HR-XML Assessments Standard Enables End-To-End Talent Management

Data Interchange Specification Offers More Timely, Better Integrated Assessments RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Employers that use assessments as part of their workforce management strategy will benefit from a new standard that makes it easier to integrate assessments into the workflow and decision- support framework of recruiting and HR management systems. The new standard, approved in a vote by the more than 100 member organizations of the HR-XML Consortium, provides employers the flexibility and efficiencies of being able to order, manage, and apply assessments from within their HR or recruiting solution of choice. "In-depth assessments provide a strong foundation for important decisions about people in the workplace," said Romuald Restout, Product Architect, Recruitsoft, Inc., and leader of the HR-XML Assessments Project Team. "The HR- XML Consortium's Assessments standard has been created so organizations can more efficiently integrate a collection of third-party assessment instruments within an employer's workforce management solution," according to Restout. "By applying a more systematic approach to the integration process, organizations can centralize the process and generate improvements in productivity that contribute to the bottom-line," he explained. Version 1.0 of the HR-XML Consortium's Assessments Standard is designed to support orders to third-party suppliers of assessment services as well as the return of assessment status and results. The Assessments standard can be applied to assessments of "hard skills," such as those acquired through training and education, as well as soft skills, such as customer orientation, analytical thinking, and leadership. The HR-XML Consortium's Assessment's Workgroup is planning future releases of the standard that will support additional options, such as the discovery of available assessment instruments based on the particular competencies an employer may want to assess. "Employers are interested in the higher return on investment that quality employees deliver. In turn, employers are using assessment solutions in all stages of the human capital lifecycle to ensure they develop employees with the right skills and that they promote people into the positions where they will succeed," said Shawn Lyndon, CTO, ePredix. "The HR-XML Consortium's Assessments Standard better serves employers by opening the door to easy integration of a wide variety of assessment tools within HR systems," according to Lyndon. "The HR-XML Consortium's Assessments Standard makes it even easier for employers to leverage the assessment tests, tools, and expertise offered by assessment service providers," according to Doug Walner, President of PSI. "The standard significantly reduces implementation time frames and costs for employers and vendors implementing assessments within talent management solutions," said Walner. Register to download the HR-XML Consortium's freely available Assessments Standard by visiting: http://www.hr-xml.org/forms/schema_register.cfm About HR-XML HR-XML ( http://www.hr-xml.org/ ) is an independent, non-profit consortium dedicated to enabling e-commerce and inter-company exchange of human resources data worldwide. The work of the Consortium centers on the development and promotion of standardized XML vocabularies for HR. HR-XML's current efforts are focused on standards for staffing and recruiting, compensation and benefits, training and work force management. HR-XML is represented by its membership in 22 countries. Member organizations include: Acord; Adecco Corporation*; ADP*; Aetna US Healthcare*; Allegis Group, Inc./Thingamajob.com*; American Background Information Services, Inc.; American Staffing Association; Association of Test Publishers; Authoria*; Automating Peripherals Inc; BenefitsXML, Inc.; BP; BrassRing, Inc.; Bundesanstalt fur Arbeit (German Employment Service); Business Solutions Group of E*TRADE Financial; Caliper*; CareerBuilder; CDI Corp/MRI*; Ceridian*; CIGNA Healthcare; Cisco Systems; CitiStreet*; CompuCorps Mentoring; Convergys Employee Care; Cyborg Systems, Inc.*; Defense Finance and Accounting Service; Deploy Solutions*; Development Dimensions International; Dobbs Temporary Services, Inc.; EdVerify, Inc.; Elance, Inc.; Embrace Ltd*; Employease, Inc.; Enrollcom; ePredix; European Community Telework Forum; ExecuTRACK Software GmbH; Fidelity Investments*; Fieldglass, Inc.; Halcyon Internet plc*; Hewitt Associates*; Hewlett-Packard Co; Hire.com*; HireCheck*; HireRight, Inc.; HotJobs*; IBM*; Independence Blue Cross; Insurance Overload Systems*; International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM); Intuit*; J.D. Edwards*; Job Partners Ltd; Kadiri,Inc.*; Kelly Services*; Kenexa, Inc.*; Kronos Incorporated; Link Staffing Services Inc.*; MagnaWare, Inc.; Manpower, Inc.*; Mellon HR Solutions; Mercer Human Resource Consulting; MetLife, Inc.*; Microsoft*; milch & zucker; Minnesota Life; Monster.com; MPS Group*; National Resume Writers' Association; Object Management Group; Oracle*; Paychex Inc.; Pearson Reid London House; Peopleclick*; PeopleSoft GmbH*; Performance Assessment Network; ProAct Technologies, Inc.*; ProBusiness Services, Inc.; Prudential Financial; PSI; Randstad Holding*; Recruitsoft, Inc.*; Resume Mirror Inc.; RewardsPlus; Robert Half International, Inc.*; Rompetrol Refining -- Petromidia Complex; SAP*; Saratoga Institute; Schlumberger; SHPS / eBenX*; Siemens Business Services oHG; Society for Human Resource Management; Spherion Corporation*; Staff Service Holdings Co., Ltd.*; Sterling Testing Systems; Swedish National Labour Market Board; Synhrgy HR Technologies, Inc.; The 401(k) Company; The Gallup Organization; The People Business Network, Inc.; totaljobs.com; Towers Perrin*; Transcentive; Ultimate Software*; Unicru; Vedior NV; Volt/ProcureStaff*; Watson Wyatt Worldwide*; White Amber; and Workscape, Inc.