Online Tool Gives Contractors 'Best Chance' at Diverse Workforce


DES MOINES, Iowa, April 20, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Contractors who must follow workforce diversity rules have a new tool to help them comply with state and federal regulations.

One in a suite of tools, Diversity Outreach is a part of the BirdDog Candidate Acquisition Management System (CAMS), a web-enabled recruitment program customized for construction, mechanical and engineering companies. When an employer posts an open position inside of CAMS, the job is listed across the BirdDog family of niche job sites, as well as on the employer's company career page.

Diversity Outreach is designed to help contractors meet Equal Opportunity Employment and Affirmative Action mandates by assisting them in a proactive recruitment of a diverse workforce. The tool allows hiring managers to upload, store and manage their lists of diversity resources – places like Hire a Hero, National Urban League or state workforce development agencies. From there, hiring managers can opt to notify each of the resources with the check of a box anytime they post an open position in CAMS.

Personal contacts can also be added into CAMS, which interacts with documents like Microsoft Excel, as well as contacts databases, including those powered by Microsoft Outlook and Google.

Having these resources at their finger tips makes it easier for hiring managers to notify diverse populations of open positions. What's more, CAMS tracks which contacts have received and opened the job postings, providing contractor firms with a "paperless" paper trail. It's this kind of documentation that is key to minimizing the pain and expense of a workforce compliance audit.   

"BirdDog's CAMS gives contractors their best chance at demonstrating a good faith effort to attract and retain a diverse workforce," said BirdDog VP Doug Mitchell, author of the newly released white paper "Ten Thousand Shades of Gray – The Impact of Workforce Regulations on Federal Contractors." "Diversity Outreach helps contractors comply with workforce regulations. Most importantly, it supplies evidence to prove that compliance when auditors come to call." 

The tool comes at a time when contractors face an increased chance of popping up on the compliance-enforcement radar. Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) increased the number of onsite investigations and hired more than 200 compliance officers to step up enforcement. The office is on track to repeat its enhanced enforcement efforts this year.

To watch a video on how CAMS and the Diversity Outreach tool work, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wFL75EtTlQ.

About BirdDog

Founded in Des Moines in 1997 as Industry People Group, BirdDog hunts and retrieves specialized candidates then tracks and manages them through to the hire in the construction, infrastructure, facilities and engineering industries. The company powers niche job boards BirdDogJobs.com, MEPjobs.com, ASHRAEjobs.com, and AGCiajobs.com, connecting employers with jobseekers online. In addition, BirdDog offers a robust Web-based tool providing employers with simplified cross-posting and paperless management tools, reducing the time and investment required to bring top talent on board. For more information, visit birddogjobs.com or follow on Twitter @birddog_jobs.

Contact
Kelly Moore (for BirdDog)
515-720-9670
kelly@kellymooreconsulting.com

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