Central to the identity and appeal of TMP Government (and of course of our parent company, TMP Worldwide) is its position as “the Digital Brand Authority.” Followers of this blog might benefit from my discussing exactly what this short tag implies for TGov clients.

At the obvious level, this term succinctly underscores our knowhow in two intersecting realms: branding and digital engagement. As you yourself may have discovered, a productive blend of these two expert disciplines is not particularly common, especially in our Washington, DC market.

When we state that we know how to brand our clients—either as employers or as “corporate” entities—we’re making a pretty far-reaching assertion in our own right. For starters, it implies that we can deliver on the analytical front—specifically that we are accomplished at discovering the full implications and nuances of a given client’s…

1. Identity (both self-declared and widely perceived by folks on the outside)
2. Competitive position/share of mind in the Federal arena and/or talent marketplace
3. Complex relationships with stakeholders and targets of influence (including, as relevant, potential recruits)

That’s the first qualification…knowing how to identify, sort, and balance all these underlying factors in the brand. The second? The insight to fine tune, revitalize, or even alter these elements substantially to accommodate real-world conditions or—when change is on the agenda—to match the client’s “aspirational” goals. In step three, the icing on the cake, we develop a resonant and memorable creative expression that embraces and focuses the evolving brand.

So far I haven’t mentioned the “digital” part. Here’s where TGov lengthens its lead on the competition. Clearly the creative “engine” behind a client’s brand has to leverage online, electronic, rich media and mobile knowhow (all these fall under the digital mantle). Anyone who knows our work has at least sampled the full spectrum of digital creative products—from websites to online games to video to social media—that we have produced for Federal clients. Ensuring that these digital products—usually the mainstream output of our efforts--are brand-authentic is the culminating component in our work.

Even so, this doesn’t convey the full picture, digitally speaking. We live in a digital world. For the most part, our clients’ key audiences are digitally savvy. To clarify what I mean, let’s rewind to my comments on the analytical aspects of brand-building. The constraints and possibilities of operating in a digital world have to be astutely considered and factored in during all our early-stage “discovery” activities as well. Make no mistake: the complexities are legion, and the experience and training it takes to do this with style and smarts are not easily earned.

And that, in short, is why we can honestly call ourselves the digital brand authority. In our government market, who can compare?

The past few months I have shared information about the healthcare industry, the challenges ahead and the drivers for change. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists healthcare as the fastest growing sector at a growth rate of 2.3% per year during the next 7 years and this has a major impact on the strategies required in Human Resources.

Recently we have begun to see an exodus of skilled, highly educated professionals who have voluntarily left their jobs. In March 2010, 1.5 million people made this move while the following month that figure rose to 2.1 million. As this number continues to increase, it is clear that people are feeling slightly more comfortable in looking for and accepting new positions rather than staying put as they have for the last couple of years. We are already seeing many healthcare organizations watching their vacancy rates rise and now we are at the brink of watching the turnover rates begin to follow.  Be prepared = the change is on the horizon.

Many organizations do very little when valuable employees walk out the door.  Perhaps they collect exit data but most often that is really “too little, too late”. Many study the data of the percentages of exits due to relocation, school, retirement and other employment but very few absorb the information and actually use it to effect change. In order to meet the future recruitment needs in the healthcare industry, maintaining a relationship with those exiting employees will be crucial.

What are you doing at your organization? As we watch the changes that are occurring, perhaps some of the following suggestions make sense in your hospital or healthcare facility.

*Alumni site – Having a section on your website for past employees is a unique way to stay in touch and can offer many opportunities to share updated information from the organization.  Whether it be stories about returning employees or the latest press releases, the dialogue is able to continue with the professional that you would like to re-employ.

*Opt in newsletters – Whether this is accomplished as a stand-alone or as part of the alumni site, the sharing of information on a routine basis is important in maintaining the relationship. Make sure to capture an email address for each exiting employee.

*Blogs – Blogs may be about the organization, clinical or general but they continue to share information that often times will spark interest for a past employee to return.

*Social sites – Be active on social networking sites! Participate in the conversations; promote the organization even through personal networks on Facebook, etc.

*CEU/CME – Make sure to offer any CEU/CME events to past employees. When they return for an educational event, they may network with some of their favorite past co-workers who just might become recruiters at the event.

*Social events – Open houses, summer picnics and other social events can also be a natural opportunity to reunite with past employees. This may help them realize what they are missing.

*Maintain engagements in the affinity groups online.

*Opportunity to participate in a float pool or in per diem positions – This is something that should be approached anytime a valuable employee turns in their resignation. Although this isn’t available for all positions, it is frequently offered for hard-to-fill professionals.

*External referral programs – Although most progressive organizations offer employee referral programs, few open the referral option to past employees or the community at large. With the proper guidelines and ERP rules, this type of program can be a valuable asset and a great retention tool.

*Online chats – Chats are sometimes available for applicants to converse with recruiters but perhaps setting up a time for past employees to join a call might be a valuable way to continue to offer the excitement of working at the organization.  The more opportunity you have to get it front of that departed employee, the more chance of success.

*Networking events – Small social events onsite or offsite also continue to be time well spent.

*Keep in touch program – Programs that allow exiting employees access to peers and managers can also be helpful. These can be done through online channels, chats or even in person events.

Although these few ideas are just the tip of the iceberg, it is time to be strategic. “Re-recruiting” employees on an ongoing basis is so important for retention but if the time comes that the employee exits, it is equally important to continue that relationship. With all of the new and replacement positions that the healthcare industry is going to need in the next few years, it is important to stay in touch with those professionals that you would like to have back in your organization. Have fun, stay in touch and be creative!

*Special thanks for input from Jill Horwitz, VP Chief Client Officer, TMP Worldwide




Digital media is transforming the way we live, work, and of course communicate. As we adapt to newer behaviors that push what we see as truly innovative and "out there" into the main stream, Adobe has created an amazing virtual museum of digital media experimentation that showcases groundbreaking digital work from digital  artists and innovators. 

The big difference of this museum is that it is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and accessible from virtually everywhere. It is an idea gallery and entirely digital. The museum's first exhibit, scheduled to open August 2010, will feature work by Tony Oursler, a New York artist whose explorations in moving images and digital communications have been featured in museums on both U.S. coasts, as well as in Spain and New Zealand.

It is from these interesting and amazing creations and experiments that inspires us in our creativity and work.

To promote the upcoming season of Mad Men, AMC launched this fun interactive piece that allows you to interview with the firm and answer specific questions. Give it a try. What position do you end up qualifying for? Is it what you expected? 

Last week I attended the 2010 Uplinq Mobile conference in San Diego, and I found myself sitting in a very large auditorium packed to standing room only with app developers, mobile marketers and wireless providers. You felt the energy and ubiquity of wireless communication, and how far and fast people are adapting to new behaviors. The room was buzzing with mobile devices as oppose to clacking keyboards on laptops. People tweeting, posting, FourSquaring, and emailing content. Content such as news, sound bites, check-ins, images and video. Within the conference there seemed to be several key themes that you could hear throughout the event. Themes that were driven from user needs and behaviors of today and in the future.  

Relevancy, Immediacy and Location

Relevancy is an understatement when it comes to content on mobile. Mobile content is laser focussed, immediate, and in proximity to the audience surroundings.  Mobile forces us to think beyond the application and more around the environment that the content will integrate into. The environment in and of itself is content when it comes to mobile because it alters and influences the user's needs at the moment of the opt-in. As an example, the environment at a bus stop will influence the way you interact/or not with mobile than in a mall or retail store. The same can be said for on a college campus and a fast food restaurant. In fact college campuses alone have many different environments that will play a role in influencing the audience to opt-in.

Your phone knows you and where you are

In fact, your phone may know more about you than your mom does. As smart devices become mainstream, they become an extension of our lives. And marketers are leveraging this to be able to deliver content and services to you to help make your life easier.

Location-based marketing is becoming a priority in mobile marketing due to:

- People need and want immediate relevance

- Marketing to people's needs based on who they are and where they are at the moment delivers a high opt-in return

Location based marketing is becoming more and more ubiquitous. Direct access to immediate, relevant content that is in context to user surroundings is a strong tactic in mobile marketing strategies. 

Candidates should be able to opt-in to a mobile campaign that in return delivers:

- Opportunities based on user's interests and skills

- Information about opportunities within proximity of their current location

- Integrates relevant content from the environment into the mobile experience

Here are some highlights from the conference:

• Mobile use on Facebook went up 600% from last year

• Over 50% of Twitter users use Twitter over the mobile

• Magic link is a new way to deliver multimedia, video seamlessly across all platforms, transcoded to work on any device, handsets, and computer operating systems through one simple url

• Pew Internet reported that 40 percent of U.S. adults use the Internet, e-mail or instant messaging on their cell phone, up from the 32 percent of adults who did so last year.

• Networks are becoming taxed with so much data traffic. The more advanced the smart phones become, the more data will be transferred over the networks. This places high demand for network developers to work on future bandwidth issues.

• The mobile app space is so over crowded. Developers, brands must spend the majority of their investment on promotions, and strategies to market. The superstore approach vs. boutique store to app market makes it extremely difficult for consumers to get relevant, quality apps. In result, app developer's products are buried. 

• Recommendation models such as Xiam customizes the recommendations of apps to the consumers based on their profiles and behaviors. Application portal analyzes you. Also allows your friends to recommend products to you. 

• Peer to peer technology is here.  What is that you say? P to P is a cross platform communication and integration of services, games, information that allows you to communicate in real time (like multiple user) to multiple types of devices. From multiple operating systems including phone platforms and computers, you can collaborate in real time. (Think about playing a multiplayer game on your iPhone against people on Blackberry, Nokia, Droids and laptops all at the same time in real time.)

• Quallcomm is introducing Vision-Based Augmented Reality. It enables you to navigate and manipulate around 3d objects in real world on the mobile device. Matel is developing with AR on their toys. Think Augmented Reality virtual Rock'em Sock'em robots!

Want to see the mobile web in action in real time? Check out Bango Live!

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article for Statline that shared the new Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information which indicated that nursing will need to grow 22.2% by 2018 in order to meet the patient needs. As we all march forward with various changes in our country, it is definitely time to stop and think about what these changes will mean to nursing. The economy, aging workers, health care reform and technology are all strong drivers of a new and different “look” that will encompass the profession.

For the past 2-3 years, many organizations have been running on a status quo basis when it comes to recruitment. Vacancy rates are low, turnover is down, census varies, acuity remains high and potential retirees continue to work. We are beginning to see a glimmer of change in some areas of the country as we begin to pull out of the recession and see brighter times ahead. For nursing, this will have a dramatic affect and we will experience it from many angles.

1.    Retirements-There has been a very tight labor market in the past few years due to the economy. The aging population that is still working is now cautiously planning on exiting the workforce and organizations and patients will feel the exodus of these experienced workers.
2.    Health care reform-With over 32 million Americans receiving insurance in the years ahead there will be an increase in the need for health care workers. Covering preexisting medical conditions will also add more coverage, although this occurs in 2014 for adults.
3.    Pediatrics-The need for RNs in pediatrics will be quite noticeable for a couple of reasons. One is the preexisting medical condition coverage which begins this year for children and the other is the fact that millions more children will now have coverage due to health care reform. This will drive the increase in staffing needs at facilities around the country, especially those specializing in neonatal and pediatric care.
4.    Education-Clinical instructor shortages have remained throughout the last few years and are expected to continue. Educational positions pay one-half to two-thirds of the salary that an RN makes in a clinical setting so instructors are very difficult to recruit and retain. Both pay and clinical site issues will need to be addressed in the very near future in order for training to continue at the pace we need.
5.    Surgery-OR nurses tend to be some of the most experienced nurses in any organization and often have the most retirement eligible staff of any department. As you do your workforce planning, take a close look at OR because this group will begin exiting the workforce as the economy recovers and OR training programs will need to be run on an ongoing basis.
6.    Wellness-With the healthy focus on wellness in today’s world, more and more programs and staff are needed in clinics, smoking cessation and other areas targeted at keeping patients well.
7.    Advanced Practice Nurses-The increased need for nurse practitioners, midwives and nurse anesthetists will also be driven by retirements, health care reform and wellness programs. In addition, these advanced practice RNs offer a cost effective professional that adds tremendous value to patient care.
8.    Geriatrics/long term care-The over 65 age group will grow by 13 million people between 2008 and 2018 and this increase will add to the need for RNs in geriatrics and LTC.
9.    Oncology and hospice-An increase in oncology and hospice is another area where we will see an increased need for RNs. The drivers include the aging population and their needs coupled with the increased technology and pharmacology that has helped add years to many patients’ lives.
10.    Home care-RNs in home care will also increase as this specialty is the fastest growing sector within health care and, according to the BLS, is due to increase at a rate of 3.9% per year.

Although all of the above points may not be relevant to your organization, some of them will be. These changes will need to drive a different strategy in human resources on how an organization recruits and retains employees. It is our job to be pro-active, knowledgeable of these changes and strategic enough to meet the needs of the next decade.


Today the White House Office of Management and the Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum (pdf) that changes regulations on the use of persistent cookies on Federal websites. The action removes a decade-old ban, intended to protect privacy, but which has kept agencies from providing the industry-standard customer service web users expect. In reviewing this issue, over the past year, the White House has carefully balanced the trade-off between privacy and open, efficient government. Not surprisingly, the memo is very carefully worded. Users will have full opportunity to opt out of giving any identifying information. The assumption, however, is that many visitors to Federal sites will appreciate closer and easier ties to their government.

Though it's late on a hot Friday afternoon in DC, when many are heading out of the city, the social networks, blogs and trades have been buzzing. Aliya Sternstein at nextgov offers a thorough run-down  of the conference call with OMB's Michael Fitzpatrick, Associate Director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The next step is finding out what it really means for agency communications.

World Cup fans can take part in a massive social display with Nike's Write The Future campaign. Fans can text a 57-character inspirational message through Facebook, Mxitt, or Twitter and choose a picture of the favorite soccer player that would be projected onto the Life Center, one of Johannesburg's largest skyscrapers. The interactive LED screen measures 44 meters high by 42 meters wide. To prevent the obvious profanity and/or comments from frustrated soccer fans, submitted messages are selected before projected.

Yes very innovative and cool. A little bit "Blade Runner meets Johannesburg" but very engaging. And sometimes, voicing your opinion through brand engagement is a very successful ROI.

Digital media is evolving as fast, if not faster, than the talent marketing industry. New revolutions in the way people communicate and network don’t happen when we adopt new tools – they happen when we adopt new behaviors. New behaviors are inspired by new ideas, and great ideas are often the result of unique mashups of next-gen thinking.

The content of our blog has been expanding to cover new behaviors of communicating and innovative talent acquisition strategies. Our tags are a good indicator of this expansive subject matter.

What's with the name?

Meshworking speaks to the activity of new idea generation in talent marketing. That is what our content is about – from government trends to mobile social innovations, and from augmented reality to mobile enabled career booths. We hope that you will continue to find inspiration and insight by participating with us here in the Meshworking community. 

It doesn't seem that long, yet so much has progressed with the way we express ourselves. Enjoy this tour of how this thing called YouTube has changed the world. Happy 5th anniversary YouTube.