2005 In Review: 7. Referral Companies

In the early spring, we predicted that Jobster would be this year's winner in the buzz category. We compared Jobster and H3 (the specs are OBE (overtaken by events). We offered the following table in our three part series on Referral tools
(1, 2, 3):

In almost no time, an automated referral system has become a required subset of any talent management system acquisition. Jobster's recent alliance with Taleo made the use of networked sourcing a near universal.

The real news is somewhat more interesting. Jobster and H3 in particular have revitalized our industry. We were teetering on the edge of being as boring as the crowd that really hates HR says we are. Five years without a meaningful investment in the industry or interesting innovation made for a spartan climate. The two companies have organized some serious talent from within and without the industry. Customers are having fun with vendors. It's a nice change.

The real secret here is that "referral" is a bit of a misnomer. These tools really work best when they are used to cultivate, fertilize and develop a sort of "sourcing farm". The H3 approach encourages culling and cultivating while the Jobster version has supplemental traffic. Where Jobster is trending towards the social software (LinkedIn) networking approach, H3 is a grassroots tool that produces superior results for those willing to invest the time into it.

Differences aside, the industry was abuzz with the referral business during 2005. It will only get hotter in 2006 as the competition for resources heats up.

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