(August 20, 2003) -  So, we've created a befuddling set of questions. Alexa is a powerful tool and you should rush to install the toolbar in your browser. At the same time, you must remember that Alexa offers a biased view of the world.

We showed you Brian Kreuger's Top 100 board rankings last week. Yesterday, we tried to show you some of the bias in his view by identifying an additional seven sites that could well be in the top 10. There are easily an additional 100 that could be in the top 50. Brian's own TopJobSites (31,538) would be one of them.

We are from the camp that believes that good questions are superior to good answers. We also think that any measurement system is a good start. Measuring leads to the kinds of questions we're posing. You measure to get a sense of things. You refine your measurements to answer the questions raised by the initial measurements.

Bottom line, no one but the sales and marketing arms of the vendors (and a few analysts) gives a 'hoot' about job board rankings. Being the biggest only matters if that results in the right customers getting the right candidates. The fuss about size strikes us as macho posturing and almost every bit as useful.

"It ain't the meat it's the motion," goes one of our favorite Maria Muldaur tunes. What matters to the customers of the various Electronic Recruiting Services is simple. They want the right candidate at the right time, reliably. If size helps, size is good. If size hinders, size is bad. Right candidate, right time. Period.

This means that now, more than ever, companies need to build their own internal ranking system to answer the question, "which of these services helps me meet my need?"

The essential variables in that question are:

• Price
• Candidate Volume (numbers of candidates)
• Quality 1 (percentage and number of candidates interviewed)
• Quality 2 (percentage and number of candidates hired)

These figures lead you to be able to price one service over another along the following lines:

• Cost per candidate interviewed
• Cost per candidate hired

All that's left to understand is whether or not the service gets the candidates at the right time.

In other words, customers ask "Does it work and how well?", not "How big is it?"

John Sumser

Deploy Solutions delivers talent optimization software that helps large companies maximize staffing performance.

Deploy uniquely equips customers with applicant tracking, electronic recruiting and talent management technology to support exemplary user experiences for recruiters, HR executives, hiring managers and candidates.

The company draws upon flexible technology, deep domain experience and a comprehensive approach to HR metrics & analytics to drive measurable results for customers like Exult (also a distribution partner), Southwest Airlines, NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs, Advocate Healthcare, Bank of America, Prudential, British Petroleum, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, FedEx, FleetBoston Financial, Synopsys, Fresenius Medical Care N.A., Square D, and Zimmer.

Our solutions are facilitating unprecedented returns for visionary, multi-national corporations including slashing cost-per-hire by up to 70%, boosting retention by up to 10% and decreasing time-to-hire by up to 50%, and simultaneously improving quality of hire.

Recently recognized as the #2 best place to work in Massachusetts, our commitment to best practice is evident in the way we leverage our own solutions to recruit, hire and retain top-notch talent.

Register today for access to our web site's Knowledge Center to learn more about Deploy and to download free best-practice reports from industry luminaries like John Sumser, Dr. John Sullivan, and others.

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