The Chad | Change The Online Recruiting Game

**MEMBER UPDATE**

DirectEmployers Association is a nonprofit HR consortium of leading global employers formed to improve labor market efficiency through the sharing of best practices, research and the development of technology.

To be clear, DirectEmployers Association is a member of SHRM, IAEWS, and the .jobs community. As a member in good standing of IAEWS, I would like to submit my formal complaint for the public record to the premeditated tactics and strategies used by the IAEWS organization to not only outright pollute and discredit this ICANN public comment forum but also Employ Media, the .jobs sTLD, and SHRM.

We have performed considerable due diligence with regards to Employ Media’s proposed amendment, the work of the .jobs PDP Council, the involvement by SHRM managing the PDP process, and the RSEP document as set forth by Employ Media to ICANN. We urge the ICANN staff and Board to appreciate what we have to say in this correspondence is coming from a position of knowledge and education based substantively upon the available documents published by SHRM and Employ Media enabling anyone else to do same.

First, we wish to communicate that the overwhelming majority of opposing comments – and we’ve reviewed each – clearly indicate no review of the substantial body of work that comprises the RSEP submission by Employ Media. Further, we feel it is likely that most stating opposition is unaware of the existence of this body of work, a point we will come back to later. At a high level, DirectEmployers Association is calling into question the worthiness and/or value – to anyone – of what we consider the bulk of the comments that have not reviewed the relevant and pertinent documents that comprise Employ Media’s RSEP towards the goal of an informed opinion of benefit to all.

This ICANN venue, this very RSEP process, is a culmination of substantial and credible community due diligence led by SHRM, well documented for public view. DirectEmployers Association proposed to Employ Media a beta test to gather real market data to determine if names that are not company names would in fact serve needs of the HR community as the .jobs Charter requires. Its indeed the credible evidence produced along the way to serve needs of the community, that has led to this RSEP submission, that has caused those feeling threatened to launch an outright discrediting campaign against the principals, primarily SHRM and Employ Media.

As the policy delegate to .jobs, SHRM managed a policy development process to arrive at a bottom up, consensus recommendation in the interests of the specific community .jobs exists to serve. Outreach as part of this included public discussions, scientific surveying, and focus groups. The end result, by super majority of the Council, was to recommend Employ Media’s proposed amendment to allocate names that are not company names. The scope of this recommendation was Council’s determination, based upon the results of its outreach, that needs of the community would be served, exactly as the .jobs Charter requires.

Some feeling threatened by what the evidence has produced, and/or unhappy a policy recommendation did not go their way, want to conveniently ignore the substantial due diligence that has led to this point, being the RSEP process. What have been appalling are the methods devised by IAEWS to spread what is nothing less than a smear campaign using modern day technology such as e-mail, blogs, and twitter, to mobilize as many people as possible to complete one action – submit a chain letter of opposition to this forum. The blatancy of this as a premeditated strategy is clear by the fact that they don’t even try to hide it, and in fact are seemingly proud of it. This is nothing less than an embarrassment to the HR community in the eyes of the ICANN community and those that follow it.

The smear campaign as led by IAEWS has had at least one public call for additional funding. So clearly this is a funded campaign. The law firm that IAEWS has retained is the same law firm representing the .xxx TLD application, and likely the same partner. It is not a coincidence that the same chain letter tactics and spread of disinformation that have been used in those public comment venues have shown up in the .jobs RSEP public comment venue. But there is a big difference: This is an ICANN RSEP venue, not a bottom up policy public comment venue. ICANN should recognize this difference even if those that do not care do not. The law firm seems to clearly have advised IAEWS to Astroturf this forum rather than provide the pertinent RSEP material to those they want to mobilize towards the ability to make an informed comment.

DirectEmployers Association, representing employer interests beyond just its members as required by our own by-laws, supports ICANN approval of Employ Media’s RSEP in the interests of employers.

Sincerely,

Bill Warren
Executive Director
DirectEmployers Association

“Step 1: Get out of the fetal position!”

I am asked on occasion why companies talk feverishly about innovation but hardly ever (if ever) put solid innovation schemes into play.

FEAR is my answer. Pick whatever flavor you like:

Fear of failure
Fear of loss of standing
Fear of risk
Fear of conflict
and the list goes on…

The fear I’ve seen lately is fear of progress. Obviously progress is NOT bad, quite the contrary, although progress may impact current revenue structures and business models dramatically. But isn’t that what innovation does? It disrupts! It drives change! This means once a company finds their “innovation sweet spot” they need to start researching and developing another one immediately, even if (especially if) it threatens their current business model.

Case in point: Blockbuster versus Netflix
Netflix not only blew Blockbuster’s long standing and market leading movie rental business model out of the water, they continued researching technology to find exactly what would blow their DVD-by-mail model out of the water in the coming years and then ADOPTED IT! The lesson here is not to ignore or block the inevitable innovation, rather embrace it and turn it into a winner for yourself before a competitor does.

Many companies have tried and failed throughout the years in the online recruiting industry and their efforts should be remembered and celebrated. They were strong enough to try and fail where many others are still laying in the fetal position hoping nothing changes or doing everything in their power to block or stop progress because of FEAR.

Don’t go through life scared, get out of the fetal position and innovate!

Suggested & related reading:
- INNOVATE or DIE!
- Knock 3 times, for INNOVATION
- Caroline’s Innovation Questions
- The Fear of Innovation – Phil McKinney
- To increase innovation, reduce fear – Andrew Papageorge
- Innovation and change: What are you afraid of? – Mark Swiecichowsk