Instigate, Inc. - News and Notes

2011-02-17T15:06:00.001-06:00

FEATURED ARTICLE

Caution- Keep it Social

When is the last time you did not hear something about social networking and its use in recruiting? Maybe it is a week, couple of days or a few minutes!

In fact, 45% of organizations plan to increase the use of technologies that link to social networks, such as LinkedIn© and Facebook©, during the recruitment process. [DoubleStar Recruitment Report] To interact or collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content sounds like the perfect match for sourcing top talent. Hey, social networking is hot, hot, hot and everyone is onboard. So, it is time to go full steam ahead with social networking for recruiting in 2011, right?

Social networking should play a role in your recruitment strategies; but don’t turn completely away from other resources. In many cases, the rules of engagement are still being formulated when it comes to social networking and talent recruitment. Our advice at this time is to “Keep it Social”:

Think of social networking like an extension of your employee referral program.

Find ways to have your employees add content or post. Don’t force your employees - but if they want to, make it easy for them to do it.

The largest users of social networking [Gen X/Gen Y] are very protective of their networks. They are starting to show signs [and results from recent studies are confirming] that they will gain an increasingly negative view of a company who is attempting to use social networking as a marketing tool for products, services and careers.

Yes, social networking for recruiting is in the fast lane; but at some point it will hit the first speed bump or maybe even something bigger [can you say “bubble”]. During this period of rapid adoption; taking the right steps when adding or enhancing your use of social networking will provide you with the flexibility you need to increase or decrease your future efforts as needed.

Christi Schreyer
Co-Founder and Principal
Instigate, Inc. – The home of TalentAssist™

2011-01-25T11:11:00.002-06:00

HR Roundtable - February Meeting

Thursday, February 3rd @ 8:00 am

Burnsville City Hall

1000 Civic Center Parkway

Join the Burnsville HR Roundtable for a Morning of Engaging Content

Candidates are Consumers, What is Your Message?

Employer branding from the candidate perspective

Web 2.0 recruitment strategies for SMB's

Metrics will help provide your recruiting roadmap

Presented by: Christina Schreyer, Founder and Principal Instigate, Inc.

Click Here For More Information

2010-11-03T20:24:00.001-05:00

Online event registration for HR BREAKFAST SERIES: PROTECTING THE PRESENT - PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

2010-10-13T14:50:00.004-05:00

PROTECTING THE PRESENT - PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Tuesday, November 09, 2010 from 7:30 AM - 11:00 AM (CT)
Hampton Inn North
(694 and Lexington Ave N)
1000 Gramsie Road
Shoreview, MN 55126

Join HR Thought Leaders For a Morning of Engaging Content

Candidates are Consumers, What is Your Message?

Christina Schreyer, Founder and Principal

Instigate, Inc.

Keeping High Performers Engaged in Turbulent Times

Victoria Fuehrer, CCP, SPHR, MBA—Founder and President

PORTICOconsulting

Ten Steps to Protect Your Business

Thomas Revnew, Attorney and Shareholder

Seaton Beck and Peters, P.A.

Complimentary Breakfast Will Be Served

Click Here To Register Online

For More Information:

Phone: 651-429-1131

Email: services@instigateinc.com

2010-09-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

Instigate Has Gone Sourcing 3.0 with Semantic Search!

It is no secret recruiters have used the Internet for years to find the most qualified candidates. A majority of these efforts have involved keyword searching on resume databases and social network sites. The next wave of Internet search is already underway and Instigate is ready to deliver the results to you. Welcome to Semantic Search!

Semantic Search shifts the focus from ‘keyword’ sourcing to the ‘actual’ meanings found within resumes and job descriptions. At the heart of semantic search is search engine and ranking technology which enables our Internet searches to be ‘trained’ to identify the equivalent meanings of terms found in resumes. No two company job descriptions or candidate resumes are written alike, semantic search is able to find hidden matches that current rigid searches would normally overlook.

The value of Semantic Search:

Better Candidates

By improving and automating the searching of a large number of different passive and active candidate sources, Instigate is able to provide you with results on the best matched individuals from tens of thousands of potential candidates found on the Internet.

Faster Hires

Instigate is now able to filter out near-match candidates far more effectively than traditional Internet search efforts. Semantic Search allows us to filter and rank results automatically to greatly reduce the amount of time necessary to sort through lesser qualified candidates.

Reduce Hiring Costs

Our team can focus more time on recruiting and candidate management - not just candidate sourcing. Finding qualified candidates in a fraction of the time of traditional search means less time and money wasted on searching through hundreds of thousands of candidates and interviewing near-matches. Semantic Search will help us match you with your top talent faster.

Semantic Search is now active with all TalentAssist™ - Enterprise-Wide Recruitment Process Outsourcing Services. We are excited to add this capability to our service offerings as we focus on delivering to our valued clients best-in-class recruitment processes, technology and resources. Please feel free to contact us to learn more about how we are putting Semantic Search to work for you.

2010-08-27T19:18:00.001-05:00

Behind The Numbers – Unemployment Rate and Recruitment Success

There is certainly no lack of statistics and data regarding the current national employment situation. One question we have heard over and over since the beginning of the year: “With so many people unemployment, why are we struggling to fill our job openings?” The answer may or may not be your recruiting processes.

Like many employers, do your job openings require a bachelors degree or higher? If yes, the unemployment rate for those who meet your job requirements is significantly lower.

Employment data kept by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the unemployment rate for those with at least a bachelor's degree was 4.5 percent in July 2010, while 10.1 percent of high school graduates who didn't attend college were without jobs. Add those who never graduated from high school, and the unemployment rate creeps up to 11 percent.

If your job openings require a bachelors degree or higher; solid recruitment practices and strong employer branding are still critical to attracting top talent even with today’s difficult economy.

2010-08-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

Solving Real Recruiting Issues - Online Job Interviews Beta

We build our services to solve not only the pain hiring managers feel with recruiting; but also what we ourselves live as recruiting specialists. That said, we think we’re well versed with the time and money cost associated with recruiting and finding top talent.

Job boards, ATS, resume search, phone screening candidates, on-site interviews, spending a day having the team interview top candidates… it all has a real cost which can easily add up to thousands of dollars.

We are in the process of adopting virtual interviews as a best practice within our process of evaluating job candidates. Our goal - get a better feel for the candidate. We believe virtual interviews will give decision makers the ability to quickly get a solid feel about candidates in the shortest amount of time. Stay tuned for more information on this new service feature.

2010-08-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

Instigate Releases Conference List for Fall 2010

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce that they are scheduled to exhibit at the following upcoming conferences:

• Iowa SHRM Conference – The Amazing HR Race
o September 29th to August 1st – Des Moines, IA

• Wisconsin SHRM Conference – Chart Your Course on an HR Voyage
o October 6th to October 8th – Appleton, WI

• Minnesota SHRM Conference – HR Building Bridges for Success
o October 10th to October 12th – Duluth, MN

Please look for us at these exciting conferences. For more information or to schedule a meeting while attending a conference; please contact Matt Schreyer, President, at 651-429-1131 or 1-800-259-9865 ext 12.

2010-08-03T17:14:00.001-05:00

Is Recruitment Outsourcing for Small and Mid-sized Businesses a real option?

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is not new. Large companies have been outsourcing segments of their recruiting process for years. Over the last decade, smaller businesses haven't had many options - having neither the scale and buying power of large firms, nor the staffing volumes to make a business case an in-house recruitment function.

Small and medium-sized businesses [SMBs] often rely on the most expensive and often least effective candidate sourcing options – staffing agencies and recruiters. They are still left with the time and cost burden of a majority of the recruitment functions such a screening resumes, interviewing, on-boarding; which often falls on the hiring managers who are also responsible for managing the business.

Even for SMBs, the recruitment process has many tasks or transactional based activities that can be completed outside the organization, increasing efficiencies through economies of scale. Over the last several years the RPO market has continued to evolve and now provides viable options for SMBs.

Now is an excellent time to look at RPO providers focused on providing solutions to small and mid-sized companies. These providers likely have affordable solutions that can take on the burden of operational recruitment activities, allowing businesses to focus on core value-creating and strategic activities. By transforming processes, utilizing best practices, and replacing a fixed cost base with a variable charging structure, RPO can significantly reduce the cost of recruitment. The time has arrived – RPO for SMBs is now a real option.

2010-07-23T13:53:00.001-05:00

Major Job Boards

Cost Increasing - Value Decreasing?

There has been a lot of talk about the major job boards losing their share of the online recruitment market. Studies have shown that niche sites and social networking have impacted the reach of the two major boards. (Our analytics show that there is clearly only two major paid job sites for the U.S. market)

We thought it would be interesting to look at what has happened to the published rates for a job listing on each site from 2005 to present:

Job Board A - 16.7% rate increase
Job Board B - 2.3% rate decrease

We will be the first to argue that there is still value in having major job board usage as part of your total recruitment plan. In the case of Job Board A, the question is whether or not their impact on attracting top talent has increased over the last five years to justify a 17% increase.

Tracking and analytics must play a role in evaluating what online recruitment resources are delivering the most ROI. A "post and pray" approach using one or both major job boards will likely fall short in attracting top talent and delivering high ROI.

So, which job board has had the 17% increase? Contact us to find out.

2010-07-12T15:59:00.001-05:00

What Is Your Career Site Bounce Rate?
　

Wikipedia’s definition of Bounce Rate: Bounce Rate represents the percentage of initial visitors to a site who "bounce" away to a different site, rather than continue on to other pages within the same site.

So how does Bounce Rate impact staffing and recruiting efforts? Good web traffic to your career site does not always equal a high level of candidate response. Let's use recent data from one of our client's career sites as an example:

* 543 Visitors - Job Aggregator
* 268 Visitors - National Job Board

On the surface, the aggregator would seem to be the clear driver of candidates to their career site. But, not so fast- A look at the Bounce Rate shows:

* 72.01% Bounce Rate - Job Aggregator
* 22.76% Bounce Rate - National Job Board

So, using Bounce Rate data we see a potential different story unfolding on candidates moving to next steps in the online application process:

* 152 Visitors - Leading Job Aggregator
* 207 Visitors - Leading National Job Board

Bounce Rate can provide you with key metrics on the performance of your online advertising efforts and is a much more powerful metric than simple visitor counts.

2010-06-24T15:51:00.001-05:00

Instigate Adds Operations Specialist
Heather Hoernemann Joins Our Team

Instigate is pleased to announce the addition of Heather Hoernemann to our growing service team. Heather brings with her over seven years experience in recruitment, human resources and relationship building. Heather's experience ranges from staffing for small to medium size companies to on-site recruitment management for a Twin Cities based Fortune 500 Company.

Heather has an impressive balance of knowledge and experience on the impact effective recruitment management has on overall business operations and profitability. Welcome aboard Heather!

2010-05-02T03:49:00.000-05:00

"I Quit"
Employee Churn Is On The Rise

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2010 marked the point where the number of employees voluntarily quitting surpassed the number being fired or discharged for the first time since October 2008.

How many of us have heard the words "I quit"? If not, don't be surprised if a key employee shares those words in the near future. So what is your plan?

Employee re-engagement and related talent management programs will certainly be important efforts to retain top talent. But, talent acquisition plans should also be looked at very closely. No matter how good your talent management programs; some employees may elect to leave your organization.

If replacement of talent is preceding or running in parallel with workforce expansion plans, now is the time to review your processes, technology and resources to ensure your company has a scalable and effective recruiting function.

2010-04-28T13:48:00.000-05:00

External Source Of Hires Survey

What The Agencies Cannot / Will Not Tell You

Let's be honest, a majority of us have ongoing or on-demand relationships with staffing agencies and recruitment firms. There is little argument that they play a role in meeting various staffing needs. But, do they or should they play a key role in your long-term talent recruitment needs?

Results from CareerXroads' 2009 Source of External Hires Survey, which covers employers with 5000 or more employees, might surprise you:

2009 Source of Full-Time Hire:
Temp-to-Hire (1.6% of Hires)
Third-Party Recruiters/Agency (2.3% of Hires)

TPR/Agency and Temp-to-Hire models have been in steady decline as a source of hire with large employers from 8.4% in 2005 to 3.9% in 2009. This is a 53.6% decline over the last five years! Over the last five years, there has been a shift with large employers to RPO models or niche consultative models that offer extensive candidate care services as added value.

With hiring in such steep decline with large employers; the agencies are focusing more and more of their efforts on companies with 50-500 employees. How many calls do you receive each week from the agencies?

Small and mid-sized firms will continue to be the new sweet-spot for agencies unless they also shift to new recruitment models. You still have to find top talent; but you also must find new recruitment approaches that deliver higher ROI. Welcome to the "new normal" in talent recruitment.

2010-01-21T15:45:00.000-06:00

RSS - The New Recruiting Model

An Affordable Employer Centric Recruitment Approach Has ArrivedNeed to change or improve your talent acquisition process? Having trouble gaining additional recruitment resources from top management? Recruitment Shared Services [RSS] can be your answer. RSS gives you access to any combination of recruitment related processes, technology and resources for an infinitely scalable recruiting function.

RSS is a partnership that keeps recruitment “in-house,” while dramatically lowering overall recruiting costs. RSS often reduces total talent acquisition costs while delivering best-in-class processes, technology, time and resources to “even the playing field” when competing for top talent.

More information on RSS to come.....

TalentAssist - Recruitment Management Solutions from Instigate, Inc: Career Opportunities

2009-09-22T11:02:00.001-05:00

TalentAssist - Recruitment Management Solutions from Instigate, Inc: Career Opportunities

Posted using ShareThis

2009-03-17T09:23:00.001-05:00

Delivering value in outplacement situations is a challenge to employers and providers alike. Having access to innovative and flexible outplacement services can positively impact company culture and employer brand. Successful outplacement has a direct impact on a company's ability to attract, motivate and retain the people they need in order to achieve business success.

What should you look for?

Employment change is traumatic for everyone. However, this can also be an opportunity for many to revitalize career and personal goals. Bottomline is the need to ensure that each employee's skills, qualifications and career goals are clearly directed towards the end-user - the next hiring authority. Focus on affordable one-on-one support and 24/7 access to a innovative web-based tools that offer a proven means for identifying and improving individual net worth.

Through close association with TalentAssist - Instigate's recruitment management services; TalentAscend has the unique ability to provide deep influence from the employer and talent acquisition side.

Instigate, Inc.
4455 White Bear Parkway, Suite 600
Saint Paul, MN 55110
651.429.1131
800.259.9865

Transforming Talent Management for Total Resource Effectiveness

2009-03-16T21:43:00.000-05:00

Instigate, Inc. has been added to the list of recommended companies on Business Bulldog.

Business Bulldog - is a website that focuses on the extraordinary talent that makes the business world move. Those unsung heroes that make things happen (a lot of times for others) and find new ways to improve sales, increase market share, lower costs, and train employees to make the business stronger. Business Bulldog - Give Your Business Some Bite!

2009-01-22T08:49:00.002-06:00

Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA) January Feature Article

The Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association is a vendor neutral non-profit serving the RPO market. Instigate is pleased to contribute the January featured article for the RPOA's Industry Thought Leaders Column.

Instigate supports the efforts of the RPOA to educate the market about Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), incorporate common metrics, develop and enforce certifications and promote RPO benefits.

2008-11-21T10:47:00.008-06:00

Instigate Unveils Its Redesigned Outplacement Services

TalentAscend Outplacement Services by Instigate has been redesigned adding significant strength and scale to Instigate's service offerings. The redesign furthers Instigate's efforts to provide an integrated approach to talent recruitment and management.

PR9.NET November 20, 2008 - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota - Talent recruitment and management firm, Instigate, Inc, announces the redesign of TalentAscend its outplacement services. TalentAscend now offers a wider range of outplacement and career development solutions.

Job losses from growing economic uncertainty and the long-term trend towards restructuring have quickly moved beyond large companies with increasing impact on the mid-market and small employer. "Many of our valued mid-market and small employer clients have to make the difficult decision of downsizing. Providing outplacement services for those employees impacted by a layoff is an increasingly important part of employer branding and long range talent management objectives" says Matt Schreyer, President at Instigate. Having access to innovative and flexible outplacement services can positively impact company culture and employer brand. Successful outplacement has a direct impact on a company's ability to attract, motivate and retain the people they need in order to achieve business success.

Delivering value in outplacement situations is a challenge to employers and providers alike. Through close association with TalentAssist - Instigate's recruitment management services; TalentAscend has the unique ability to provide deep influence from the employer and talent acquisition side. This influence ensures that each employee's skills, qualifications and career goals are clearly directed towards the end-user - the next hiring authority. Instigate's builds its services "a' la carte" to meet the needs of both full-service clients and those with specific areas of focus.

TalentAscend is focused on affordable one-on-one support and providing 24/7 access to a unique set of tools that offer a proven means for identifying and improving individual net worth. Some of the new web-based tools include an automated 360 feedback tool for validating the certainty of individual strengths and private insight into how colleagues perceive individual talents. In addition, mock interviews are now conducted using an interactive voice response [IVR] system where the individual and outplacement professional can listen to response and provide recommendations for future interviews with potential employers.

Employment change is traumatic for everyone. However, this can also be an opportunity for many to revitalize career and personal goals. TalentAscend is a cost effective way for any employer to add practical, productive and affordable outplacement methods to their ongoing talent management objectives.

# # # About Instigate, Inc.

Headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Instigate Inc., offers an integrated approach to talent recruitment and management by providing a single source for Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Web-Based Employee Screening and Talent Management Solutions. This synergy results in cost-effective and efficient management of your workforce that positively impacts profitability and ensures future growth. Our focus is to provide emerging and growth organizations the tools that allow them to be employers of choice in their markets. Instigate does this by focusing our efforts on managing the Talent Lifecycle: Plan - Acquire - Integrate - Retain - Rehire.

Phone
651-429-1131
FAX
651-204-9077
Website
http://www.instigatesolutions.com
E-Mail
E-mail Address Protected
Address
4455 White Bear Parkway, Suite 600White Bear Lake, MN 55110-7663

2008-09-11T12:09:00.001-05:00

Instigate Announces New Staff Appointments

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of new staff:

Leslie Knutson - Account Manager

Leslie brings to Instigate an impressive background in human resource, staffing, e-commerce and relationship management. "With extensive experience in recruiting and staffing management; Leslie brings to our team a deep understanding of the impact recruitment management has on overall business operations and profitability. Our valued clients will have a great partner in Leslie; one that understands to immediate impact our offerings can have on talent recruitment." notes Matt Schreyer, President of Instigate.

Leslie can be reached at 651-429-1131 ext 17 or lknutson@instigateinc.com

2007-10-10T11:06:00.000-05:00

MATT SCHREYER NAMED IN WHO's WHO AMONG HR PROFESSIONALS

President of Instigate named in Workplace HR & Safety Magazine's Who's Who among HR Professionals

Saint Paul, Minnesota - October 10, 2007: Instigate, Inc. is proud to announce that Matt Schreyer, President has been named to the 2007 Who's Who among HR Professionals sponsored by Douglas Publications. Workplace HR & Safety Magazine acknowledges "Schreyer's expertise is in supporting the development of recruitment process outsourcing [RPO] as a viable long-term solution within the HR outsourcing and business process outsourcing space."

More information on Instigate and its recruitment solutions can be found at www.instigateinc.com.

2007-06-07T08:40:00.000-05:00

Instigate Announces New Staff Appointments

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of new staff:

Steve Carey - Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Steve Carey brings to Instigate an impressive background in new business development and relationship management. "With extensive experience in commercial insurance and risk management; Steve brings to our team a deep understanding of the impact business process outsourcing has on overall business operations and profitability. Our valued clients will have a great partner in Steve." notes Matt Schreyer, President of Instigate.

Steve can be reached at 651-429-1131 ext 19 or scarey@instigateinc.com

2007-06-01T08:55:00.000-05:00

INSTIGATE OPENS SALES AND SERVICE OFFICE IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

June 1, 2007 -- St. Paul, MN – Instigate, Inc., a leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing [RPO] company based in Minnesota, announced today it has opened a new regional service office in Scottsdale, AZ.

“Our expanding client base in the Phoenix area as well as the entire Southwest region will greatly benefit from the additional support we can provide from our new regional office." says Christi Schreyer co-founder and Vice President of Instigate.

Instigate's newest regional service office is located near the 101 loop in the Gainey Ranch area. Please call 1-800-259-9865 for more details.

2007-05-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

INSTIGATE OPENS ITS NEWEST OFFICE IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

May 2, 2007 -- St. Paul, MN – Instigate, Inc., one of the leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing companies based in Minnesota, announced today it has opened a new regional service office in Minneapolis, MN. “The opening of our fourth office in the Twin Cities area speaks highly to our growing list of clients and their support." says Christi Schreyer co-founder and Vice President of Instigate.

Instigate's newest regional service office is located at:

100 South Fifth Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
612-605-3177

2007-04-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

Instigate to Sponsor IMA’s 88th Annual Conference & Exposition, June 16-20, 2007

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce their sponsorship of the Institute of Management Accountants' 88th Annual Conference & Exposition to be held in June at the Marriott Desert Ridge in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. For those attending this year's IMA, Instigate will be located at Booth 16.

Recruitment Process outsourcing's expanding role within the larger Business Process Outsourcing space makes participation at the IMA's annual conference a great fit for Instigate.

Instigate, Inc, is a leading provider of Recruitment Process Outsourcing Services [RPO]. We provide long-term and on-demand recruitment management solutions providing measurable results that move beyond conventional for direct impact on our client’s profitability.

For more information contact Instigate at sales@instigatesolutions.com or 1-800-259-9865.

2007-03-15T13:20:00.000-05:00

INSTIGATE OPENS NEW OFFICE IN MINNETONKA , MINNESOTA

March 15, 2007 -- St. Paul, MN – Instigate, Inc., one of the leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing companies based in Minnesota, announced today it has opened a new regional service office in Minnetonka, MN. “The opening of our second regional service office located within the core business center of Minneapolis' western suburbs will continue to allow us to meet and exceed our clients talent recruitment and management needs.” says Matt Schreyer co-founder and president of Instigate.

Instigate's new regional service office is located at:

601 Carlson Parkway, Suite 1050
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55305
763-390-5080

2007-02-01T12:13:00.000-06:00

Instigate Releases Conference List for Spring 2007

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce that they are scheduled to exhibit at the following upcoming conferences:

Human Resources Professionals of Minnesota Spring Conference - April 11th
Saint Paul Area Business After Hours 2207 - April 26th
Saint Paul Area Small Business Awards 2007 - May 18th
Minnesota CPA Management and Business Conference - May 21st & 22nd

Please look for us at these exciting conferences and events. For more information or to schedule a meeting while attending; plesae contact Matt Schreyer, President, at 651-429-1131 or 1-800-259-9865 ext 12.

2006-09-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

INSTIGATE OPENS NEW OFFICE IN BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA

September 26, 2006 -- St. Paul, MN – Instigate, Inc., one of the leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing companies based in Minnesota, announced today it has opened a new regional office in Bloomington, MN. “The opening of our new regional service office located in a key twin cities business center will allow us to better serve our growing base of clients and lays the ground work to expand throughout the Minneapolis-Saint Paul market.” says Matt Schreyer co-founder and president of Instigate.

Instigate's new regional service office is located at:

7760 France Ave S
Bloomington, Minnesota 55435
952-960-5686

2006-08-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

Instigate Releases Conference List for Fall 2006

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce that they are scheduled to exhibit at the following upcoming conferences:

Iowa SHRM Conference - October 4th-6th

Wisconsin SHRM Conference - October 10th-13th

Minnesota SHRM Conference - October 15th-16th

Please look for us at these exciting conferences. For more information or to schedule a meeting while attending a conference; plesae contact Matt Schreyer, President, at 651-429-1131 or 1-800-259-9865 ext 12.

2006-07-30T11:27:00.000-05:00

Instigate Announces New Staff Appointments

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of new staff:

Molly LaFleur - Client Services Specialist

Molly has joined the Instigate team as a Client Service Specialist. Molly will focus on Account Management and candidate recruitment, screening and placement for both new and existing TalentAssist clients. “Molly brings a unique background to Instigate with her past experience within the RPO industry. Because of RPO being an emerging industry we are excited to add Molly's knowledge and experience to our team” notes Christi Schreyer, Vice President of Instigate.

Molly can be reached at 651-429-1131 ext 16 or mlafleur@instigateinc.com

2006-06-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

Instigate Joins the RPOA

Instigate, Inc. announced today that it has joined the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association as one of its founding members.

The mission of the RPOA is to educate the market about Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), incorporate common metrics and comparative information as defined by staffing.org, develop and enforce certifications and promote RPO benefits. We recognize that RPO is a unique industry requiring a common set of requirements and standards.

Companies will benefit from the efforts of the RPOA by better understanding the benefits and risks of recruitment process outsourcing, having access to a variety of tools to support the decision to consider RPO, access to certified service providers through an organized RFP process, and direct connection to other members to learn from their experiences.

Instigate is proud to be a member of the RPOA and looks forward to supporting its efforts.

2006-05-03T15:02:00.000-05:00

Amy Larsen - New Online Services Account Manager

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce that Amy Larsen has been promoted to Account Manager - Online Services.

Amy will focus on managing our rapidly growing online services which includes pre-employment skills testing, assesssments, background checks and drug screening services. We are confident that new and existing clients will find Amy's customer service focus to be unmatched by any in our industry.

Amy can be reached at 651-429-1131 ext 15 or alarsen@instigateinc.com

2006-03-21T17:10:00.000-06:00

INSTIGATE WELCOMES NEW VIKINGS COACH

BRAD CHILDRESS

Instigate was the proud Corporate Sponsor of the first public appearance in the Twin Cities by new Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress. Brad shared with St. Paul Chamber of Commerce luncheon attendees and media his outlook for the upcoming season. Instigate would like to thank all of those involved for putting together a great event!

New Vikings Coach Brad Childress speaks to attendees and media

Amy Larsen, Jennifer Kapphahn, Brad Childress, Matt Schreyer and Christi Schreyer

2006-02-16T10:32:00.000-06:00

Instigate, Inc. to Sponsor First St. Paul Chamber Good Day! Event - Featured Speaker Brad Childress - Minnesota Vikings Head Coach

Date: Monday, March 20, 2006 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Location: The Saint Paul Hotel 350 Market Street Saint Paul, MN

Good Day! The Chamber’s Membership Event, is a NEW program created for Saint Paul Chamber members to provide the best in information about the business community, networking and FUN. This is the event to attend to stay informed of issues that impact the Saint Paul/East Metro area. Instigate is proud to be a sponsor of this great event.

Brad Childress, the seventh head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in franchise history, will be the featured speaker. The 2006 season will be Childress’ 29th season coaching, nine of which were on an NFL sideline. Childress joins the Vikings following a seven-year run with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Join us in celebrating business success and hear about topics that impact your business in the Saint Paul/East Metro area.

REGISTER NOW

or call 651.223.5000 for more information

2006-01-06T11:28:00.000-06:00

Instigate Announces New Staff Appointments

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of new staff:

Amy Larsen - Client Services Specialist

Amy Larsen has joined the Instigate team as a Client Service Specialist. Amy will focus on Account Management and candidate recruitment, screening and placement for both new and existing TalentAssist clients. “Amy brings a strong background in account management with a great focus on ensuring client's needs are consistently met and exceeded” notes Christi Schreyer, Vice President of Instigate. "Amy will be a great addition to our team."

Amy can be reached at 651-429-1131 ext 15 or alarsen@instigateinc.com

Tess Selander - Administrator

Tess Selander has joined the Instigate team as our Administrator. Tess will focus on daily administrative and operations issues. “Tess brings strong administrative skills with a high level of technical knowledge to our growing team” notes Matt Schreyer, President of Instigate.

Tess can be reached at 651-429-1131 ext 10 or tselander@instigateinc.com

Instigate, Inc. provides workforce management solutions for emerging and growth organizations. Home Office is located at 4455 White Bear Parkway, Suite 600; White Bear Lake, MN 55110-7663. Phone: 651-429-1131 or 1-800-259-9865.

2005-09-30T11:20:00.000-05:00

Reactive Recruiting Is Dead

Time For A Proactive Employee Recruitment Process

We read daily about the jobless recovery, our unpredictable economic future and the threat of overseas outsourcing. When it comes to employee recruitment; it is careless to believe that these factors mean using the same old approaches will still get the job done. The fact is, when it comes to employee recruitment, leading companies have already turned the corner. These companies are squarely focused on proactive recruitment processes to ensure that key talent is hired.

We have now reached a time in which talent is clearly the number one factor in determining a company’s long-term competitiveness. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, talent recruitment must go beyond the transactional staffing approaches of the past. Companies that continue to use outdated practices in an attempt to manage the ever-changing employee supply and demand system will simply lose the battle for talent over the next few years.

Ongoing competition for talent is no longer an issue reserved for large companies. In fact, it can be argued that emerging and growth companies face an even bigger battle for talent. These companies must hire effectively given their lower ability to absorb costs associated with poor performance and employee turnover. So how do you ensure your company has a proactive approach to attracting talent?

Here are ten key areas to focus on when developing or reviewing your company’s recruitment processes:

1. Create a workforce plan that takes into consideration current and future workforce needs. It sounds simple, but how many companies have a written plan for future growth and outsourcing alternatives for selected functions?

2. Formulate a recruitment strategy that is practical and driven by business objectives. To be proactive, all internal and external resources must be maximized to insure hiring methods identify the best talent available.

3. Use talent acquisition metrics to assess all recruitment efforts. Quality, time, cost and satisfaction must be measured. Review results on a regular basis and make adjustments as needed.

4. Utilize an applicant tracking system that is easy to manage and supports pre-screening of all potential talent.

5. Use pre-employment screening tools such as behavioral assessments, skills testing, background checks, drug screening and online questionnaires for a complete evaluation of an individual’s talent and history.

6. Conduct reference checks as they still play a key role in the recruitment process. Recent changes in the law make it easier for employers to share more information on past employees.

7. Provide ongoing communications with candidates. The recruitment stage is the beginning of the employer-employee relationship and where first impressions will be made.

8. Provide compensation and benefits that are attractive, competitive on an industry and local level and are focused on driving business objectives. This will build your employer branding and reflect the value an individual brings to the company.

9. Create formal job offers for each position that are clear and consistent. Written job offers can differ by type of position; but they must clearly summarize key items so both parties understand what is contained in the employment offer.

10. Create an employee orientation process that has a clear action plan in place so new employee success can be developed from day one.

While this is only a quick overview of a complex process, it provides a valuable reference for ensuring a proactive employee recruitment process.

Efficient and effective recruitment processes will not be the only reason many companies will see remarkable success over the next several years. However, due to a changing and shrinking workforce, it plays a critical role now more than any period over the last twenty years. Be proactive and win the battle for talent!

Matt Schreyer (mschreyer@instigatesolutions.com) is President/CEO of Instigate, Inc. a workforce solutions firm that combines Human Resource Outsourcing, Workforce Recruitment Outsourcing and Managed Staffing Services to provide an integrated approach to workforce management. This synergy results in cost-effective and efficient management of your workforce that positively impacts profitability and insures future growth. Instigate can be explored at www.instigatesolutions.com.

2005-09-26T11:06:00.000-05:00

Instigate Announces New Staff Appointment

Instigate, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of new staff:

Jennifer Kapphahn - Client Services Specialist

Jennifer Kapphahn has joined the Instigate team as a Client Service Specialist. Jennifer will focus on candidate recruitment, screening and placement for both new and existing TalentAssist clients.

“Jennifer brings a strong focus on ensuring that candidate screening and selection consistently meets and exceeds our client's needs. Jennifer has a unique ability to connect with candidates on all levels,” notes Christi Schreyer, Vice President of Instigate. "We feel strongly that Jennifer will be a great addition to our team."

Jennifer can be reached at 651-429-1131 ext 16 or jkapphahn@instigateinc.com

Instigate, Inc. provides workforce management solutions for emerging and growth organizations. Home Office is located at 4455 White Bear Parkway, Suite 600; White Bear Lake, MN 55110-7663. Phone: 651-429-1131 or 1-800-259-9865.

2005-09-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

Instigate to Exhibit at SHRM Minnesota State Conference

Instigate, Inc. will be showcasing our Workforce Management Solutions at this year's SHRM Minnesota State Conference held October 16-17, 2005 in Saint Cloud, MN. Please visit us at Booth #413 to learn more about our products and services.

Click Here for more information on the conference.

2005-07-25T10:44:00.000-05:00

Instigate Moves into New Offices

Prompted by growth, Instigate, Inc. has moved into new office space at 4455 White Bear Parkway, Suite 600 in White Bear Lake, MN.

The company moved into the new space because it gives increased visibility and improved infrastructure and amenities, as well as room to grow. Over the past four years, Instigate has added several new services, including our rapidly growing Recruitment Process Outsourcing Service - TalentAssist. Expansion in our Customer Support, Sales and Operations departments also prompted the move.

Our new address is:

Instigate, Inc.
4455 White Bear Parkway, Suite 600
White Bear Lake, MN 55110-7663
651.429.1131
800.259.9865

2004-12-22T08:44:00.000-06:00

INSTIGATE INC. TO CHANGE NAME OF ITS
WORKFORCE RECRUITMENT OUTSOURCING SERVICES

Instigate, Inc. will change the name of its Workforce Recruitment Outsourcing Services to TalentAssist™ effective January 1, 2005. The new name reflects the continued success of TalentAssist™ in the rapidly growing recruitment process outsourcing [RPO] marketplace.

SAINT PAUL, MN. - December 21, 2004-- We are pleased to announce that on January 1, 2005 Instigate’s Workforce Recruitment Outsourcing Services will have a new name, TalentAssist™.

“The interest in Recruitment Process Outsourcing is growing rapidly; especially with emerging and growth-driven organizations. The Service's new name more accurately reflects the focus of its activities and marks an important transition point" stated Matt Schreyer, President/CEO of Instigate. "In the coming months we intend to announce a number of initiatives designed to build increased value for our clients who are seeking new approaches to talent recruitment and management" he added.

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, Recruitment Process Outsourcing [RPO], is providing a unique approach to workforce recruitment. RPO is a cost effective, results-driven alternative for many organizations seeking to focus more time on their core competencies and less time and resources on workforce recruitment. As a leading RPO provider for emerging and growth organizations, TalentAssist™ combines proven recruitment processes with the ever expanding internet and technology offerings to achieve results. Organizations are starting to see a number of advantages to outsourcing workforce recruitment including:

Improved Business Focus

Companies are able to focus on broader issues while having recruitment assumed by an outside expert.

Maintain Company Identity

Corporate/Company branding is playing an increasing role in workforce recruitment. Unlike the use of recruiters and staffing agencies; TalentAssist™ allows one to maintain company identity - a valuable tool for creating the most qualified pool of candidates for your workforce needs.

Share Risks

There are tremendous risks associated with the investments an organization makes in their workforce. When companies outsource they become more flexible, dynamic, and able to adapt to changing opportunities and problems.

The need to improve the recruitment process and create stronger partnerships is being driven by the need to:

Ø Improve the Quality of New Hires
Ø Lower Employee Turnover
Ø Reduce the Fixed and Variable Costs per Hire
Ø Reduce the Dependency and Associated Costs with Staffing Agencies and Recruiters
Ø Lower the Time Dedicated by Management to the Recruitment Process

TalentAssist™ provides a cost effective, results-driven solution for meeting these requirements. The unique approach of RPO creates a strong partnership and provides key benefits to many organizations seeking to effectively attract and retain key talent to support future growth and profitability.

About Instigate, Inc.
Headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Instigate Inc., is a leading provider of workforce recruitment and management solutions. Instigate combines HR Outsourcing, Recruitment Outsourcing and Managed Staffing Services to provide an integrated approach to workforce management. This synergy results in cost-effective and efficient management of an organizations workforce to positively impact profitability and ensure future growth.
For more information on the Instigate, Inc., visit the company on the web at www.instigatesolutions.com or call 800-259-9865.