April 2008

MatchWork Product Roadmap 2008-2009

MatchWork’s Roadmap Process for 2008-2009 builds on the new architecture and the expanded range of possibilities our new platform provides to us and, therefore, to you, our client partners.

PDF Version

Highlights

2008 will be a year in which MatchWork: -

  • brings shorter response times for bringing new website releases and upgrades of existing websites to market.
  • makes it possible for our partners to upgrade to a new platform which will include major new features such as suggestive search, predictive text, guided navigation, relevancy sorting and contextual display of content/ads.
  • will validate and streamline our products to ensure optimal support for the user processes for the four basic user types: publisher, corporate advertiser, private advertiser and consumer.

Roadmap Activities 2008/2009

New products and services scheduled for launch in 2008-9 will deliver a range of improvements and opportunities which can be categorized as:

  1. improvements to the user experience for advertisers (both employers and agencies) and consumers (jobseekers)
  2. new revenue-opportunities
  3. time and cost efficiencies to make life easier for our client partners

New activity reports

  • Extended CV reports:
    • CV-profiling report
      The purpose of this report is to support the selling process to selected advertisers/market segments. The report will enable publishers to gain in-depth information about the CVs registered on the partner site.
    • Job agent profiling
      The purpose of this report is to support the selling process to selected advertisers/market segments. The report will enable publishers to gain in-depth information about the job agents registered on the partner site.
    • Mail agent overview
      The purpose of this report is to support the selling process to selected advertisers/market segments. This report will enable publishers to monitor the development of agents registered on the partner site.

More detailed information will follow in a separate mailing, also an update to the Report Service Description approximately one month before launch, which is expected to be June 2008.

Tuning the Matching Engine

  • We continue to constantly tune the match algorithm, and will develop the match engine to also be able to target specific niche players in the job/candidate market in 2008 and onwards in order to optimise the bullet-precise matching and thereby increase the “match value” for advertisers.

Improved Job Ad Entry Tool for Publishers

  • The job ad entry tool will be optimised by streamlining all job ad entry processes – both full manual entries of ads and upgrades/ad activations based on ads from data feeds.

    Examples of new features are:

    • Faster registration of ads by means of new data selection technologies (e.g.: predictive text)
    • Support for using images as ads (gif, jpg, and pdf)

More detailed information will follow in a separate mailing as well as in a User Guide which will be published in due time before the launch in the second half of 2008.

CV Search Module

This is a new product for client partners who would like to target recruitment agencies. Access to the CV-database is made easier and more intuitive and the relationship between publishers and recruitment agencies can be strengthened by allowing recruitment agents to download CVs in a data format which is compatible with their in-house recruitment system.

  • Improved usability:
    • Predictive text – i.e.: text suggestions presented to the user while the user is typing in data. For example, when typing in “pro” the system will display data like (product development, product management, project management etc.)
    • Context-based search – i.e.: display of relevant information (CVs, banners) that are defined through user behaviour and navigation on the site. Context-based search is also defined as “searches without search box”.
    • Guided navigation - easy selection of search criteria where only criteria that will give a non-blank search result can be selected.
    • ”other similar CVs” – i.e.: display of CVs which, in content terms, are considered as being relevant when the user is viewing another CV. This list of “similar CVs” can be implemented as “featured CVs” where job seekers have paid a “ranking fee” to have their CVs promoted to recruiters.
    • Relevancy as sort feature of search result lists
  • Improved site flexibility:
    • Improved ”look & feel” capabilities – for example, full site design flexibility, where most layout modifications can be applied through modification of style sheets (CSS files) in order to be able to react fast to market demands.
    • Integrated Content Management System - enabling publishers to make site content modifications themselves, thereby providing additional marketing tools/possibilities.
    • Multi-lingual site support – enabling publishers to establish multi-lingual sites, either through user navigation, separate site setup or automatic language detection (based on origin of IP or browser language)

We are running a pilot project during April and May. More detailed information will follow in a separate mailing as well as in a Service Description to be published approximately one month before launch, which is expected to be on June 1st 2008.

Job Search Module

The new way of offering module-based services will provide our client partners with significantly greater flexibility in designing jobsites and in the management of content and features. Options will include the ability to offer listings only, to include mail agent features, CV database services, matching service or other advanced job site features. An upgrade to the new platform will not only result in greater design flexibility (increased flexibility, faster customisation) but will also make it possible to include the following new features on job site(s):

  • Improved product/service targeted at jobseekers. This will provide tools for jobseekers which will make the job search process more transparent, re-usable and efficient.
    • A “My Page” section will allow jobseekers to store all their activities under an attractive easy-to-use, quick-to-check section within the job site. This includes records of their searches, saved ads, CVs, applications, cover letters and documents.
    • Optimized matching – and “work with match lists”
    • Improved CV registration – more user-friendly, more logical flow
    • Improved application flow
  • Improved usability:
    • Predictive text – i.e.: text suggestions presented to the user, while the user is typing in data. For example, when typing in “pro” the system will display data such as ‘product development’, ‘product management’, ‘project management’ etc.
    • Context-based search – display of relevant information (job ads, banners) defined by user behaviour and navigation on the site. Context-based search is also defined as “searches without search box”.
    • Guided navigation – easy selection of search criteria where only criteria giving a non-blank search result can be selected.
    • ”other similar jobs/ads” – display of job ads that, in content terms, are considered as being relevant to the user when viewing another job ad. This list of “similar ads” can be implemented as “featured ads” where advertisers have paid a “ranking fee” to have their ads promoted to jobseekers.
    • Relevancy as sorting feature of search result lists
  • Improved site flexibility:
    • Improved ”look & feel” capabilities – full site design flexibility, where most lay-out modifications can be applied through modifications to style sheets (CSS files) in order to be able to react fast to market demand.
    • Integrated Content Management System that enables publishers to make site content modifications themselves – thereby providing additional marketing tools/possibilities.
    • Multi-lingual site support – which will enable publishers to establish multi-lingual sites, either through user navigation, separate site setup or automatic language detection (based on origin of IP or browser language)
  • Improved site visibility:
    • Prepared optimizations to support Internet search engines (Yahoo, Google etc.). This will support the search engine indexing processes and thereby create higher visibility for the site as it will be ranked higher on the search result lists.

The release of this new module is expected in the second half of 2008 and more information will follow in May.

In early 2009 we will launch an enhanced Advertisement/Recruitment Service Module.

Advertiser/Recruiter Module

We have also been analyzing and collecting input from our client partners and the market on the prevailing demands from advertisers and recruiters when talking about a ‘state of the art’ Advertiser Module. This new module will therefore offer our client partners an upgrade possibility for greater design flexibility (increased flexibility, faster customisation) and the ability to include one or more of the following new features on job sites:

  • Improved range of tools for advertisers to make the job advertising process more efficient for advertising agencies, recruitment agencies and “employers”. The module will, amongst other things, offer the opportunities to include:
    • A “My Page” service which will allow advertisers to have all their activities stored under an attractive, easy-to-use, quick-to-check section within the job site. This includes records of ads, received applications status of recruitment processes, interview schedules, test results, documents, advertising effectiveness data (response tracking statistics) etc.
    • Optimized matching and a more feature-rich “work with match lists”
    • Improved ad registration – more user-friendly, more logical flow, including workflow support
      • Ad creation – the ad is created but will not be visible before it has been “approved”
      • Ad approval – making the ad approval process available to others – either internally (same company) or externally (ad is created by an agency but needs to be approved by the advertiser/recruiter)
      • Ad activation – the ad can be activated after ad approval.
  • Improved ‘advertising packages’ giving the publisher dramatic control over the ability to define what is included in the packages offered to advertisers e.g.:
    • Advertising product description
    • Advertising period
    • Available application methods (email, through job site system)
    • Advertising add-ons e.g.:
      • higher ranking of specific ads on search result lists
      • banner ads on job agent emails and match mails
      • publication to multiple media
    • Combined advertising and CV-search
  • Improved site flexibility:
    • Improved ”look & feel” capabilities – full site design flexibility, where most layout modifications can be applied through modification to style sheets (CSS files) for fast reaction to market demands.
    • Integrated Content Management System that enables publishers to make site content modifications, thereby giving them additional marketing tools/possibilities.
    • Multi-lingual site support – which will enable publishers to establish multi-lingual sites either through user navigation, separate site setup or automatic language detection (based on origin of IP or browser language)

The Advertiser Module can be combined with the CV-search Module.

Vision

Our vision for 2009 also includes an external interface in the shape of adapted and customized SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) features for client partners with a strategic requirement to maximize the ownership and flexibility of their websites. To achieve this, the new products will be upgraded to offer external interfaces (web services) that will allow publishers full control of their sites, while still getting the benefit of the MatchWork technology.

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