You'll remember, of course, that Select Minds was the first visible proponent of the development and maintenance of an Alumni "community". Based on the notion that there kinds of people you want to have work for you includes the people who already have, the core tool developed by the firm arranges communications and value delivery for companies to their Alumni. We're certain that Select Minds is well positioned to be the fastest growing (on a percentage basis player in our marketplace.

There is a great deal of common sense in the management processes they've used to date. Rather than throwing huge amounts of money at software development, they are taking a slower path. The build the tool and then test it to clearly understand the support and professional services implications of the software. By taking growth in manageable swallows, they are clearly avoiding the service dilemmas facing Recruitsoft and Peopleclick.

As is the case in most HR installations, the customer tends to want a product that is tailored to the work environment. As Select Minds navigates the various customer requirements, the team learns what might be automated and what might be left alone for people to work. With each increment of learning the team streamlines its effectiveness and is able to clearly define the installation processes and logical support requirements. That way, they can carefully manage the progress of their own growth.

Once hiring starts in earnest and companies begin to discover that the shortage of white collar workers survived the recession intact, Alumni Systems will be in high demand. The attention Select Minds has paid to the development details will pay off in spades.

Select Minds is one of the best managed companies in our industry; shrewd about overheads; shrewd about cost implications. If the ATS market could just produce a player like this, there would be cause for hope. Unfortunately, the team at Select Minds seems to have all of the wisdom required to prevent the pitfalls that are looming for ATS vendors like Brass Ring, Peopleclick and Recruitsoft.

 -John Sumser

Workstream Recruiting Systems - Make the right choice!