Mariner7 wins staff evaluation deal

By ADAM GIFFORD

Carter Holt Harvey subsidiary Mariner7 has struck a deal to incorporate its Talent Engine psychometric evaluation software into recruitment management package sold by Christchurch-Chicago company StaffCV.

StaffCV's software allows companies to build recruitment websites to collect and manage applications and resumes from job-seekers. Companies save costs because they no longer have to pay fees to recruitment companies for every candidate hired.

StaffCV chief executive Jason Kerr said his company, an offshoot of Christchurch airline management software company Forte Solutions, registered in Delaware and established a head office in Chicago last May after selling a minority stake to United States investors.

It has already picked up 23 North American airline customers for packages tailored to recruit pilots and cabin crew, and an association of 90 Illinois hospitals has bought a version for recruiting nurses.

"Our software can test for core competency, but we needed something which would do the psychometric testing," Kerr said.

Talent Engine, which will be embedded into StaffCV, runs from a hosted environment over the internet. It allows applicants to use sliding scales to quickly build profiles of themselves, rather than have to work through a questionnaire.

Mariner7 chief psychologist Dr Paul Barrett said it was a completely new assessment technology that measured work preferences instead of the more usual personality tests.

"These preferences are important predictors of job satisfaction, positive work attitude and staff turnover. The tool provides a powerful and objective basis from which to make recruitment decisions," Barrett said.

Kerr said some users had complained that they could not tailor their responses to fit the job.

"That is the beauty of what Mariner7 has done, it is a generic test because you are not applying for a specific job," Kerr said.

"People say they like to see handwritten or typed resumes before hiring staff.

"The truth is you can go to resume-builder websites which tell you what you need to say, what skills you need to claim to get any one of 2000 jobs. It is better to collect quality information which relates to your business."

Kerr would not reveal StaffCV's revenue, but he said the company expected to make an operating profit in the third quarter of this financial year.

Links:

Mariner7

StaffCV