INSIGHT / News
October 03, 2006
Pinstripe Partners with SkillSurvey to Provide State-of-the-art Reference Checking
Leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing Firm Adopts Innovative Web-based Technology to Enhance Recruitment Results
WAYNE, PA and BROOKFIELD, WI — SkillSurvey, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent web-based reference checking solutions, today announced a partnership with Pinstripe, a leading recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and recruitment services firm. Effective immediately, Pinstripe will offer SkillSurvey’s online reference checking solution as a recommended best practice in the recruitment and selection of top talent.
“This partnership underscores our commitment to adopting state-of-the-art technology and best-in-class processes that allow us to manage the recruitment and selection functions faster, more effectively and at a lower cost than our clients can do on their own,” says Anne Nimke, President and COO of Pinstripe. “SkillSurvey will help us to deliver fast, accurate profiles focusing on candidates’ job-specific skills and behaviors that support optimal hiring decisions and our ability to deliver a high-performing workforce to clients.”
The SkillSurvey solution is based on proprietary web-based technology that allows recruiters and hiring managers to identify the highest quality candidates more efficiently, effectively and economically than traditional phone-based reference checks. It also provides more robust information, enabling consistently accurate hires.
The SkillSurvey process comprises five easy steps:
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A recruiter or hiring manager logs on to the SkillSurvey website to initiate the process. This takes less than one minute. The remainder of the process is facilitated online, and automatically. Compared to phone references, which can take 30 to 60 minutes when done correctly, SkillSurvey offers significant productivity benefits while maintaining or improving the quality of information acquired.
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Job candidates log on to provide business references. Candidates receive an e-mail with instructions and a web link to a secure web page where they are directed to enter up to nine business references, two of which must be supervisor level. Because the time required to reference check a candidate is now only one minute regardless of the number of references provided, employers benefit by gathering multiple perspectives on the candidate.
Through SkillSurvey, it is common to have four or five references responding rather than one or two via phone. By gathering feedback from more individuals, employers can more accurately assess candidates’ abilities and gain the perspective of those who typically would not have been contacted by phone. These additional individuals often provide the most valuable input for obtaining an objective overview.
* References log on to provide confidential performance feedback. Each reference receives an e-mail from the candidate requesting that the reference complete a confidential web-based survey regarding the candidate's skills and behaviors. These survey questions are customized to relate specifically to the position being sought by the job candidate. SkillSurvey finds that more than 72 percent of these references respond within 24 to 48 hours. By phone, the process can take significantly longer, delaying hiring decisions and start dates.
* The SkillSurvey engine aggregates, analyzes and scores candidates. Results are delivered in a comprehensive report that identifies each candidate's risk factors, behavior profile and proficiency levels in job-critical competencies.
Because references are able to respond confidentially, they typically give more candid and objective feedback compared to phone conversations that often only yield confirmation of employment dates rather than a true assessment of a candidate’s skills.
* Recruiters and hiring managers assess candidates’ past performance.The reports are used to flag key areas to explore in subsequent interviews, eliminate high risk or unqualified candidates, and identify high potential candidates for immediate hire.
“SkillSurvey’s solutions fit well with Pinstripe’s objectives to deliver ever increasing value to their clients over and above sourcing, screening and hiring applicants,” said Jim Ray, vice president of business development for SkillSurvey. “We enable Pinstripe to provide a new level of service previously unachievable – helping them better serve their clients through this unique competitive advantage.”
About Pinstripe, Inc.
An innovator in recruitment and employment process outsourcing, Pinstripe, Inc. designs, builds and manages talent aquisition and management systems for healthcare, financial services and technology organizations. The company’s proprietary Requisition-to-Results (R2R®) platform is the first solution of its kind to integrate sourcing, recruiting, hiring, on-boarding, and off-boarding practices into a complete, end-to-end outsourced approach to employee acquisition and retention. By partnering with Pinstripe, clients are able to maximize the economic, operational, and strategic benefits of a high performing workforce, while minimizing compliance, security and other risks.
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pinstripe, a woman-owned business enterprise (WBE), was co-founded by Susan Marks and Anne Nimke, both 25-year industry veterans who previously established the largest independent staffing company in Wisconsin along with an enterprise-wide recruitment process outsourcing firm. Both companies were sold to a Fortune 500 company in 2000. Baird Venture Partners, the U.S.-based venture capital affiliate of investment firm Robert W. Baird & Co., is a major investor in Pinstripe. For more information about Pinstripe, please visit http://www.pinstripetalent.com.
About Baird Global Private Equity
With more than 40 investment professionals in the United States and Europe, Baird's global private equity business has raised and managed $1.5 billion in capital. Baird Capital Partners provides change-of-control capital and growth capital to U.S.-based, middle-market companies in the Business Services and Manufactured Products sectors. Baird Venture Partners makes venture capital investments in early- to growth-stage companies in the Business Services & Software and Healthcare/Life Sciences sectors. Granville Baird Capital Partners is a long-established private equity manager targeting mid-market growth companies in the UK and Germany with a focus on the Business Services, Healthcare and Industrial Products sectors. Baird Private Equity also has an operating team located in three offices in China, focused on facilitating and executing Asia sourcing, manufacturing and distribution opportunities for portfolio companies. The group’s investments are supported by Baird's full range of financial advice, operating expertise and industry research, providing a unique full-service approach to the entire private equity investment process. For more information, please visit http://www.bairdventurepartners.com.
About SkillSurvey
SkillSurvey is the leading provider of intelligent web-based reference checking solutions that increase quality of hire and eliminate time wasted in the recruiting process. Using SkillSurvey, organizations improve the quantity and quality of information they collect regarding a candidate’s past performance, resulting in a significant reduction in time and money spent on reference checking. This breakthrough approach to reference assessments is based on over 25 years of research in job competency modeling. To learn more, visit http://www.skillsurvey.com.