Talent management system and methods for reviewing and qualifying a workforce utilizing categorized and free-form text data

• US 7,437,309 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2002
• Issued: 10/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Corporate Fables Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corporate Fables Incorporated
• Inventors: Daughton, James, Swatzell, Patricia, Lowe, Jan, Magrino, Susan A., Rabey, Natasha, Lewis, Stella G., Savella, Angela, Levers, Lori Lee, Huser, Edward J., Joyce, Priscilla
• Primary Examiner(s): Jarrett; Scott L
• Application Number:
  US10/079,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20020198766A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,428 Days
• Field of Search: 705/11
• US Class Current: 705/7.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A computer based human capital management system provides for collecting information from any combination of position applicants, employees, and reserve pool talent reflective of the position skills, performance, and requirements thereof. The quality of the collected information can be normalized by supervisory review. The collected information is searchable by skill, performance, and other requirements with the search results being scored and ranked. The collected information may also be evaluated against a position specification establishing a weighting profile reflective of a position skills, performance, and requirements set presumed appropriate for a defined position. The position evaluation returns a scored and ranked list of candidates for the defined position, which can then be subjected to managerial review. Additional information can be requested as part of the managerial review, leading to a potential revision in the scored and ranked list of candidates.

Claims

1. A method for implementing a talent management system, executed on a computer system, providing for the collection and qualification of performance capability information of workforce candidates, including currently active participants and a reserve talent pool of inactive participants, and for the evaluation of workforce candidates to support selection of candidates for positions within an organization, said method comprising the steps of:

a) collecting, via a user interface system, and storing, in a workforce database, performance capability information from said workforce, wherein said workforce includes a plurality of members and wherein said performance capability information identifies a workforce participant and the participant status of said workforce participant, and includes a plurality of performance capability partitions, and wherein each said performance capability partition includes categorized field information and categorized free-text information, said categorized free-text information including unstructured textual content, said performance capability information being stored in a workforce database, with respect to said plurality of members, as a plurality of performance capability data sets;

b) automatically generating first scores for said plurality of performance capability data sets, wherein said first score of each said data set includes assigning score values to respective instances of said categorized field information and sets of score values to respective instances of said categorized free-text information, wherein for each instance of categorized free-text information said instance of categorized free-text information is autonomously parsed relative to the category of said instance of categorized free-text information to identify capabilities identifiers including one or more words, wherein said instance corresponding set of score values includes score values selectively assigned to said capabilities identifiers, wherein said assigned score values are stored in said workforce database;

c) reviewing and assigning, by a designated reviewer, second scores to a subset of said plurality of performance capability data sets, wherein said second scores of said subset include weighting values selectively assigned to said score values, wherein each said weighting value represents a qualification of a respective said score value, wherein said step of selectively assigning weighting values includes reviewing the respective instances of said categorized field information and said categorized free-text information by said designated reviewer via a reviewer interface system, coupled to said workforce database, to selectively assign said weighting values, and wherein said assigned weighting values are stored in said workforce database, whereby said step of reviewing and assigning provides for a normalization of the quality of information provided by a corresponding set of workforce candidates; and

d) selecting, via said reviewer interface system, a candidate for a predetermined position based on evaluation of said plurality of performance capability data sets with respect to said predetermined position, wherein said predetermined position is defined by an associated weighting specification specified through said reviewer interface system and used to determine a corresponding ranking of said performance capability data sets, wherein said weighting specification includes a plurality of specification weights selectively corresponding to said categorized field information and capability identifiers associated with said categorized free-text information, wherein the ranking of a corresponding data set is determined from a combined correspondence of said specification weights and said assigned weighting and score values of the said corresponding data set, and wherein a subset of said plurality of performance capability data sets are displayed in ranked order determined by said combined correspondence;

wherein said user interface system is accessible by said plurality of workforce participants, said user interface system providing for the identification within said performance capabilities data set repository of discrete editing changes made to said plurality of performance capability data sets, said user interface system further providing for the issuance of an information request electronic notification message to a predetermined user corresponding to a predetermined data set, wherein issuance of said information request electronic notification message is initiated by an assigned reviewer to obtain further qualification of said predetermined data set, and wherein said information request electronic notification message communicates a request for specified information regarding an item of said predetermined data set;

wherein said reviewer interface system is accessible by reviewers and enables identification of said discrete editing changes made to said performance capabilities data sets, wherein said workforce database associates a predetermined reviewer with said predetermined performance capability data set, and wherein said predetermined reviewer receives a data changed electronic notification message of said change in said workforce database through said reviewer interface system; and

wherein said workforce database is updated with workforce life-cycle event data, separately from said user interface system, to modify participant status of said predetermined user to reflect chances of participant status between active participant status and reserve talent pool inactive participant status.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said workforce database associates a reviewer notification delivery address with said assigned reviewer and wherein said data changed electronic notification message is delivered to said assigned reviewer at said reviewer notification delivery address.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said workforce database associates a user notification delivery address with said predetermined user and wherein said information request electronic notification message is delivered to said predetermined user at said user notification delivery address.