Of specific interest was the software development team and process.

It's fair to say that enterprise development disciplines have barely reached the worlds of Human Resource Management tools. Without a rigorous, prioritized and accountable software development methodology in place, many competitors succumb to the overwhelming demands of client customization (only Recruitsoft, with its strict no-customization policy, comes close to Hire.com's effectiveness in managing requirements evolution). The key is a structured and prioritized process that can be easily explained. The alternative, as many customers know, is an endless wait for tangled revisions of software.

Hire.com has also developed a pretty interesting sourcing tool. Imagine the FlipDog of Resumes. As we've always maintained, the Internet can be understood, on a level, as a repository for millions of resume and resume-like documents. The Hire.com tool is able to provide extraordinary structure and reach in a search engine that exclusively mines these various documents. From home pages to actual resumes, from seasoned professionals to students, a one page set of search parameters gives recruiters access to a huge array of relatively "passive" candidates.

As always, the gem in Hire.com's offering is the focus on delivery of a recruiting process. Hank Stringer's vision of a tool that actually relieves a recruiter of workload while expanding her effectiveness remains undiminished. As the tool gets deployed (these days, it includes internal and external website management), the success stories become increasingly interesting.

We imagine that the future of Hire.com's offering includes detailed workforce planning (preliminary pieces are in place) and a clear tie to corporate strategy. The supply chain metaphor, which is all but the exclusive property of the Austin firm, will begin to shape the way the rest of the industry moves forward.

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