CareerBuilder.com and Inavero Institute to Release New Comprehensive Study on Staffing Industry Clients and Job Candidates

    CHICAGO, Aug. 20 /EMWNews/ -- CareerBuilder.com and the Inavero

Institute for Service Research announced today they will release a

first-of-its-kind, comprehensive staffing industry guide based on a

nationwide survey spanning three years among more than 1,500 staffing

industry clients and 8,800 job candidates. The study, scheduled to be

published on September 26, 2008, will identify key opportunities and

insights for staffing firms related to topics such as improving brand

awareness, communication and the overall user experience.



    A Guide to Staffing Industry Clients -- the study's first set of

results focuses on perspectives from staffing industry clients across

industries, regions and company sizes. Key takeaways include:



    #1 Client Awareness of Staffing Firms



    Staffing firms continue to face challenges in creating and maintaining

high levels of brand awareness. Only two national staffing firms were able

to achieve awareness with more than 50 percent of client participants in

2008, consistent with the previous two years.



    "The staffing industry is very fragmented and often geographically or

industry-focused," said Eric Gregg, managing partner of the Inavero

Institute for Service Research. "The study findings signal the need for a

greater investment in marketing and advertising to forge a recognizable and

differentiated brand message."



    #2 Capturing More Client Business



    Fewer than 25 percent of companies nationwide currently utilize a

staffing or recruiting firm to help with their human resources needs. While

time savings and convenience ranked high for "pros" in working with

staffing firms, clients pointed to candidate fit and personalization for

opportunities to create an improved and differentiated service that garners

more business.



    #3 The Client Experience and Customer Retention



    While the overall client experience with one's primary staffing firm

continues to improve, 45 percent of clients have changed or seriously

considered changing primary staffing firms in the past 12 months.



    A Guide to Job Candidates -- the other half of the study details

perceptions and opinions of the staffing industry through the eyes of job

candidates. Key takeaways include:



    #1 The Awareness and Perception Gap



    Similar to staffing clients, staffing brand awareness is low among job

candidates, as the average job candidate is only able to name one staffing

or recruiting firm from memory. Additionally, 40 percent of job candidates

can't name a single staffing or recruiting firm.



    #2 The Staffing Firm Role in the Job Search



    Only one-in-five job candidates utilizes a staffing or recruiting firm

as part of their job search, though candidates typically put their energy

into multiple resources, with the average job search consisting of four

different resources.



    #3 Through the Eyes of the Candidates -- Views of the Staffing Firm

Experience



    Job candidates indicate that there are several aspects that can be

challenging when working with staffing or recruiting firms; more follow

through and responsiveness to calls and emails ranked among the top ways

for staffing firms to improve the user experience, according to

respondents.



    "Staffing firms deliver a great value to clients and candidates,

especially critical in a time when companies are competing aggressively for

high-skill labor and candidates are grappling with an uncertain job

market," said Todd McCormick, president of CareerBuilder.com's Recruiter

Business Unit.



    "This guide is designed to identify opportunities to expand business

and support the continued growth of staffing firms in the recruitment

arena."



    For more information on the study, to download a free executive summary

or to get purchase details please visit:

http://careerbuilder.com/staffingperceptions or call 800-960-5203.



    Survey Methodology



    The surveys were conducted online within the United States by the

Inavero Institute for Service Research. The staffing industry client survey

included 1,506 responses from professionals involved in their

organization's staffing decisions. The study employed a random sampling

methodology and was limited to organizations who had utilized a staffing or

recruiting firm within the past 12 months. The study's confidence level is

estimated at a 95% probability, with a sampling error of +/- 4.4%.



    The staffing industry job candidate survey included 8,969 job

candidates who reported being in the midst of a job search, or having

completed a search within the past 12 months. The study involved two

sources of respondents; an online panel, and CareerBuilder.com's internal

database of job seekers. Where significant differences were found, the

random sampling design of the online panel was utilized to eliminate

potential bias from CareerBuilder.com's internal database. This study's

confidence level is estimated at 95% probability, with a sampling error of

+/- 1.1%.

    About the Inavero Institute for Service Research



    The Inavero Institute for Service Research is the staffing industry's

premier client and employee satisfaction firm, analyzing feedback from more

than 25,000 staffing industry clients and job candidates each year. The

firm's client retention tools are utilized in more than 300 locations

throughout North America and currently protect more than $2 billion in

staffing industry revenue for their clients. For more information, visit

http://www.inavero.com.



    About CareerBuilder.com



    CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more

than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. Owned by Gannett

Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI)

and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), the company offers a vast online and

print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com

powers the career centers for more than 1,600 partners, including 140

newspapers and leading portals such as AOL and MSN. More than 300,000

employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 28

million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its

subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more

information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.






     Media Contact

     CareerBuilder.com

     Allison Nawoj

     773-527-2437

     [email protected]