“Acquisition strengthens Taleo’s leading position in the retail industry”
Well, I guess its been a long time coming. Consolidation in the space was predictable and it will no doubt continue. I had the pleasure of working with Gary Alpert and the WetFeet team from late 2000 through the end of 2005 during my tenure as OVP of employment initiatives at Federated Department Stores/Macy’s Inc. After researching over a dozen different providers it was clear that WetFeet was the best fit for Federated. The results we accomplished were second to none and it could honestly not have occurred without the collaboration and expertise of the WetFeet Recruiter Team. Gary and the WetFeet team fall into what I consider to be a “learning organization”. They applied the knowledge gained from their research arm (led by Steve Pollock) to develop and deliver the best technology of the time. And, they continued to apply an approach of continued learning, evolution and improvement that grew from our shared experience and desire of providing a world-class experience to the job seeker to differentiate the employment brand.
Everything about the experience was positive – the user interface for both recruiters and candidates was truly the best available. The relationship established between WetFeet and Federated was world-class and should be the benchmark for all vendor/client relations. I believe I can even say we all came out the other side all the better for having had the opportunity to collaborate on such a significant business challenge. They clearly delivered above and beyond every day! We launched the initial system in late 2001 and in less than 4 years grew annual online hires to over 38,000. Keep in mind that at the time WetFeet was a company of about 25 people supporting a company of 110,000, hiring approximately 100,000 people annually. We went on to develop a groundbreaking piece of technology together, Interview Scheduling Management, that took the recruiter and candidate experience even further and advanced Federated’s growth in recruitment efficiencies and market positioning. Candidates actually wrote back to tell us how much they appreciate the new technology! If you’re interested in reading about ISM, later called ESM – Enterprise Scheduling Management, you can link to a white paper published through HCI – Human Capital Institute.
CHEERS! to Gary and the WetFeet Recruiter Team! You are an awesome group. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with all of you and I salute your outstanding results and contribution to the recruitment space.
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