Smart Workforce Solutions
Archive for January, 2007
Management professionals are always on the go and often lack the time and energy to stop and sharpen their own skills for leading effective organizations. The Missouri Career Center is launching a new conduit to get helpful advice and insight to business leaders.
WorkforceZone On Demand takes advantage of the increasing use of ipods and other portable media players to deliver valuable information to business professionals at their convenience. Easy-to-use internet technology with automatic downloads, now known as podcasting, makes the audio webcasts available to professionals wherever and whenever they chose. Whether they’re at their desks, on the road, or even working out at the gym, listeners can get the latest in HR news and guidance on issues such as recruitment, retention, training, and more.
An ipod isn’t required to listen in, as the WorkforceZone On Demand podcast can be played through most standard computers, but that portable media player you got as a Christmas gift can actually do more than just play your favorite tunes on the go. The podcast is now online at LibSyn, a popular podcast distribution engine with 24 episodes slated annually.
Listen or download to WorkforceZone on Demand
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The Missouri Career Centers are taking job interviews to the next level. The Missouri Career Center constantly strives to innovate and improve the HR processes with its business customers in mind. From advancements in GreatHires™ internet job matching to the rollout of Alchemy SISTEM™ multimedia training, the Career Center saves time and money for businesses so they may concentrate on what they do best.
A new solution set to debut in mid-February seeks to extend that quality benchmark to the interview process, often a challenging and risk-laden task for employers. The Southwest corner of Missouri will be the first in the Show-Me State to debut the Virtual Video Interview™ (VVI) system, which provides benefits for all stakeholders.
For employers the solution further compresses the HR process by focusing on the tedious interview and it can literally take weeks out of the hiring process. As you know, in a tightening labor market the first one to hire wins. In addition to the compressed HR metrics the solution provides reduced legal exposure and increased electronic recruitment and sourcing capabilities.
Further, employers are able to ascertain the job seeker’s knowledge, skills, and abilities and are able to determine if the candidate is a good fit organizationally prior to granting a face-to-face interview. Thus, the candidate pool for prospective employers and the quality of candidates will increase, as the employer can sort for those all important business soft skills, rather than relying on a printed resume alone.
“VVI will transform the interview process in several ways,” noted Jasen Jones, Executive Director of the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board, the organization that oversees strategy and funding for the Career Centers in Joplin and Monett. “Interviews will be more cost effective, there will be accountability, and they will be much easier to access by decision-makers deeper within an organization.”
InterviewUSA, Inc, the cutting-edge company that developed the patent-pending VVI, will implement the system and train Career Center staff on its deployment and operations in mid-February. Career Center leaders are planning an open-house event for businesses to learn more about VVI and test-drive its capabilities.
For more information on VVI and other Career Center Business Services, call 417-629-3000, Ext. 237 or send an email to tracy.lemmons@ded.mo.gov.
Click here to download a printer-friendly one-page profile on the Virtual Video Interview system.
The ice storm and resulting power outages have delayed the full implementation of the new WorkforceZone website and podcast. The Joplin Business Expo has also been delayed one day from Tuesday/Wednesday to Wednesday/Thursday. We look to have the website and podcast fully online and ready for the Business Expo. Be sure to visit our booth at the expo, which has a new look as well!
Hot off the presses, the WorkforceZone business services newsletter from the Missouri Career Center has been delivered to our subscriber customers.
Download a PDF of the newsletter here.