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BrassRing Summit 2006: The War for Talent is Real and It's Here

BrassRing Clients Collaborate on Recruitment Trends and Challenges;
Share Innovative Solutions for Attracting Top Talent

WALTHAM, MA - May 19, 2006 - BrassRing® (www.brassring.com), a global leader in talent management solutions, today announces results and insights from its seventh annual BrassRing Summit held May 9-12, 2006 at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. This year’s Summit truly captured the theme Lead. Compete. Succeed, offering BrassRing clients, partners and HR industry luminaries the opportunity to exchange ideas about how to win the war for talent.

Daily keynote addresses at the Summit included “The Trick to HR Measurement --- It’s Not Just the Numbers” featuring John Boudreau, Ph.D., Professor of Management and Organization, and Research Director of the Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California; “Treating Candidates as Customers” featuring Albert Martens, Global e-HR Manager, IKEA; and “In Search of the Perfect Candidate” featuring recruiting industry expert Lou Adler.

Over 30 presentations were delivered by BrassRing clients and partners, demonstrating how they are addressing a range of recruitment trends and challenges in the constantly changing global marketplace. Topics included: Strategic Approach to Talent Pools (Brown-Forman); Expanding Your Recruiting Reach with IVR (Caremark Rx, Inc.); Global Recruiting – Turning a Vision Into Reality (Rockwell Automation); Recruitment Services Outsourcing – When Your Employees Are Your Brand (ServiceMaster); and Worldwide Recruitment and Executive Search – Developing a Successful In-House Model (Time Warner). Informative sessions were also delivered on the latest innovations in talent management technology and services from BrassRing.

“The executives that lead our clients’ HR and recruitment efforts have long been innovators in their respective industries – so it’s no surprise that they are at the forefront of addressing key recruitment challenges in the war for talent,” said Deb Besemer, CEO and president, BrassRing. “Talent pools are rapidly shrinking and global organizations cannot afford to lose opportunities to recruit quality talent. BrassRing works closely with its clients to monitor global recruiting issues and trends so that we may offer effective counsel and solutions to support their efforts to position HR, and recruiting initiatives in particular, as strategic to their organization’s success.”

Summit discussions also confirmed that the role of the recruiter is changing from a tactical resource to a trusted strategic advisor in driving an organization’s growth and viability. BrassRing’s clients know that to compete globally they need access to the talent that drives results, so recruitment goals must be aligned with the larger business objectives. A few of the new recruiter roles identified included Candidate Advocate and Coach, Employment Brand Manager and Networking Specialist.

“HR managers and recruitment specialists are often tasked with many of the tactical elements of recruiting and staffing, and therefore aren’t able to focus on what should be their core competencies, such as candidate networking and developing strategic plans for attracting and retaining the best talent,” said Gary Cormier, EVP of Recruitment Services, BrassRing. “In response to this trend, BrassRing is seeing an increase interest in shared, supplemental and complementary recruitment engagements that handle the tactical segments of recruitment strategies, such as sourcing research and strategy to filtering resumes to managing compliance and OFCCP requirements. Doing so effectively can also ensure that the best talent is continually flowing into the organization while focusing the valuable core insight that recruiters are expected to bring to the table.”

A major highlight of the Summit was the presentation of the first annual BrassRing Recruiting Excellence Awards. The awards acknowledge client recruiting teams that use BrassRing technology and services in innovative ways to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their recruiting process. This year’s recipients were:

ConAgra Foods, Inc. a Fortune 500 company that -- with 14 operating groups and over 35,000 employees -- accomplished several critical talent management milestones in a four-month period, including: establishing a database of over 148,000 candidates as a staffing resource for their entire organization; simplifying their job posting process by auto-posting to multiple job boards; reducing time-to-fill by more than four weeks; reducing cost-per-hire by 17%; increasing Internet hires by 14%; expanding diversity initiatives; developing an automated applicant tracking process; creating a customized applicant tracking report; and creating a process for tracking and reporting quarterly staffing metrics.
Sepracor Inc., a research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, that successfully recruited over 800 pharmaceutical sales representatives in a few months in preparation for the launch of several new products including Lunesta™ (eszopiclone), the company’s new non-narcotic prescription sleep aid.
IKEA, an international home furnishings retailer with over 230 locations, and one of the most recognized brands in the world, for the successful integration of its brand essence into every step of its hiring practices by treating job candidates as customers, attracting and retaining talented employees who reflect their brand and deliver an individualized brand experience to each vendor, consumer, and candidate they encounter – each hour of every day.

BrassRing clients attending the Summit represented a broad range of industries, including Aerospace and Defense; Automotive and Transportation Equipment; Banking and Financial Services; Biotechnology/ Pharmaceutical; Business Services; Chemicals; Computer Software and Services; Consumer Products; Education; Electronics; Energy/Utilities; Food and Beverage; Health Products and Services; Insurance; Media/Entertainment; Manufacturing; Retail/Wholesale; and, Telecommunications.

About BrassRing

Founded in 1999, BrassRing is a leading provider of talent management solutions that help businesses compete through talent and improve their position in the global marketplace. BrassRing’s Workforce by Design™ seamlessly integrates innovative technology, consulting and outsourcing with recruitment expertise to give clients the edge they need to successfully meet talent lifecycle challenges and build a competitive workforce -- in any economic climate. With Global, Secure and Compliant offerings, BrassRing provides the guidance and solutions necessary to help organizations identify, assess, recruit and retain a globally competitive workforce. BrassRing has earned a number of prestigious industry awards, including two consecutive Software & Information Industry Association Codie Awards (2004 and 2005) for "Best Human Resources Product" and the Sears "Partners in Progress" Award. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, BrassRing has operations in the United States, Asia Pacific and Europe. To learn more about BrassRing please visit www.brassring.com. BrassRing is a registered trademark of BrassRing LLC.

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