Making the right selection choice is therefore essential to the success of an organisation and the wellbeing of its staff. Effective talent measurement and occupational assessment can save organisations time and money while protecting the well-being of employees.

As psychometric testing and other objective assessment methods continue to grow in popularity, the absence of a recognised standard for occupational assessment services has become more apparent.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has now responded to this observation with the launch of the first ever international standard to assure competency in recruitment decisions and enhance the potential “fit” of new employees.

Developed in conjunction with influential committee members from organisations such as the British Psychological Society (Committee on Test Standards and Division of Occupational Psychology), SHL, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Association for Coaching, BS ISO 10667 - Assessment Service Delivery – will provide users of occupational assessment with a benchmark for the procurement and delivery of assessment services.

The standard will allow assessment businesses to demonstrate that best practice procedures are being followed; assure HR managers that the procedures they use (whether managed in-house or by an external assessment provider) will deliver the best outcomes and be fair and appropriate; as well as help ensure that staff involved in delivering assessments have the relevant skills and competences. Compliance with the standard will help ensure that organisations meet appropriate legal and ethical obligations regarding the selection and development of staff.

The standard which is delivered in two parts is a new concept. The first part will be of particular interest to those buying in services of assessment providers or running internal assessment programmes, the second is more relevant to the actual assessment providers. BS ISO 10667 suggests that best practice assessment delivery involves collaboration between parties by encouraging joint-working on the development of assessment specifications, how data might be used and the interpretation of results.

Professor Dave Bartram, Chief Psychologist at the talent measurement company, SHL, said: “Good measurement through assessment is the key to enhancing the acquisition and management of talent. Good talent measurement provides the ‘people intelligence’ managers need to deliver the business results.

“ISO 10667 is an important step in addressing issues of good practice in the assessment of people in the workplace. As a global provider of assessment services, we welcome the availability of a truly international standard that will help us in working with our customers to ensure they realise value from using our services.”

The approach of BS ISO 10667 was the subject of much debate at a recent conference in Chester when the Occupational Division of the British Psychological Society met to consider industry development and professional practice.

Initial interest in BS ISO 10667 has already come from a number of bodies including the National Policing Improvement Agency. The NPIA Examinations and Assessment Unit, who design assessments for the police service, have confirmed that it is working towards compliance to the standard.

Credit: onrec.com

Some of the key points from this month’s AWR Monitor are:

There was a slight decrease in temp billings according to January’s REC/KPMG Report on Jobs. However, this is most likely linked to the economy than to any impact of the AWR.
Future hiring intentions tracked through the JobsOutlook survey is encouraging. Over the next 12 months,  87 per cent of employers are looking to grow or maintain temporary staff levels, with only 13 per cent planning a decrease in usage.
Full equal treatment measures kicked in over the Christmas period. This did not result in any significant flurry of queries and requests for information from workers.
Recruiters have flagged concerns over the fact that some clients remain reluctant to share relevant information The REC is continuing to take forward the message that the AWR is an issue for both agencies and clients.
Queries to the REC Legal Helpline have focused on holiday pay, calculating basic pay as an hourly rate and putting agency workers back on a contract for services from Regulation 10 contracts. Other common queries are around the status of limited company contractors, calculating the 12 weeks qualifying period and defining a ‘substantially different role’.
Actively promoting the ongoing benefits of flexible staffing to employers is a priority. As part of this, the first meeting of the REC’s Flexible Work Commission will take place next week.

Reviewing the latest data and feedback from members, Tom Hadley, the REC’s Director of Policy and Professional Services says:   “It is now over 100 days since the AWR came into force.
“Despite the slight dip in the number of placements highlighted in last month’s Report on Jobs, overall demand remains strong. Temporary and contract staff will continue to provide employers with a key means of bringing in the right skills at the right time.

“The feedback from recruiters is mixed and varies from sector to sector. There is no doubt that the regulations have created significant cost and resourcing implications for the industry but the priority has been to reassure client organisations over the ongoing viability and benefits of using agency staff. Providing ongoing support to members and continuing to monitor the impact will be key priorities for the REC in 2012”.

Examples of some of the anecdotal feedback from REC members include:

“We have now dealt with a number of temps under AWR and whilst time consuming because each company has different terms and conditions it is getting more straightforward with each one we do”.
“We did our best to educate the clients before it came in and most clients have generally been co-operative.”
“OK so far, there is more paperwork to deal with, but we have put systems in place to ease the burden on Account Managers.”
“One client is not happy about paying a very well paid temp for the extra holiday they will be entitled to under AWR, he considers the temp to be overpaid for what they do.”
“Some employers are still under the impression that the regulations are nothing to do with them and this is just up to the agency to sort things out’.
“One challenge has been the fact that employers have very different working patterns. Ensuring that the way AWR is implemented reflects these differences has been a big task.”
“The AWR has shaken the ‘issues tree’ for clients and has lead to many clients reviewing a number of broad areas linked to the supply of temporary and contract staff.”

Sal Iannuzzi, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Monster Worldwide, said, “In 2011, our Global Careers bookings increased 18% year over year despite a more challenging economic environment in the latter half. We also significantly improved profitability, with an operating margin of 7% in 2011 compared to approximately break-even in 2010, and had $250 million in cash and cash equivalents at year-end. Our focus in 2012 will be to further leverage our product leadership and global platform, and increase customer adoption. At the same time, we are taking difficult but necessary steps to implement cost savings initiatives that will provide us the flexibility to enhance our marketing and sales efforts to continue to improve long-term growth prospects and profitability. Finally, we will continue to return capital to our shareholders through executing on our $250 million share repurchase program. We are confident that with the successful execution of our strategies, we can drive results for our shareholders and our customers alike.”

“Innovation continues to be fundamental to our growth strategy as demonstrated by our differentiated product portfolio and solutions. SeeMore™, the market’s first cloud-based semantic search and analytics platform for managing companies’ resume databases, is gaining significant traction with our customers, and we continue to enhance the features and functionalities of BeKnown™, our professional networking application on Facebook. These offerings, combined with our portfolio of advanced recruitment products, position Monster well for future growth,” continued Iannuzzi.

Business Highlights

• In 2011, Monster’s differentiated product offerings, including Recruitment Media/Career Ad Network, Power Resume Search and SeeMore™, have gained significant traction with the Company’s Global Careers customers.
• BeKnown™, Monster’s professional networking application on Facebook, was launched in July 2011 and is now available in 49 countries and 19 languages. Since its launch, Monster has introduced significant features, including College Pages and Jobs Tab, which are meeting the evolving networking needs of today’s professionals and the employers that want to connect with Facebook’s audience.

Fourth Quarter Results

Bookings were $314 million. This compares to $316 million in the fourth quarter 2010 after excluding $14 million of bookings related to the decision to no longer engage in a portion of the Internet Advertising & Fees (IAF) segment. Global Careers bookings increased 1% compared to the fourth quarter 2010. On a year over year basis, currency translation had a $1.4 million negative impact on bookings in the fourth quarter 2011. Historical data on bookings for prior quarters is available in the Company’s supplemental financial information.

Revenue was $250 million. This compares to fourth quarter 2010 GAAP revenue of $255 million, which included $12 million of revenue from the arbitrage lead generation activity, as described below. Excluding this portion of the IAF business from fourth quarter 2010 results, revenue increased 2% from $246 million on a non-GAAP basis. On a year over year basis, currency translation had a $1.1 million negative impact on revenue in the fourth quarter 2011.

Global Careers revenue was $229 million. This compares to fourth quarter 2010 GAAP Global Careers revenue of $223 million. On a non-GAAP basis, Global Careers revenue increased 1%, compared to fourth quarter 2010 Global Careers revenue of $226 million. Fourth quarter 2010 non-GAAP Global Careers revenue excludes a $3.3 million purchase accounting adjustment related to the HotJobs acquisition.

Careers-North America revenue was $119 million, a decrease of 5% compared to non-GAAP Careers-North America revenue of $124 million in the fourth quarter 2010. Careers-International revenue grew 8% to $110 million compared with $102 million in the prior year period.

IAF revenue was $21 million, a decrease of 34% compared to $32 million in the fourth quarter 2010. As previously disclosed, the Company decided to no longer engage in arbitrage lead generation activity as ofJuly 1, 2011 due to the lack of profitability and in light of new regulations applicable to customers in the for-profit education market. Excluding $12 million of arbitrage lead generation activity in the fourth quarter 2010, IAF revenue was essentially flat on a year over year basis.

Consolidated GAAP operating expenses of $233 million compares to $253 million in the fourth quarter 2010. Net Income for the fourth quarter was $11 million, or $0.09 per share. This compares to a net income of $501 thousand, or break-even on a per share basis, in the prior year period.

Net Income for the quarter included a pre-tax restructuring charge of $3.2 million, or $0.02 per share net of tax, which consists of facility and severance charges primarily associated with the decision to no longer engage in a portion of the IAF segment. Pro-forma items are described in the “Notes Regarding the Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and are reconciled to the GAAP measure in the accompanying tables.

Non-GAAP Net Income of $13 million, or $0.11 per share, compares to $7.1 million, or $0.06 per share in the fourth quarter 2010. The decision to no longer engage in the arbitrage lead generation activity had no impact on the Company’s net income or earnings per share. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $230 million or a 2% year over year decrease.

Cash and cash equivalents were $250 million as of December 31, 2011 compared to $163 million as ofDecember 31, 2010. Net operating cash flow was $25 million in the quarter and $150 million for the full year. Deferred revenue as of December 31, 2011 was $380 million compared to $376 million as of December 31, 2010.

Full Year Results

Monster Worldwide reported total revenue on a GAAP basis of $1,040 million for the twelve months endedDecember 31, 2011, which included $22 million of revenue from the arbitrage lead generation activity generated during the first six months 2011. This compares to 2010 GAAP revenue of $914 million, which included $51 million of revenue from the arbitrage lead generation activity. Excluding arbitrage lead generation activity from both 2011 and 2010 results, revenue increased 18% year over year on a non-GAAP basis.

Monster Careers revenue increased 19% to $930 million compared with $783 million in the 2010 period. Internet Advertising & Fees reported revenue of $110 million compared to $131 million in the same period a year ago, both of which include revenue derived from the arbitrage lead generation activity as described above.

The Company reported GAAP earnings of $54 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, compared to a GAAP loss of$32 million, or $0.27 loss per share, in the prior period. On a non-GAAP basis, the Company reported earnings of $46 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $9 million, or $0.07 loss per share in 2010.

Credit: www.monster.com

Well forecasts are just that, forecasts, so we shouldn’t read too much into it but it does gives us a sense of recruiter confidence levels which when things are bumping along in the economy we should welcome. I’ll tell you what’s happening right now in our experience and that is 2011 was better than 2010. That’s a fact. Over 200 clients used GRB to find graduates for their schemes, direct entry roles and many other graduate jobs that go unadvertised. So, what’s our forecast for 2012? As long as recruiters remain confident about their business (like many in IT, Utilities or FMCG do) and continue to see the value of hiring exceptional talent to fuel their growth (which GRB shout about as much as possible) then things are still very much “open for business”.

“It’s a well known fact that today’s advertisers are still finding it a real challenge to recruit true IT specialists, but we haven’t seen the same oversupply of candidates that we saw during 2008-9; and I don’t believe it will return to quite the same levels over the next 12 months.”

Predictions for 2012
Overall, The IT Job Board is positive about recruitment levels within the sector for the year ahead. Pete Healey comments: “We’re hearing from clients with plans to grow their departments significantly; at a similar level to 2011.

“Yes, clients are being cautious, but we’re not anticipating that there will be a real slow down in 2012, nor that many will plan for reduced headcount.”

In December 2011, The IT Job Board highlighted in its monthly update from the Salary Monitor that SQL and SQL Server IT jobs were those creating the highest demand within the sector. At the time, Alexandra Farrell, managing director, said: “Clearly SQL is a core skill as we move into 2012, and we would anticipate seeing increasing numbers of IT professionals either retraining in this area, or looking to improve on existing skills. It certainly seems to be one to watch.”

Pete Healey continues: “We are still seeing growth in web based applications such as Java and .NET. This is in line with the movement from physical computing environments to the cloud. SAP roles maintain a high level of demand but one area really increasing is that of Microsoft Dynamics - Microsoft’s move in the enterprise space. Demand for Project Managers continues to prevail, along with IT Security. As a lot of systems move to web based environments, IT Security becomes more of a concern for administrators and users.

“And, despite permanent roles remaining in the majority, contract positions continue to increase – currently accounting for 26 percent of roles advertised on The IT Job Board UK site. I would expect this trend to continue.”

Credit: onrec.com