With the age of the Internet upon us, recruiting methods have expanded dramatically. Staffing companies now regularly use the Web to locate qualified candidates for their open positions.

The most common methods include searching Job Boards and Corporate Websites. Job Boards, whether belonging to the staffing company or otherwise, allow recruiters to post specific positions, asking applicants to submit their resumes or follow a link to a registration page on their website. Corporate Websites are now allowing recruiters to post jobs for general or specific positions and permitting candidates to register with the Staffing Company and/or apply for a specific position.

Unfortunately, many Staffing Firms are in the dark about how to address certain recordkeeping requirements. Providing much needed light is the 1978 Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) published by the government to resolve inconsistencies between the EEOC(1), DOL(2), DOJ(3) and OPM(4).

The UGESP, which requires that certain records be kept for reasons of measuring disparate impact, have published clarifications on the issue with regard to new technology. The following questions have been published as a three-part "test" to determine if your business should report race, gender and ethnicity information about an individual:

• Is your business acting to fill a particular position?
• Is the individual following your standard procedures for submitting an application?
• Is the individual indicating interest in a specific position?

If the answer is 'yes' to all of these questions, information about race, gender, and ethnicity must be obtained and recorded by your business.

Let's review some examples as it relates to the new technology being used by recruiting and staffing companies today.

• A person registers with your business on the Internet and sends you an email indicating they are looking for a receptionist position. Even if you have receptionist positions open, this person has not indicated interest in a particular position and therefore, gathering information is not necessary.
• As a recruiter, you search a Job Board for a .NET developer because you have a specific job you need to fill immediately. Even though you have a specific position in mind, you do not need to collect information on those resumes you reviewed for this position. Resumes posted to Job Boards are not considered applicants of your position.
• You find a resume on a Job Board and it looks great. You call this person and speak with them about the position. They are very interested and indicate they want to send you an updated resume. This person now knows about and is interested in the position. Additionally, they are following your standard submission steps by sending you an updated resume. You are required to record their information. However, if you call them and they indicate they are not interested or they do not return your call, it is not necessary to record their information.
• You have a job posted on your corporate website. One of your registered candidates applies for the position using your website. This person has gone through all the proper channels to inform you of their interest in a specific position. You are required to gather their information.

The difficult part of this process for staffing and recruiting firms is not so much about knowing when as it is about knowing how to capture the information in a timely and efficient manner. With sophisticated staffing software such as VCG's StaffSuite WorldLink or WebPAS WorldLink, recruiters and staffing firms can electronically capture race, gender and ethnicity information at all the right times in the process, thus helping them stay legal.

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• U.S. Department of Labor
&@149; U.S. Department of Justice
• Office of Personnel Management (formerly the Civil Service Commission)

Lesli Peterson is a Business Analyst with VCG, Inc., the leading provider of staffing software to the staffing industry. She has nearly 10 years staffing industry-related experience. Phil McCutchen is Marketing Manager for VCG, Inc. He has been associated with the staffing industry for over 13 years, and has more than 25 years of marketing related experience. For more information: VCG Staffing Software