There are more than 20,000 staffing and talent recruiting companies in the U.S. and more than three million development companies that help them run their operations. Those surprisingly large numbers make sense when you think about how important it is to find the right people for an ever-changing and rapidly growing industry like tech.

Recruit Rooster, a workforce recruitment marketing firm that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of DirectEmployers Association, stands out in this crowded field. Yes, the company’s name is unusual but so is its nonprofit approach to workforce development. RocketBuild, one of central Indiana’s top software development companies, was acquired by Recruit Rooster in April 2020.

For two decades, DirectEmployers has provided advice, guidance and support to its employer members for all things related to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, along with recruitment marketing, affirmative action development and planning. Its more than 925 employer members come from the Fortune 2000 list.

Recruit Rooster provides recruitment marketing solutions to DirectEmployers members and has widened its target audience to focus on smaller companies closer to home. Embedding the RocketBuild team enables an additional layer of service—custom application and software development—that company officials say should help propel growth within their parameters of affordability, product usability, and excellent performance.

One of the first demonstrations of the partnership is a compliant “Talent Community” platform that offers a customizable way for clients to easily get in front of potential hires, learn their priorities, and launch an automated conversation designed to find the best candidates for each client whether their priorities are job function, diversity, disability or veteran status. Functionality also addresses visual or hearing impairment so there’s virtually no limit on the candidate pools they can create and analyze.

Heather Hoffman
COO at Recruit Rooster
“Talent acquisition is so critical to any organization’s success, and in today’s competitive landscape, it can be hard for even the best employers to stand out from the crowd.”

“Standing out is in our DNA and we’ve been working hard to ensure our efforts are both effective and affordable,” said Heather.

The new Talent Community platform was developed with advice from current clients who detailed their top recruitment needs and tool preferences. The platform can include a creative component for clients who want to use custom creative content to market themselves, and a library of information regarding compliance tips for companies needing that guidance.

Recruit Rooster data shows job seekers are usually passively looking for new jobs when they explore online. Up to 75% of them are generally open to leaving their contact information as they surf for new opportunities. Using that contact information and intel about the candidates, the Talent Community, developed by RocketBuild, springs into action, automating outreach to those people and sending job alerts and other information the prospects should find appealing.

“It’s really streamlining the follow-up process, by making those additional touches personal and enticing,” said RocketBuild Chief Innovation Officer Jason Ward.

Jason said a long beta phase of the platform has shown the company that its clients, as well as their prospective hires, are ready for this type of outreach.

Jason Ward
Chief Innovation Officer at RocketBuild
“People are in a position to demand not just the job they’re qualified for, but the jobs they want in the places they want to be, whether that’s in the office or remote.”

“Companies are aware of this shifting dynamic, and they’re at a point where they need to have a process that lets them quickly and affordably know how to identify those qualifications and desires so they can make smarter, lasting hiring decisions,” Jason said.