Hire.com's Referral Networking Optimizes Employee Referral Programs; Social Networking Helps Customers Find Top-Quality Candidates

Business Wire, May 12, 2004

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2004

Hire.com today announced the availability of Referral Networking, part of the HireEnterprise 8 integrated suite of products, designed to help customers build strong employee referral programs. By leveraging social networking concepts and the power of the Internet to automate time-consuming tasks affiliated with referral programs, HireEnterprise 8 is enabling organizations to streamline processes and optimize human resource efforts to secure higher-quality talent, while reducing costs.

Similar to the way social networking applications enable people to see the interconnections among their contacts, HireEnterprise enables employees to refer jobs to friends, who then may act on the referral or pass it on via e-mail to another friend. The system tracks each referral and enables the employee and employer to graphically see the process unfold and the status, as well as multiple levels of related referrals. By tapping the power of the network, employers, employees and referral candidates all benefit from highly efficient communication and process resulting in time savings for all parties concerned.

Employers benefit from process efficiencies and reduced administrative tasks because the solution enables automated screening, standard process control, immediate routing of a referred candidate to the hiring authority, and program marketing, tracking and reporting.

"With HireEnterprise, employees are empowered and motivated to efficiently find, match and notify their professional network of available jobs, drastically reducing the time spent with the referral program, while consistently rewarding employees," said Matt Driscoll, staffing manager, global talent at Adobe Systems Inc. "Our employees are a great resource for finding high-quality talent. With HireEnterprise, we have an innovative system that taps into the power of the employee's network and frees human resource professionals to focus on more strategic aspects of work-force management."

Consistently named one of the top companies to work for, Adobe Systems has a highly talented work force that is full of rich referrals. Just over a year ago, the company's referral system was considered cumbersome and inefficient for human resources professionals who were challenged to manage the high number of resumes submitted from employees.

"We live in e-mail, and HireEnterprise's ability to integrate has greatly enhanced our recruiters' ability to review resumes faster and focus on top candidates," Driscoll said.

Today, Adobe has drastically reduced the time spent with employee referrals by using HireEnterprise to manage and track referrals while providing employees with self-service functionality that enables visibility into reference activity and links to program terms and bonus information. By streamlining the process, Adobe is able to take advantage of the top talent referred by current employees, while continuing to increase employee participation and satisfaction with the program.

Employee referral programs are a powerful resource for many companies that historically bring in high-quality candidates. While having a positive impact on employee morale and retention, referral programs create a challenge for human resource professionals who are tasked with screening and managing the large number of resumes. With HireEnterprise, referrals can be tracked and sorted for priority, while also creating a positive experience for both candidates and employees.

"A work force built on a strong referral program is not only more satisfied and more productive, it is much more retainable," said Larry Orecklin, CEO of Hire.com. "With HireEnterprise 8 and Referral Networking, we are helping organizations establish an efficient and effective online employee referral program."

Referral networking is one part of HireEnterprise 8, an integrated suite of products that includes e-recruiting, applicant tracking and analytics modules designed for global enterprises. HireEnterprise 8 supports professional, hourly, college hiring and employee mobility programs and easily adapts to information requirements of the HR generalist, recruiter, hiring manager and candidate.

About Hire.com

Hire.com is a leading provider of Enterprise Recruiting Solutions that enable businesses worldwide to hire and retain top-quality talent faster than any other solution in the market. Global 2000 companies, including BP, Roche Diagnostics, Prudential, Reuters, Kaiser and SITA, have invested in Hire.com's unique modular system to achieve competitive advantage today and to prepare for their future talent management needs. HireEnterprise is a two-time award-winning product as named by HR Executive Magazine's Top 10 HR products of the year. Customers named Hire.com "Best in Customer Service" in Electronic Recruiting Exchange (ERE)'s 2002 and 2003 Annual Industry Surveys. More information on Hire.com and its proven solutions can be found on the Hire.com Web site at http://www.hire.com/ or by calling 800-953-HIRE (953-4473).