Earlier this month HireScores launched. It's billed as a "totally independent provider of information in the recruitment area".
Basically candidates use the site to rate their experiences (against ten questions) of the services provided by recruitment companies and corporate recruiters.
The results are publicly displayed for the purposes of allowing job seekers to find the best recruiter for them and to give employers the chance to learn more about their recruitment partners. At present the top 10 aren't listed on the homepage of the site as it's still early days and not enough candidates have given feedback (23 so far I think). Until a company has at least 10 ratings they won't be able to appear on the front page top 10/bottom 10 – this is so that a single rating does not put them in an ‘unfair’ place. However, you can find a list of recruiter's that have been ranked within the site.
For recruiters who pay for the service they can receive full feedback reports from candidates which will may include additional information provided by the jobseeker. Employers can also rate and leave feedback on their experiences with recruiters. Again, this information is only available to registered employers and recruiters.
The site is also providing free resources and information to help job seekers and employers.
I'm sure that a key area of concern for recruiters will be around abuse of the database to slate competition or improve a company's own rankings. To this end HireScores has added some safeguards which include the following. Only registered users with verified email account can rate or leave comments. Only aggregate scores will be displayed - limiting the affect of any single comment or rating. Each registered candidate can only rate each recruiter once (they can change their rating at any time).
When I spoke with Lisette Howlett, who is the owner of the site, what I especially liked is her motivation for creating the site. Her true aim is to provide the environment for a balanced view which can benefit everyone involved in the recruitment area. She understands that as well as the "cowboy" recruiters there are many firms doing a great job - and wants to create a forum for them to be recognised.
Whilst I'm sure there will be teething troubles, HireScores.com is a well thought out concept that is already attracting interest and support from an impressive list of blue chip employers and recruiters. It will no doubt also provide conversation for our forum!
We're really pleased to see another site recognising first class recruitment agencies based on candidate feedback.
Since we launched RecruitRank in November 2005 we’ve had a great response from candidates and recruiters alike. To date we’ve received over 150,000 pieces of feedback.
Candidates have told us that they appreciate being given an opportunity to feedback on the recruitment process. Jobhunting can be frustrating and it helps to know someone is listening.
Furthermore, recruiters welcome the free reports they receive each month as it enables them to see the areas of the business where they excel and areas where perhaps they could improve.
Towards the end of last year we held our first RecruitRank Awards ceremony. Recruiters were extremely proud to get an award for customer service based on feedback from their candidates.
The future will see us roll RecruitRank out to other sites, starting with our partners. I'm sure HireScores have big plans for their future too.
Posted by: Cheryl Morgan - PR Executive, Jobsite | 23 January 2007 at 02:05 PM