Diversity Matters

The Power and economic impact of Small Diverse businesses in communities across the nation is the driving force behind Diversity Direct, and just one way in which we describe our vision. As corporate leaders and business owners we focus on growing our businesses, connecting and strengthening our families, developing our professional network, and generating new ideas. But there is another part of our lives that needs attention – strengthening our communities. Every day we work diligently to advance our customers commitment to supplier diversity, corporate social responsibility, and supporting their community outreach initiatives. As we celebrate Diversity Direct’s second year in the marketplace, we continue to expand our partner mentorship program, grow small and diversity owned firms within the communities where our clients conduct business, and develop new solutions for both our corporate clients and our valued partners. Consider, for example, our newly developed Partner Rewards and Recognition Program. This program rewards our valued diversity partners for their loyalty, quality focus, and cost conscious business processes utilized to

deliver a high level of service to Diversity Direct and our Clients. Get to know the details of this latest addition to our menu of services in this issue of Diversity Matters, as we highlight a few of our top performers! Having placed our 500th worker on assignment earlier this quarter and growing steadily since, we thank you for your continued support of Diversity Direct and our mission for the remainder of 2011 and beyond. With gratitude, Joel A. Jerva Vice President, Real Soft, Inc. & Diversity Direct

If you wish to contact Diversity Matters, please feel free

to email or call!

[email protected]

609-409-3636 x124

mailto:[email protected]



Meet the Team!

My name is Charles Hunter and I am a Diversity Direct Account Coordinator. Many of you have corresponded with me for the past couple of months, but for those who have not- I am the most recent addition to the Diversity Direct Team.

When Diversity Direct

receives an order from

one of our clients, it is

my responsibility to

review the job order in

the Diversity Direct

system and then assign

the order to the specific

partners that meet the

qualifications for the

client, position & skill

sets.

Once a partner has found a qualified candidate, they enter that person’s resume into the system. Once in the system, I review the resume to ensure that the candidate is qualified for the position and I also check for any discrepancies. If there are any errors, I make sure to correct and format the resume so it can to be submitted for the job along with any other significant data. It is also my responsibility to update our partners and clients with any new status regarding the

candidate and/or job.

I am a graduate of Kean

University with a

Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and minor in Print Journalism. I will be enrolling in Graduate School in the spring of 2012 to pursue a Masters in Advertising/Marketing. I was born in Plainfield, NJ but I have lived in Piscataway, NJ for a majority of my life.

I love art and sports. My

favorite team is Dallas

Cowboys and my

favorite artist is Derick

G. I am also a family

man, so when I am not

working I am spending

time with my daughter.

Just a few reminders!

Please do not include Client names in

your job postings. Use terms such as

‘Major Financial Client’ instead!

Keep your Diversity Connect profile

updated! Add your skill sets, and

certifications as they change.

Diversity Direct has reached & surpassed a significant milestone!

Looking back at the early days of Diversity Direct, it is easy to see why this is such a huge accomplishment! In the beginning, with a staff of 2 – we were using excel spreadsheets to track placements, and only utilizing the services of a few diversity partners. Today, we have our proprietary web-enabled technology platform, Diversity Connect, and a large, powerful inclusive network of

Partners nationwide! Diversity Direct and our valued partners have reached the milestone of placing over 500+ workers on assignment! This would not have been possible without our hard-working, diligent partners. Many of our partners work late into the night, and on weekends to submit qualified resumes to Diversity Direct. We appreciate your support!

500th

Placement

DID YOU KNOW .. July 14th, 2011 was the second anniversary of Diversity Direct?

On behalf of Diversity Direct, we would like to thank our partners and our clients for your continued support of Supplier Diversity, Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Outreach.

THANK YOU

LinkedIn: The Land of the Passive Candidates? “LinkedIn did a poll and asked members if they would be annoyed or bothered if a recruiter they did not know

approached them on LinkedIn about an open position. A staggering 95% of respondents stated that they were fine

with being approached by a recruiter on LinkedIn as long as the position was appropriate for their skill set.” While

many users on LinkedIn are not advertising their availability, many users ARE looking for jobs – or would leave their

current roles for a better fit, higher pay, etc. 95% of users said they would not be bothered if contacted by a

recruiter via LinkedIn. Do your research on the potential candidate, and contact away! These are the elusive passive

candidates the industry has been after for years!

What will Google Plus mean for recruiting?

Google Plus has been touted as the ‘recruiting friendly Facebook.’ Facebook has long been viewed with mixed feelings

by the recruiting industry. Facebook does not allow much access to users you are not ‘friends’ with – and also doesn’t

supply much information about current job status, skills, or anything resembling a resume. Google+ has combined the

best of both social networks – Facebook & LinkedIn – to create a new super database of candidates.

How can you use this new service to benefit your recruiting?

Circles – Circles on Google Plus will allow you to add all of your contacts into specific groups. Family, Friends,

Coworkers & Job Seekers are the immediate group names that come to mind. Have a hot job you want to blast out

quickly to your candidate pool? Post a status update, and select your ‘Job Seekers’ circle. Now, only your intended

audience – Job Seekers – will be able to view that post, while your other circles will not be spammed!

Hangouts – Allows multiple people to join in on a group chat. Need to coordinate the schedules of a hiring manager, a

candidate and yourself? Hangouts will easily allow you to do so! Have a large group of people beginning a project?

Easily share pertinent job site details with them all at once!

Bonus Feature: Google Plus has gained so much buzz, that millions of users are already on it – and the rest are

excitedly waiting for an invite! Google Plus will combine the social aspects of Facebook and the business aspects of

LinkedIn – and attract users from both realms.

While Google Plus it’s still in its infancy, it is definitely worth a second (or first!) look by recruiters and staffing firms as

in time, apps will be developed for it to make recruiting just that much easier!

Diversity Direct has launched a brand new weekly series of mentorship emails, called Diversity Direction. Diversity Direction was d designed as a way to share industry best practices with our Diversity Direct Partner Network. We will continue to grow and expand this series, and will be adding a series targeted specifically to job seekers in the next quarter. If any of these topics pique your interest, or if you have your own pointer to share – head on over to the Diversity Direct Partner Group on LinkedIn to share! Archives of past editions of Diversity Direction are available at DiversityDirection.tumblr.com If you are not currently on the mailing list and would like to be, please email [email protected]




Our Partner Recognition Program was designed to provide recognition and appreciation to our network.

Suppliers who have been successfully on-boarded to Diversity Direct will receive a Participation certificate, designating

them as a Diversity Direct Partner as well as a seal to proudly display on their website and marketing material.

Recognition Program Highlights Include:

Achievement Certificates - Each level marks an important milestone in a partner’s journey with Diversity Direct!

• Level 1 (25+ successful cumulative placements)




Below are the current partners who have successfully achieved various milestones through Diversity

Direct:

In future issues, a Cultural Spotlight section will also be added to Diversity Matters, as well as all Social Media efforts

celebrating the strength, diversity and wide ranging capabilities of our partner network. Such celebrations include Black

History Month, Hispanic American Day, Veterans Day, LGBT Day, and many more.

In 2012 we will be launching the Diversity Rewards program, which will include a ‘performance points’ reward program.

Stay tuned @DiversityDirect to be the first to learn what is next!

Level 1

•Lakeside Group Associates

•PMC Professional, LLC

•Supreme Staffing Services

Level 2

•Centex Staffing

•DSU Staffing

Level 3

•Trinity Staffing Services

The Power of Small Business is

the Power of Change.

The power of small

business is the power of

change. Adding a small

business to a community

changes the dynamic of

the community – jobs are

created, hope is restored,

the economy begins to

improve, and crime rates

lower– all due to the

opening of a small

business.

When a small business

opens shop in a

community, jobs are

undoubtedly created.

From those jobs countless

people begin to feel

something they have been

lacking for years – hope.

New jobs create hope – as

many are able to feed,

clothe, and shelter their

families.

People begin to dream

again, and have

something to look

forward to. That hope

spreads throughout the

community and to the

children of the

community. They begin to

see and feel the positive

repercussions of the hard

work of their parents.

At Diversity Direct, a

patent pending human

resources solution, we

partner with small,

diverse partners in

economically

disadvantaged

communities. We bring

them clients they may

have been ineligible to

work with alone, and

funnel the

diversity spend of large

companies into smaller

communities. Through those

small companies, comes

change in the community –

which is the ultimate power

of the small business.

DID YOU KNOW...

Small Businesses

have generated

64 percent of net

new jobs over the

past 15 years.

National Car Rental Company as New client As Diversity Direct continues to grow and bring more and more small/diverse partners together with new clients, we were excited to announce this client as one of our newest DD clients. In June, we made our first placement with them and have continued that success in the following weeks. We are looking forward to the new opportunities this account offers our Partners and to the opportunity to demonstrate the superior customer service and abilities of our Partner Network. Partner turned Client While DD was created to create opportunities for our small/diverse Partners, sometimes the tables get turned and our Partners have opportunities for the network. One of our partners, another new client, represents this kind of opportunity and yet another way to share opportunities with our Partner Network. Many direct Fortune 1000 clients have been made available to our network via this relationship. In June, the network made its first placement through this company, with many more to come. Positive Scorecard As with all new clients, it is important to put your best foot forward, as they say. With our Major Financial Client, our review of Q1 in June resulted in a positive assessment of Diversity Direct and the Network’s efforts on this account. Our response rate, response timing and quality of job seekers exceeded the target levels set by the client. Some areas for improvement, however, were the turnaround time for onboarding and an overall increase in the number of placements (which will come as we better understand the client’s needs). Overall, it was positive first assessment from a valued client.

•New York, NY & Long Island, NY

Administrator w/ Business Graphics (prior Client experience required)

•Chesapeake, VA

Data Scrubber

•Tampa, FL

Sourcing Analyst

•Various

Marketing-Program Managers

Database Analyst Programmer

ETL Performance Specialist

Elizabeth Theodore is a consultant placed on site at one of our Major Financial Clients. This month, she received the Star Award from her manager! Liz has demonstrated a very hard work ethic. Liz manages multiple applications, all the while keeping customers happy and a smile on her face. On more than one occasion she has put worth extra hours to ensure her work load is done efficiently and effectively. Liz is a great team player and is always willing to help a coworker in need. On behalf of Diversity Direct and your employer,OmniGroup, we thank Elizabeth for all of her hard work !

Trade Shows: To Attend, or Not to

Attend – THAT is the question!

Starting in 2008, trade show attendance began to drop off significantly. After recurring attendance to the same

annual conferences and opportunity fairs, it was clear to me that not only was overall “foot traffic” lower than prior

years, but, there was also a decrease in sponsorship events and exhibitors. For example, events that typically

represented 1200 companies with exhibits, now struggled to exceed 800 display booths. In addition, for those

companies choosing to purchase exhibit booth space, the vast majority chose to purchase a fraction of the square

footage that they did in previous years. With attendance, advertising, exhibit space, all declining; I often get asked by

our Diversity Partners and Clients, “Is it worth the investment to attend trade shows and sponsor industry events when

funds are tight?” My short answer to this question is always, YES. Respectfully, the economy at the present is not what

anyone would hope. Further, we can all appreciate the need to conserve capital and practice aggressive expense

management. With that said, it is always important to show the marketplace that your firm is competing in its selected

industry segment. If your presence at the event is not what you hope or desire, your attendance and any level of

participation still shows the industry that you are committed to this industry and still a financially viable company for

which to conduct business. Rather than eliminate trade show attendance completely, when possible, I recommend a

more strategic selection and usage of events until the economy improves and cash flow becomes more predictable.

Below are a few tips to consider:

In summary, everyone is budget conscious these days. It is important to remember and support the industry events that

have been prosperous for your business in the past. This ensures that these events are still around when the economy

improves and your company may be looking to increase your advertising exposure and branding efforts once again. Until

that time, a more strategic and conservative approach may work best to stay involved on a limited budget.

List industry events, conferences, and trade shows that you believe are important to attend. Next, reduce this list to the top 2-3. This list should only include events that are critical and have produced the highest ROI in past years.

If you typically purchase advertising space in the event’s conference materials, reduce the budget by 75%. Your firm will still show support of this industry event and be visible to potential customers, but your advertising space will be smaller and your cost will be lower.

Reduce the number of attendees from your firm

Reduce the number of days that you attend the event. I.e.: if the event is 4 days, attend for the trade show only or 2 days max.

If your budget will not allow for the costs of exhibiting, consider sending a couple people to attend as ‘walk-through only ’participants. This will cut costs drastically, but still provide an opportunity to talk with your current clients, be visible, and network with others by visiting their exhibit booths. Any leads obtained can be distributed evenly upon return from the event.

In the Next

Issue ….

We are looking for Veteran’s who have

become entrepreneurs to share their

experiences with us for the next issue!

Contact DiversityMatters@diversity-

direct.com and your company could be

featured in the next issue of Diversity

Matters!

Also the next issue of Diversity Matters will

contain answers to our current poll: Share

your biggest start up mistake! Learning from

our mistakes only makes you, and our

network, stronger! We would love to hear

from you! Email DiversityMatters@diversity-

direct.com

On behalf of Diversity Direct -

THANK

YOU We could not have made it this far without you –

our partners and clients!

John Campellone – Executive Vice President Peggy Zarrelli – Director of Operations [email protected] [email protected] Joel Jerva – Vice President Alyssa Noonan – Partner Relationship Manager [email protected] [email protected] Keith Henderson – Account/Vendor Manager Justin Jez – Account/Vendor Manager [email protected] [email protected] Charles Hunter – Diversity Direct Coordinator Emiliano Greaves – Diversity Direct Coordinator [email protected] [email protected]

































Documents

Diversity Matters