look good”; or feuds spark between HR and the hiring manager. Josh’s solution to overcome these challenges lies in performance assessments that measure expected versus actual performance. Anyone out there having great success measuring QOH? Share your story; we would love to hear it.

Wednesday’s Question of the Day
Anna Patterson’s latest Internet search engine, Cuil, is backed by $33 million in venture capital and expected to outshine Google. I read negative reviews of Cuil and wanted to know if anyone is using it and seeing results. Glenn Gutmacher, Sourcer extraordinaire, is not a fan…it is slow and produces poor quality results. Without launching an alpha or beta version, Glenn believes they “set high expectations and they ‘way’ underdelivered.” T Tallis agrees. Amanda Blazo is more optimistic. She acknowledges Cuil’s shortcomings but encourages us to give it time.

Phone Screening Candidates
Diane Propsner wonders: before a third-party recruiter sends a resume to a corporate recruiter, How much time should he or she spend on phone screening and what questions should be asked? She gave us an overview of her process and the questions included. Andrew Stone agrees with Diane that 10-15 minutes is not enough time for building a relationship with a candidate. Tania Murray recommends “tailoring your cover sheet to your client to focus on just what they (candidate) told you is important to them.” According to Tania, it is critical to know the candidates goals and motivations. Joy Naui offers a different approach by suggesting that third-party recruiters first contact the hiring manager. The phone screening should include key points based on that conversation. Questions should include more than technical skill questions. If a candidate recognizes that you are genuine about finding them the right job, they will agree to answer more questions.

Thursday’s Question of the Week
After hearing Dr. Wendell Williams’ Selection and Assessment webinar on July 23, an attendee wanted to know if behavioral or situational screening questions are better and why. I thought I would ask you. Joe Payne is in favor of behavioral questions since they are a good indicator of past actions and can allow interviewers to dig deeper. Matt Cooper brings up an interesting point that most candidates are too prepared for behavioral questions with the amount of information available on the Internet including examples and preparation tools. Interviewers need to be creative and get more specific. KT Connor agrees with Matt and also cautions against self-reporting assessments instead recommending objective decision tools.

Are Job Boards Becoming Obsolete?
This is a hot topic of debate, check it out!

• Monday’s Question of the Day
• Building an ATS From Scratch
• Search Engine Marketing
• Sendouts vs. PCRecruiter
• Candidates Going Out of Their State for an Interview

Monday’s Question of the Day
After reading a post by Jason Buss, I wanted to know if the ERE community thinks that job boards are obsolete. Understandably, this is a sensitive topic for many recruiters. Ryan Reddy, Amanda Blazo, and Eric Smith feel that without job boards recruiters would have to do their own sourcing and question if that would ever happen. David Templeton believes they are already obsolete since most leads are weak and agrees with David Boller that you need to look at other tools to source candidates. John Ruffini sums it up best by stating, “If you are mining resumes form the Internet job boards and that is your main source of candidates, in my opinion you are not a recruiter. There is some value to that, but the art and science of recruiting is achieved by traditional sourcing and networking, and finding the talent that your client cannot and will not find through any other means.”

Building an ATS from Scratch
Christy Grimske is considering a homegrown ATS instead of investing in a solution provider. Is this a long-term solution? What should she consider? The consensus is that Christy should save her company time and energy by seeking a low-cost ATS vendor. Taccara Ohaeri suggests a vendor with a 30-day free trial. Mike Connors advises Christy to consider support and maintenance. Who will be there to deal with unexpected problems? Jake Stupak, who has experience with many companies in the same situation, comes to the rescue and offers some questions to consider around implementation, testing, and installation. He recommends a few vendors, including Salesforce. Christy is very pleased and decides to invest in Salesforce. We would love to hear an update, Christy!

Search Engine Marketing
Reva Levin wants help determining the pros and cons associated with Search Engine Marketing, specifically buying Google and Yahoo! keywords on a pay-per-click model. Most responses were in favor of SEM. Mike Jenkins outlines the benefits and links the pay-per-click model to advertising. He also believes that “Search Engine Marketing is a nice short term strategy compared to the long-term, high investment approach of Search Engine Optimization.” After several positive comments from ERE members, Steven Rothberg wonders if this optimism in SEM is to have clients appear on the first page of the Google search or a shift toward pay for performance (pay per click) instead of pay for placement. Ernst Feiteira and Alison Engelsman both offer advice on effectively using Search Engine Marketing, stressing the importance of tracking and measuring the process. Alison warns that a client’s ATS can be the biggest impediment.

Sendouts vs. PCRecruiter
The never ending question of what ATS is the best continues here…this time comparing Sendouts and PCRecruiter. Unfortunately, you won’t find a unanimous response from this crowd. Both Sendouts and PCRecruiter are user-friendly, according to Lori Fenstermaker and Rosemarie Brooks. Stephanie Huff recommends PCRecruiter for its email integration but also suggests looking into Taleo at a similar price range. The only negative comment about Sendouts came from Juntee Terrenal, who felt that the solution “de-personalizes communication to your clients and prospects.” Pam Claughton and Mark Anderson prefer cBiz and Amanda Blazo concludes that in order for any investment to be effective, “you need to use it 100% of the time.” I will add my 2 cents…if you are looking to invest in an ATS, make sure you identify your unique hiring needs. It would be beneficial to create a list of “must-haves” and a list of “nice-to-haves.”

Candidates Traveling From Out of State for an Interview
Coral Blankenship asks, “Is it common practice to pay for the flight, hotel, and expenses for a candidate to travel out of state for an interview”…even if the company does not cover relocation costs? David Rees and Alison Fielo Worth say “yes” and candidates usually understand that they need to cover relocation. Moises Lopez asks us to consider that most states require companies to reimburse candidates. Tami Gold says that communication is critical, while Angelique Kearney and Michael Peterson take a different approach, looking at the job position and interest in the candidate.

Monster and CareerBuilder- Do You Need Both?

Interesting…this was actually a topic of discussion at this month’s ERE happy hour in Atlanta. Matt Faskamp wants to know if his company can save costs by using only one job board subscription instead of two. Do Monster and CareerBuilder really have unique visitors? Mike Jenkins says you only need one but not to forget to add Yahoo! Hot Jobs to that list. He recommends looking at your companies’ specific needs (i.e., international capabilities, board that provides more candidates for critical positions, user feedback, and capabilities of your ATS). Chandra Bodapati is the first to recommend Internet search instead. Kristin Gissaro and Sam Morse agree that Matt might want to take a different approach and turn toward niche boards and social networking sites. Kelly Dingee wisely advises Matt to run stats from his ATS and ask candidates what they use. She has personally had success with all three big boards…it depends on the reqs. She agrees with others that Matt should consider niche boards, Internet search, and social networking sites. Good luck, Matt. Let us know what you decide to do!

Is Outsourcing Outrageous or the Natural Way of Things?

This topic first posted by Maureen Sharib on July 15 continues to dominate the ERE discussion boards a week later. Maureen addresses the “biggest boogeyman” in today’s campaigns…outsourcing. More specifically Maureen argues that U.S. companies are motivated to outsource their call centers because of worker productivity and efficiency not necessarily lower costs. One reason might be that these employees receive a defined career path with opportunities not available for U.S. call centers. T Tallis believes that “part of the problem is unions.” Charles Hillman disagrees, defending unions, and focusing on the negative impact outsourcing has on American workers, families, and the economy. Amanda Blazo can sympathize with both sides having managed operations for two offshore Internet research centers. Whether offshoring or not, Amanda says it boils down to the fact that “some companies do certain jobs better than others.” I am not sure Jeff Weidner would agree; he believes these efficiencies are a result of the low cost-to-hire allowing for more employees to work on one job. Mike Johnson refers to a study by Booz Allen Hamilton and Duke University reminding us that “off-shoring high-skilled functions does not replace jobs offshore.” Joshua Letourneau also refers to an article he wrote that “takes a deeper dive into the globalization and commoditization of names sourcing today,” including issues with telephone name generation training and competition. Deborah Jones agrees with Amanda that outsourcing is not outrageous but natural since these centers in the Philippines and India offer more opportunitites and agrees with T Tallis that unions are to blame. She draws a parallel to the automotive industry. Maureen Sharib shares the news the GM has cut health care benefits for its employees. Joshua Letourneau and Paul Davenport empathize with employees but defend GM’s position. Joshua reminds us that “the point of a publicly traded company is to create shareholder value — nothing more, nothing less.”

The conversation has continued to heat up this week…you might want to check it out!

5 Recession-Proof Jobs

Sam Medalie includes Research Business Analysts, Administrative Assistants, Accounting/Finance Executives, and Sales Representatives/Business Development on his list from CNBC.com. I questioned these jobs since I have read several articles stating Energy, Environment, Health Care, Education, and Security are the five recession-resilient industries. Sam was clear when arguing that the jobs on his list are necessary for companies to grow, not going anywhere, and can help drive revenue. David Rees questioned the list of five industries, particularly security and energy. Energy — because in the 1980’s the price of oil in Alaska was so low and families had to relocate. Security — because it is too broad of a topic. “The common denominator is that demand for those services is less volatile and based on needs that we have very little control over.”

Monday’s Question of the Day

I wanted to know if corporate recruiters care more about OFCCP compliance than TPRs. If so, why? Manoj Tiwari is not a recruiter but understands this debate from an OFCCP compliance point of view. According to Manoj, corporations are responsible for compliance so it doesn’t matter WHO does the hiring; it just matters that it follows the guidelines. The cost to the organization is huge, both financially and in branding and reputation. “Not necessarily a good practice but TPRs are not affected beyond losing one business and hardly ever mentioned anywhere in the media or public forum.” OFCCP also is not concerned with where you collect the data as long as it is documented. I also posted this discussion on the Fordyce Letter.

Niche vs. Generalist Recruiting

Shawn Schantz works in the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device industry and wants to rebrand the recruiting model for niche recruiters instead of generalists. Does anyone have advice? Nick Cobb warns recruiters that they are expendable and when moving to this model, the best thing a recruiter can do is to “know everything about every industry and description they can” in order to survive. Kevin O’Malley warns Shawn to inform his recruiters that change is around the corner and that recruiters could suffer from boredom as niche recruiters and leave the company. Steve Myers is more optimistic. He supports this model but suggests a strong marketing plan to back it up. According to Steve, Shawn should not be concerned with hiring recruiters because “newbies” are easier to train. Bob Thompson agrees. I’m curious to see how this plays out…

Becoming Independent

Katie Bielke left a full-time position for a large staffing company, moved to a contract position for a small staffing company, and now wants to go independent. Does she need to get funding or can she start right away. Katie rethought this post and before anyone responded, decided that she did need to plan first but wanted to hear feedback and advice. Pam Claughton recommended 6 to 12 months of saved living expenses first so Katie can focus on the business without stressing out about cashflow. Joseph Ray agrees and advises Katie to take her time when investing in her website, ATS, job boards, and computer expenses. Becoming independent is “more complicated than most expect.” Sam McCord had success going independent with no additional funds and sought guidance from trainers like Doug Beabout, an attorney, CPA, and business consultant. Good luck, Katie!

Preventing Applicants from Bypassing HR. The shaky relationship between the recruiter and hiring manager has always been an interesting topic of debate on ERE discussion boards.

Coral Blankenship wants to know if there is a “diplomatic way to inform candidates in a posting not to contact the hiring manager or any other person other than the representative listed in the posting.”

Amanda Blazo and Rob Levin were realistic, saying that unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to prevent someone from contacting a hiring manager, especially with the amount of information available through the Internet.

Amanda advises corporate recruiters and TPRs to respond to every applicant “qualified or not” and Rob added that many people pass over HR because “they know it will get them nowhere.” Mike Johnson included some helpful language to include in job postings while Jeff Altman wrote about the benefits an applicant might see in going directly to HR and included an example. He also sympathized with Coral’s situation since he agreed that most applicants can’t do an “adequate job of presenting themselves on a call.”

Monday’s Question of the Day. Work/life balance has become part of our everyday vernacular. We hear about it on the news, read about it in studies, and discuss it during interviews, but I couldn’t help wondering: Do most companies really want their employees to balance both and possibly leave work early for dinner plans and yoga classes? Elizabeth DeLouise feels that “It still seems the person who is willing to put in the longer hours are the people who get ahead.” David Rees questions the phrase “work/life balance” and asks, “does that mean that work is not part of life?” He also believes that work-life balance does not affect TPRs as much, since they are “evaluated on effectiveness not hours worked”? Anyone disagree? I wonder if work-life balance is truly a question about generational differences. Is this workplace philosophy accepted for younger generations and not Boomers? Maureen Sharib included some interesting data from a Monster survey conducted in 2007 that you might want to check out.

Paperless New Hire Process. Rob Levin wants to automate the entire hiring process and wants advice on best practices. Manoj Tiwari’s company, a small company with a homegrown applicant management system, has successfully gone paperless for everything except the interviewing process. Melissa Chacinski simply stated “look at your ATS.” Her company uses ATS, email, and Internet. For interview notes, she recommends faxing the notes in an email PDF and attaching that document in the ATS. Rob was impressed with the comments but what he really wants to know is how to automate the onboarding process, everyone’s favorite buzzword. Joann Starks uses an ATS with an onboarding function including electronic signatures. Her only challenge is when legal changes a form and they need to use paper until that form can be automated. I have a short research paper on automating onboarding. If you are interested, you can email me at madeline@ere.net.

What Tools Are Sourcers using Today? Maureen Sharib is using Hoovers, the Net, and the phone and wants to know where others spend their time. Tino Thomas wants advice on portals or search strings. I recommend listening to Glenn Gutmacher’s sourcing webinar. Richard Stack uses phone-based efforts for 75% of the sourcing as well as LinkedIn, Jigsaw, alumni lists, and directories, local associations, and business group websites. Paul Davenport spends one-third of his day on the Internet and two-thirds on the phone. He recommends using Vonage phone service thanks to advice from Shally Steckerl. Mike Johnson uses the Internet — Google, LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, Jigsaw — but the key to his success lies in their homegrown CRM tool. He can help you out if you want more information.

Is the Slow Down Affecting You? Scott Weaver wants to know how the economy is affecting the construction industry. “Specifically, has anyone’s recruitment department been downsized?” both corporate and TPRs? Anne Kutsher is feeling the effects and her company is not doing much hiring these days. So far, no layoffs in HR, but this will not last long. Suzanne Hucko says her hiring has not slowed down with the exception of hiring in Florida. She attributes this success to the fact that they are not hiring for residential projects and they are nationwide. Craig Bromfield brings us insight into the Polish and Eastern European markets and things are looking good. He predicts that residential developments will begin to slow-down while retail development will continue to thrive. The hotel and infrastructure industries are especially busy these days.

Tuesday’s Question of the Day. I read a few comments recently predicting that blogs will replace resumes. I thought I would throw it out there. David Rees sums it up best by stating that it “depends on how you blog and what you blog about. Sincerity, honesty, and transparency are what it’s all about, but not everyone is wired to blog like that.” Mark Nelson feels that blogs are more of a reference than a resume but recommends that job seekers take advantage of niche blogs. He wants to know if video resumes will replace traditional resumes. I personally think video resumes are a fad but can be very beneficial for branding purposes.

I listed six below and wanted to hear from you on #7. Let me know what you think, add a comment to one of these groups, and tell me your suggestion on the final discussion.

1. Late Fees… Dianne Luecke worked as a TPR for 3 years with no late fees…until now. She wants to know if she can add finance charges after the 30 days included in the agreement. Judging by the number of responses, it sounds like Dianne was lucky — late fees are common. Ken Salinas summed it up best by advising Dianne to be patient, stay positive, and keep constant communication with her client. Wendy Rixon explained how things work in the UK with her clients and and Robert Stein recommended offering a discount for fees paid on time, bill in advance of each period and offer a credit card processing option (PayPal). Joe Ray advised Dianne to rethink the charge if they are a big client…these things take time.

You might also want to check out the Law Suit Fee Agreement started on 6/19…

2. Monday’s Question of the Day…After reading an article on non-compete agreements, I asked if they keep potential candidates from joining an organization. Willie Finch agrees that they need to be well-written to be effective and believes that the priority should be on protecting the organization, not the new employee. Maureen Sharib added that these agreements should be reasonable. David Rees addressed the negative impact of non-compete agreements on the workplace and the economy. Kenneth Greenwood received some advice from others on protecting his database and if a non-compete was his best option.

3. Facebook and MySpace for Business… Susan Nickerson is seeking advice on creating a corporate branding page on these sites. Manoj Tiwari turned the discussion in another direction by asking the tough question…Are people really using these sites for employment purposes? This lead to a greater discussion about generational differences. Steve G works closely with Millenials and claims that they do not use these sites for job seeking or employment references. Jeff Altman writes that these sites and younger job seekers are not looking for the “J-O-B” but for a corporate culture that meets their needs. Kelly Dingee advises us to skip the advertising and go directly to Indeed or SimplyHired.com for job seekers and recruiters; sourcers should use XRaying and FlipSearching.

4. Help/Suggestion…Mark Will faced a challenge when a hiring manager posted the wrong salary range and the candidate after receiving the lower salary offer was tempted to pursue another job interview that would offer more money. Nick Cobb, David Hafernik, and Jaymie Spencer warned against giving salary ranges and managing expectations from both parties from the beginning. Peter Kempton and Scott Stuckey offered advice on negotiating with both the hiring manager and candidate. Marc Beacon recommended checking the cost of living index (www.bestplaces.net) and Jay Lowry recommended asking for a sign-on bonus.

Good news! On 7/3, Mark’s candidate accepted the offer.

5. Do Passive Candidates Become More Passive in Bad Economic Times?…Sam Medalie did his research, asking managers their opinions on finding passive candidates in today’s economy. Sadly, the majority of responses indicate “yes.” Most candidates feel that it is too risky to make a job change. Trevor Brooks went from an average of 50 resumes a week in 2007 to 15-20/week today. John Kennedy reminded us that this downturn is different since we are not seeing a large number of layoffs.

6. Friday’s Question of the Day … I was talking to a friend of mine who is a corporate recruiter and works closely with several third-party recruiters. She recently set up an interview with a candidate recommended by one of the TPRs, only to find out that the candidate had applied directly through her organization. I asked for advice and the overall response was to check the ATS. Geno Zertuche suggested reviewing the TPR agreement and Ash Devane shared the clause his TPR firm uses in these situations. Tanya Edmonds simply stated if the candidate applied less than a year ago, no fee. If the candidate applied over a year ago, the fee should go to the TPR.

7. What did I miss?….

For those of you who showed up, thanks for coming! A big thanks to Beeline RPO for sponsoring appetizers, door prizes, and name badges! For those who couldn’t make it, here’s a taste of what you missed.

We’re just getting started with these local meetups, so if you have any suggestions for places where we can hold them, or want to help us put them together, get in touch with me at madeline@ere.net

Hmmm…this left me wondering if we needed to revisit e-sourcing and find someone with expertise in this area. We often find information on what methods and tools we should be using to identify and attract candidates. We often hear what benefits we would achieve if we did. What I wanted to know was how to see results in e-sourcing methods. And I knew just who to ask…Glenn Gutmacher, one of America’s top sourcers/trainers.

Glenn shared his knowledge with us on June 5 during ERE’s most popular webinar.

“The Sourcer’s Daily Dozen – A Top Recruiting Research Guru’s 12 Favorite Free E-Sourcing Methods to Fill Your Pipelines”.

View video on WebEx

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Marty was kind enough to share his success story in obtaining spending and advertising metrics for T-Mobile. To that end, Marty discusses how they used that information to make better recruiting decisions and validate their recruitment strategy. His presentation includes:

·      Implementation of online tracking and management tools.

·      Analysis of metrics and quality of hires.

·      Results (improved negotiations with media, diversification of spend, reduced costs, and enhanced employment brand exposure).

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Love it or hate it, Web 2.0 is here to stay. According to a recent ERE article, “Compete.com’s recently released figures on the number of visitors to social networks show LinkedIn growing by over 700% in one year, Facebook by 77%, and Twitter by more than 4,000%”. There is no doubt these sites are growing like crazy! But one question I keep hearing is “how do we use these sites to find quality candidates?” I wish I knew this answer myself. The bad news is I don’t. The good news is I found someone who does…Kevin Wheeler.

View his webinar.

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• Current recruiting models and responsibilities in your role
• Recruiting effectiveness
• Greatest challenges
• Sourcing effectiveness
• Technologies used including portals, social networking, and candidate relationship management

You’ll leave the event with data to benchmark your own organization against others, and better understand how to address many of the challenges that organizations face.

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Join talent acquisition strategy expert Mitzi Adwell of The Newman Group and competency expert Cara Capretta as they shed light on best practices for applying a competency-based approach to your talent acquisition processes.