TalentQuest Reports Strong Growth in 2010

ATLANTA / January 31, 2011 - After more than a year of relatively modest growth, TalentQuest reported that the firm experienced strong growth in 2010. The firm cited new and expanded client relationships as well as a renewed focus on strategic talent management initiatives as the primary catalysts for growth.

“Business leaders are becoming acutely aware that hiring competition is on the rise and that now is the time to ensure their high-performers remain engaged and that the company is adequately prepared to identify, hire and retain the best people,” said Kevin Sessions, president of TalentQuest.

Most notably, Sessions said that more and more businesses are focusing on ensuring that candidates are a good fit in every way. As such, the firm has seen a significant increase in the demand for its customized assessment solutions including executive assessments, automated personality assessments, 360 assessments, and competency models.

“While off-the-shelf assessment solutions and competency models are adequate in many situations, they are limited when it comes to ensuring a candidate is a good fit for an organization’s culture and a position’s unique requirements,” Sessions said. “To be truly effective, competencies must be drawn from the knowledge, behavior and skills of an organization’s leaders and top performers and from its unique culture and values,” Sessions said.

Based on client feedback, TalentQuest expects that demand for custom tailored assessment solutions will continue to increase throughout 2011.

“Business leaders are starting to understand that competencies create the foundation for truly integrated talent management,” Sessions added. “They help define the qualities and traits that will ultimately make an organization – and its employees – successful.”

New and Expanded Client Relationships

In 2010 TalentQuest expanded many existing client relationships, including Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, Hyatt Hotels, Kauffman Tire, Sedgwick CMS and TOYO Tire Canada.

“In our nearly 40-year history, we have been fortunate enough to have established long-term relationships with some of the nation’s most well-known and highly respected organizations,” said Dr. Frank Merritt, TalentQuest’s chief executive officer. “They have come to trust and rely on us to ensure that they take care of their most valuable asset - people. We value these relationships enormously and are proud that we have helped our clients secure and maintain their competitive positioning throughout what will arguably go down in history as the most significant economic turmoil in recent history.”

The firm also welcomed dozens of new clients, including the below-listed organizations.

Consumer Products and Services Companies

• AmericasMart, the nation’s largest permanent wholesale consumer goods marketplace.
• Community & Southern Bank, a metro Atlanta bank.
• Diageo, a premium drinks business with a collection of international spirits, wine and beer brands.
• Diversified Trust, an employee-owned wealth management firm based in the Southeast.
• Turner Broadcasting Company
• United Distributors, Inc., Georgia’s largest distributor of alcoholic beverages
• W.J. Deutsch & Sons, a marketer of quality wines.

Professional Products and Services

• 5th Street Management Co., a commercial real estate management company.
• Angelica Corp., a provider of textile rental products and linen management solutions to the healthcare industry.
• Caler, Donten, Levine and Porter, a provider of accounting, tax and auditing services.
• Entegreat, a consulting firm focused on serving manufacturing companies.
• Euramax, a producer of aluminum, steel, vinyl, copper and fiberglass products.
• Genuine Parts Company, an international distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial replacement parts, office products, and electrical/electronic materials.
• National HME, Inc., a provider of medical equipment services to the hospice community.
• Phoenix Stamping, a manufacturer of sheet metal and wire rod products.
• Van Winkle & Associates, a full service marketing and advertising agency.

Government Agencies and Public Utilities

• The City of New York
• East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a provider of wholesale energy and services.
• The New York City Housing Authority
• The State of Tennessee
• The Tennessee Department of Transportation

New Strategic Partnerships

TalentQuest continues to establish partnerships with like-minded, synergistic organizations. Each alliance is designed to align TalentQuest with companies that offer complimentary and value-added solutions, while extending the company’s nationwide reach and service capabilities. In turn, partners benefit from leveraging TalentQuest’s comprehensive and integrated talent management solutions.

Key strategic partnerships established in 2010 include:

• American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), a national non-profit association for chamber executives dedicated to furthering the profession.
• Skillter, a new hiring platform that will offer online tools to streamline the sourcing, filtering and interviewing of Generation Y job seekers.
• SOAR, a customer-focused consultancy that delivers sales best practices solutions in a Virtual Live ™ format, merging the benefits of virtual training with personalized coaching.

Community Involvement

In early 2010, TalentQuest launched TQ Giving Back, an initiative designed to formalize and solidify its commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates. As part of the program, select TalentQuest clients are given vouchers to give to nonprofit organizations of their choice. The organizations may apply these vouchers toward a full-day of consulting services including board reviews, selection assessments, executive coaching and leadership development, or to TalentQuest’s software solutions including online assessments, performance reviews or compensation management, as desired.

In 2010, more than 70 vouchers were distributed, representing more than $230,000 in in-kind software solutions and consulting services.

“TQ Giving Back has enabled us to extend our reach to several nonprofit organizations we otherwise may not have had the opportunity to serve,” Merritt said. “Our team has found it very rewarding to be able to leverage our professional skills and knowledge to support and advance these organizations.”

The firm supports organizations throughout metro Atlanta, including the Atlanta Opera, the East Atlanta Kids Club, the Heritage School, the Jewish Federation, the Make a Wish Foundation, and the Special Olympics through pro-bono consulting services and discounted software pricing.