Another year is quickly coming to a close, and as we look back at the past 12 months, we have a lot to be grateful for. This year brought new products and service offerings, new team members, exciting partnerships and so many new Members! As the holidays approach, we thought now would be a good time to reminisce about all the great things that happened this year, as we prepare for all that is to come next year. So, let’s take a look at the DE highlight reel as we rewind 2019 and all its glory.
February 2019 – Moved to new office
Just as DirectEmployers membership base is growing, so is the staff! With that said, we needed more space for our team to expand, so we moved to a new location in mid-February. Our new office is complete with a large kitchen area with plenty of seating, common areas, more conference rooms and even a fitness room. Want to see our new space? Be our guest in this short video tour!
February 2019 – Partnership with SocialTalent
February was a big month for DE! Aside from our shiny new digs, we also entered a partnership with Ireland-based SocialTalent, the world’s leading recruitment learning experience platform, to provide OFCCP training content lead by our Executive Director, Candee Chambers, and employment law attorney, John C. Fox. Get the full details in this press release or sign up to take the course!
April 2019 – Amicus Curiea Brief Filed on Behalf of DirectEmployers and American Society of Employers (ASE)
Back in March, in a District Court case between the National Women’s Law Center and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a potential ruling to require federal contractors to provide EEO-1 component 2 pay data and hours worked, within a matter of weeks (May 31, 2019) was proposed. We quickly sent out a survey asking our Members how quickly they would be able to do so, and with 178 of your replies and the support of the American Society of Employers (ASE), we were able to file an Amicus Curiea Brief and ultimately, halt this decision. Not only were the results very surprising to all, this caused the court to fashion a unique, never seen remedy to require the EEOC to keep the filing portal open much longer and at great expense to the federal government. View the Amicus Curiea Brief – a sure win for federal contractors and the employment community alike, and we couldn’t have done it without your help!
May 2019 – DEAM19 in Naples
Last May, we headed to the beach with 350 of our Members and industry friends for DirectEmployers 2019 Annual Meeting & Conference. During the conference, we heard from a number of powerhouse experts and engaging keynotes including veteran, actor and winner of Dancing with the Stars season 13, J.R. Martinez, OFCCP Director, Craig Leen, and even a hypnotist! Check out this blog recap and watch this short video of what you might have missed–and then register to join us for DEAMcon20 in Fort Worth next May!
May 2019 – Launched DE Academy
During DEAM19, we also made an exciting announcement–we were launching our very own professional development e-learning platform, DE Academy! While the content is still in the growth stage, there are a number of invaluable courses on military hiring, accessibility, and more! Later in the year we also hosted our first live, instructor-led e-learning course, the Disability Awareness Mastery Course led by disability expert, Sheridan Walker of HirePotential. Learn more about the DE Academy launch in this press release and be sure to check out the resources available by visiting Academy.DirectEmployers.org.
July 2019 – Recruit Rooster Began Offering Accessibility Services
In 2018, the DE brand expanded with the launch of Recruit Rooster, our fully customizable recruitment marketing solution. Despite an already great arsenal of products and services, the Roosters did some expansion of their own by adding career site accessibility services to help employers improve their reach to individuals with disabilities and ultimately reduce the employment obstacles these talented folks often face. Check out the details in this formal press release and then reach out to the team to see how they can help you reach your hiring goals in 2020! {Psst – our feathery friends can even audit your career site, online branding, and diversity hiring efforts to analyze the current state of your digital presence. Talk about a game-changer for the coming year’s D&I strategy!}
July 2019 – ATS Roundtables
This summer we kicked off a series of virtual ATS roundtable discussions where Members could sign up to participate in practitioner-led sessions based on which applicant tracking system they use. Through these roundtables, Members discussed issues and best practices, and asked questions of fellow users, in an engaging and collaborative environment. Listen to the Workday, SuccessFactors and iCims discussions now, and register to attend DEAMcon20 as we continue the roundtables live!
August 2019 – Launched VocRehab+
We are always looking for ways to provide solutions to our Members’ problems, and one of our most common requests is for additional ways to boost veteran and disability outreach and hiring. To align with our VETcentral Direct product, we launched VocRehab+ which helps Members expand their connection to individuals with disabilities by automatically delivering their jobs to 1,401 verified local vocational rehabilitation representatives in all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Get all the VocRehab+ product details and then contact our Membership team to find out how you can put this tool to use!
September 2019 – Launched Taapestry
We were on a roll with new product development this summer and saved our most exciting one for last – the launch of Taapestry, our one-stop-shop for Affirmative Action & EEO solutions! With this being a completely new venture for us, we brought in the experts, welcoming VP of AAP/EEO Compliance, Tony Perkins, and AAP Technical Analyst, Justin Perkins, to the DE team. Read the press release for more details and be sure to contact the Taapestry crew to discuss your options for 2020!
October 2019 – Launched the DE Talk Podcast
Fast forward to October and we had another surprise up our sleeve–we launched a podcast! DE Talk features honest and open dialogue between powerhouse industry experts on a variety of HR topics ranging from OFCCP compliance advice to emerging recruitment marketing trends, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and insightful solutions that help infuse new life into your HR strategies. So far, we’ve launched three episodes but stay tuned as we release exciting new episodes on the second Tuesday of each month! Check out episodes 1-3 on our website, or via your favorite podcast provider, and subscribe to our email list to receive notifications of new episodes each month.
October 2019 – Partnership with Wounded Warrior Project
Also in October, we entered into a partnership with Wounded Warrior Project to host a series of free online career fairs that would connect our Member employers with veteran and military job seekers from Wounded Warrior Project’s Warriors to Work program. So far this year, we have hosted two, 2-hour events resulting in nearly 600 chat conversations between job seekers and recruiters–all from the convenience of their computer! We are excited to see this partnership grow and plan to host quarterly events next year with the first one taking place at the end of February. Learn more about this initiative in this press release and stay tuned in 2020 for more event information!
December 2019 – Recruit Rooster Partnered with Brazen to Offer Chatbot Services
Our last highlight came in the nick of time for the end of the year, as Recruit Rooster formally announced its partnership with Brazen, a conversational recruiting platform, to offer chatbot services to its customers. How does it work? The conversational chat feature saves recruiters time by helping to pre-screen candidates and collect contact information automatically. Sounds cool, right? Learn more from the formal press release! Contact our Recruit Rooster team to learn more about this tool that can help you reach your recruitment goals in 2020.
In addition, we hosted a total of 26 webinars with over 2,000 attendees, and conducted eight surveys with over 500 responses, which provided valuable information to the membership on a variety of topics ranging from disability hiring to PTO and OFCCP compliance. Wow, what a great year!
While 2019 brought a lot of good to the Association, it also brought the loss of our founder, Bill Warren, who passed away in August. Take a moment to see how our team remembered the “Father of Online Recruiting” in this blog post. We know he would be so proud of all we were able to accomplish together and the progress we are making to grow the Association!
We would just like to end the year by thanking everyone who contributed along the way and helped make 2019 such a success. Now, let’s think ahead to what we can accomplish next year. Cheers to 2019!
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