Staffing Industry Insurance: Is Monster Making a Comeback?
Monster.com was one of the original online staffing solutions for both job seekers and recruiters when they emerged in the late 1990’s on the forefront of the dot-com boom. Propelled by clever ad-campaigns and the distinction of being one of the first of their kind, Monster.com was once the top name in online employment. While the company is still going strong, today Monster.com, now known as Monster Worldwide, has all but dropped off the map in term of public awareness.
A recent New York Times article suggests that their decline in public prominence began when LinkedIn sprang onto the web-scene billed as a more professionally conscience, career building tool for employees and employers. However, it would seem that Monster is ready to reenter the arena and fight to reclaim their former acclaim in the staffing world. Monster has recently released a new product offering that is founded in big data mining and social media ad targeting, two of the most popular marketing tactics to date. The new offerings are designed to help employers and staffing professionals gain access to a pool of qualified candidates which have been compiled not by direct application for the position, but by Monster’s analysis of the candidate’s big data footprint.
According to Monster, the new tools called TalentBin boasts the “world’s largest passive candidate database”, which they have compiled based on accessing data from online and social media profiles. Essentially the tool will comb through over a hundred different online platforms to compile all the known digital data about an individual and their employment qualifications. This information will then be packaged and presented to staffing professionals who can then search that pool for the best candidates. Recruiters can utilize the wealth of personal data obtained by Monster’s tool to craft customized email pitches to top candidates and even reference personal or professional details from their profiles. Monster hopes that the ability to gather data from so many different online profiles will give their technology a leg-up among competitors which may only have access to a fraction of the overall qualifications of a candidate. TalentBin is currently only focusing on tech and design talent pools but is looking to expand into other sectors such as healthcare in the near future.
Using big data to as a recruiting aid is still somewhat uncharted territory. While many employment technology providers are offering programs that will mine profile data and other digital information to help staffing professionals better target their talent searches, there is still much debate about how much and what type of digital data can be used in qualifying or disqualifying a candidate for employment. It is important the staffing industry members protect themselves from the known and unknown professional liability threats which may surface from the use or misuse of digital information.
Staffing is a dynamic and complex industry with many liability risk exposures. At World Wide Specialty Programs, we provide insurance solutions to help the staffing industry manage their risk exposures and protect their assets. Our complete portfolio of staffing agency insurance policies is available to agents and brokers to help their staffing clients attain the unique coverage then need. From professional liability to employment practices, we can help ensure that your clients are protected throughout the course of their endeavors. To learn more about our wholesale staffing industry insurance operation, give us a call today at (877) 256-0468.