System and method for collecting and providing resource rate information using resource profiling

• US 7,698,146 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2002
• Issued: 04/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IQNavigator Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Volt Information Sciences Incorporated
• Inventors: Cullen, Andrew A. III
• Primary Examiner(s): MEINECKE DIAZ, SUSANNA M
• Application Number:
  US10/128,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20030204439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,911 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8, 705/10, 705/1, 705/11
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1057 Benefits or employee welfare, e.g. insurance, holiday or retirement packages
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors

Abstract

A computer system and method is disclosed for collecting resource rate information associated with a plurality of resource profiles and providing resource rate statistical data for a specific resource profile via a web-based interface. Each resource profile is defined from hierarchical profile selections to identify a job category, and each job category has one or more skills associated therewith. A database maintains the resource profiles and associated resource rate information. The resource rate information is collected from a variety of sources, including business entities that interface with the database to upload actual resource rate information (e.g., actual salaries, wage rates and other compensation information) for one or more resource profiles associated with the business entity.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

creating, via a computer processor, for each of a plurality of resources, a hierarchical resource profile having at least three tiers and comprising at least resource skills, industry, and experience;

wherein, for each of the plurality of resources, the at least three tiers of the hierarchical resource profile comprise a first tier, a second tier, and a third tier, the first tier categorizing the hierarchical resource profile, the second tier categorizing the hierarchical resource profile within the first tier, and the third tier categorizing the hierarchical resource profile within the second tier;

collecting, for each of the plurality of resources, resource rate information identifying at least compensation information and information regarding a source of the compensation information;

assigning, for each of the plurality of resources, an integrity factor to the source of the resource rate information;

associating, for each of the plurality of resources, said resource rate information and the integrity factor with the hierarchical resource profile to create a resource record;

storing, for each of the plurality of resources, in a computer-readable medium, said resource record;

wherein the storing step includes storing, for each of the plurality of resources, the hierarchical resource profile in a hierarchical and relational structure according to the at least three tiers; and

performing, via the computer processor, a weighted statistical analysis of wage information associated with at least one of the plurality of resource records based, at least in part, on;

at least one of resource skills, industry, and experience;

a position of the at least one of the plurality of resource records in the at least three tiers; and

wherein the statistical analysis is weighted, at least in part, based on the integrity factor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of creating said hierarchical resource profile comprises:

providing, in a manner mirroring the at least three tiers, hierarchical profile selection data to a user to select from;

receiving hierarchical profile selections selected from said hierarchical profile selection data from the user to define said hierarchical resource profile; and

receiving skills selected from said hierarchical profile selection data from the user to associate said skills with said hierarchical resource profile.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

wherein the first tier corresponds to a business sector categorization, the second tier corresponds to a business arena categorization with the business sector categorization, and the third tier corresponds to a business family categorization within the business sector categorization; and

wherein said hierarchical profile selections include a business sector selection, a business arena selection and a business family selection, said step of providing further comprising;

providing business sector selection data including said business sector selection to the user;

receiving said business sector selection from the user;

determining business arena selection data associated with said business sector selection and providing said business arena selection data including said business arena selection to the user;

receiving said business arena selection from the user;

determining business family selection data associated with said business arena selection and providing said business family selection data including said business family selection to the user; and

receiving said business family selection from the user.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

storing said hierarchical profile selection data in resource profile fields within a database in the hierarchical and relational structure according to the at least three tiers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of storing said resource profile information further comprises:

storing resource profile information in fields within the database in the hierarchical and relational structure according to the at least three tiers, the hierarchical and relational structure mirroring select ones of said resource profile fields.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of providing further comprises:

providing said hierarchical profile selection data to the user via a scalable and configurable table-driven user interface.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of providing further comprises:

providing said hierarchical profile selection data to the user via a web-based user interface.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said step of storing said hierarchical profile selection data further comprises:

storing said hierarchical profile selection data within said resource profile fields within said database, said resource profile fields being organized in tables, each of said tables including said hierarchical profile selection data to be populated in a web page presented to the user via said web-based interface.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of providing further comprises:

pushing one or more web pages at a time to a web browser associated with the user, each of said one or more web pages being populated with said hierarchical profile selection data from one of said tables.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of creating said hierarchical resource profile comprises:

providing said hierarchical profile selection data as pre-configured resource profiles; and

receiving said hierarchical profile selections and said skills as one of said pre-configured resource profiles.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein said skills include at least one general function selection identifying the level of skill associated with said three-tiered hierarchical resource profile, and wherein said step of providing comprises:

providing general function selection data including said one or more general function selections to the user; and

receiving said one or more general function selections selected from said general function selection data from the user.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein said skills comprise at least one skill category selection identifying the type of skills associated with the resource and said three-tiered hierarchical profile, said step of providing further comprising:

providing skills category selection data including said one or more skills category selections to the user; and

receiving said one or more skills category selections selected from said skills category selection data from the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said skills further comprise skills sets selections identifying the experience that the resource possesses for each of said one or more skills category selections, said step of providing further comprising:

providing skills sets selection data including said one or more skills sets selections for each of said skills category selections to the user; and

receiving said one or more skills sets selections selected from said skills sets selection data from the user.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of collecting said resource rate information further comprises:

providing resource rate selection data to a user to select from;

receiving said resource rate information selected from said resource rate selection data from the user.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing said resource rate selection data in resource rate fields within the database in a hierarchical and relational structure.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said step of providing said resource rate selection data further comprises:

providing said resource rate selection data to the user via a scalable and configurable table-driven user interface.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of providing said resource rate selection data further comprises:

providing said resource rate selection data to the user via a web-based user interface.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising preventing a business-entity requestor from receiving statistical information unless resource rate information is provided by the business-entity requestor.

19. An article of manufacture for resource profiling and rate association, the article of manufacture comprising:

at least one computer readable medium;

processor instructions contained on the at least one computer readable medium, the processor instructions configured to be readable from the at least one computer readable medium by at least one processor and thereby cause the at least one processor to operate to perform at least the following steps;

creating, for each of a plurality of resources, a hierarchical resource profile having at least three tiers and comprising at least resource skills, industry, and experience;

wherein, for each of the plurality of resources, the at least three tiers of the hierarchical resource profile comprise a first tier, a second tier, and a third tier, the first tier categorizing the hierarchical resource profile, the second tier categorizing the hierarchical resource profile within the first tier, and the third tier categorizing the hierarchical resource profile within the second tier;

collecting, for each of the plurality of resources, resource rate information identifying at least compensation information and information regarding the source of the compensation information;

assigning, for each of the plurality of resources, an integrity factor to the source of the resource rate information;

associating, for each of the plurality of resources, said resource rate information and the integrity factor with the hierarchical resource profile to create a resource record;

storing, for each of the plurality of resources, in a computer-readable medium, said resource record;

wherein the storing step includes storing, for each of the plurality of resources, the hierarchical resource profile in a hierarchical and relational structure according to the at least three tiers; and

performing a weighted statistical analysis of wage information associated with at least one of the plurality of resource records based, at least in part, on;

at least one of resource skills, industry, and experience;

a position of the at least one of the plurality of resource records in the at least three tiers; and

wherein the statistical analysis is weighted, at least in part, based on the integrity factor.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein said step of creating said hierarchical resource profile comprises:

providing, in a manner mirroring the at least three tiers, hierarchical profile selection data to a user to select from;

receiving hierarchical profile selections selected from said hierarchical profile selection data from the user to define said hierarchical resource profile; and

receiving skills selected from said hierarchical profile selection data from the user to associate said skills with said hierarchical resource profile.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 20, further comprising:

wherein the first tier corresponds to a business sector categorization, the second tier corresponds to a business arena categorization with the business sector categorization, and the third tier corresponds to a business family categorization within the business sector categorization; and

wherein said hierarchical profile selections include a business sector selection, a business arena selection and a business family selection, said step of providing further comprising;

providing business sector selection data including said business sector selection to the user;

receiving said business sector selection from the user;

determining business arena selection data associated with said business sector selection and providing said business arena selection data including said business arena selection to the user;

receiving said business arena selection from the user;

determining business family selection data associated with said business arena selection and providing said business family selection data including said business family selection to the user; and

receiving said business family selection from the user.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein the processor instructions are further configured to cause the at least one processor to operate to perform at least the following step:

storing said hierarchical profile selection data in resource profile fields within a database in the hierarchical and relational structure according to the at least three tiers.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 22, wherein said step of storing said resource profile information further comprises:

storing resource profile information in fields within the database in a hierarchical and relational structure according to the at least three tiers, the hierarchical and relational structure mirroring select ones of said resource profile fields.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 22, wherein said step of providing further comprises:

providing said hierarchical profile selection data to the user via a scalable and configurable table-driven user interface.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 24, wherein said step of providing further comprises:

providing said hierarchical profile selection data to the user via a web-based user interface.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 25, wherein said step of storing said hierarchical profile selection data further comprises:

storing said hierarchical profile selection data within said resource profile fields within said database, said resource profile fields being organized in tables, each of said tables including said hierarchical profile selection data to be populated in a web page presented to the user via said web-based interface.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 26, wherein said step of providing further comprises:

pushing one or more web pages at a time to a web browser associated with the user, each of said one or more web pages being populated with said hierarchical profile selection data from one of said tables.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein said step of creating said hierarchical resource profile comprises:

providing said hierarchical profile selection data as pre-configured resource profiles; and

receiving said hierarchical profile selections and said skills as one of said pre-configured resource profiles.

29. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein said skills at least one general function selection identifying the level of skill associated with said three-tiered hierarchical resource profile, and wherein said step of providing comprises:

providing general function selection data including said one or more general function selections to the user; and

receiving said one or more general function selections selected from said general function selection data from the user.

30. The article of manufacture of claim 20, wherein said skills comprise at least one skill category selection identifying the type of skills associated with the resource and said three-tiered hierarchical profile, said step of providing further comprising:

providing skills category selection data including said one or more skills category selections to the user; and

receiving said one or more skills category selections selected from said skills category selection data from the user.

31. The article of manufacture of claim 30, wherein said skills further comprise skills sets selections identifying the experience that the resource possesses for each of said one or more skills category selections, said step of providing further comprising:

providing skills sets selection data including said one or more skills sets selections for each of said skills category selections to the user; and

receiving said one or more skills sets selections selected from said skills sets selection data from the user.

32. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein said step of collecting said resource rate information further comprises:

providing resource rate selection data to a user to select from;

receiving said resource rate information selected from said resource rate selection data from the user.

33. The article of manufacture of claim 32, wherein the processor instructions are further configured to cause the at least one processor to operate to perform at least the following step:

storing said resource rate selection data in resource rate fields within the database in a hierarchical and relational structure.

34. The article of manufacture of claim 33, wherein said step of providing said resource rate selection data further comprises:

providing said resource rate selection data to the user via a scalable and configurable table-driven user interface.

35. The article of manufacture of claim 34, wherein said step of providing said resource rate selection data further comprises:

providing said resource rate selection data to the user via a web-based user interface.