PeopleComm launches niche recruiting tool
Long Island Business News, January 12, 2001

MICHAEL P. CONROY
GREAT RIVER - PeopleComm, a software industry consulting, sales training, and executive search firm, has launched a Web site that provides companies recruiting high-tech sales executives with a specialized portal.

Steve Morgan, president and co-founder of the 18-month-old company, said his new recruitment site, SalesRecruits.com, stands apart from general job board sites like Jobseekers.com, Hotjobs.com or Monster.com because of its narrow focus.

"If you are a sales executive in the software and technology industry, using a Monster.com type of job board is like finding a needle in a haystack," Morgan said. "Narrowing the search as we have done is like finding a stack of needles for both recruiters and job seekers. "The demand for such employees far outweighs the supply. A recent report by Gartner states that for every 100 high-tech jobs in the country about 25 candidates are available. Forrester Research says the online recruitment market will reach $7.1 billion by 2005.

Smartmoney.com, MRI Recruiter.com and Careerplanner.com represent some competition, but like the others, they handle other positions as well.

Here's how the site works: A sales executive candidate logs on at no cost, answers up to 40 questions about work experience, and signs on with an online agent-a high tech head hunter-that finds jobs fitting the candidate's profile.

The recruiting companies pay Peoplecomm a subscription fee based on its needs, of as much as $20,000 a year for full access, which at first will include candidates in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Companies that wish to regionalize a search, including, say, only the northeast, pay a lower subscription price.

"The average company pays recruiters more than 25 percent of a candidate's first year salary in order to find a qualified individual," Morgan said. "If a company finds just one candidate, the investment will have paid for itself".

Recently, the site was launched to a small crowd of invitation-only customers, Morgan said. Its corporate customers include RightNow Technologies, Metastorm, and Apropos Technology. "We had Apropos Technology test our site and within 90 days, the company hired a dozen sales execs through our site," Morgan said.

Morgan said he is projecting more than $1 million in sales during the first year.

The site was developed as a joint effort with Invision.com, which has its own job search site, LIJobs.com. Invision.com will continue to supply technical support.

PeopleComm is one of the original tenants at the Long Island Technology Center and has 10 employees, which Morgan expects to double in the coming year.

The company also consults for corporate clients. It has helped such companies as Shop50.com, Allen Systems Group and e-Security increase revenue and accelerate growth, according to Morgan. PeopleComm also helps companies use the Internet to boost sales productivity.