Decision Toolbox's CEO Identifies Critical Talent Management Strategies at Women's Business Symposium IRVINE, CA, April 7, 2009: Kim Shepherd, panelist at Comerica Bank's 3rd Annual Women's Business Symposium, spoke to over one hundred professional business women and women business owners on strategies to fight fear, build employee engagement, retain key talent, and enhance corporate culture. Kim advocates bucking the trend identified by the Conference Board's latest CEO Challenge Survey, which identified effective execution of strategy as paramount for CEOs, while talent management was banished to the back burner. "Right now, the 'Fear Factor' is paralyzing business leaders at a time they need to be most awake," said Kim. "Getting into the bunker to ride out this recession should not mean that you stop communicating with your employees or ignore retention strategies. Now is the time that even simple talent management initiatives will have a huge impact, and leaders should be hyper-focused on their talent, or risk having their corporate glue coming completely unstuck." Shepherd knows what she is talking about: She and her partner Jay Barnett run Decision Toolbox, a recruiting company that emerged from the last recession as a virtual company. With 50 team members working from home offices, Decision Toolbox employs everything from its sophisticated web-enabled database to the simplicity of Facebook to stay connected. What resonated most with the audience were Kim's top three high-leverage technologies and their impact on corporate culture: Electronic news flashes: using a structured weekly newsletter or the informality of Twitter, leaders can "touch" their teams at least once per week. Video interactions: Cisco's Webex keeps remote employees engaged with regular "face" time. Email "Atta Boys": creating reasons for the team to celebrate by sharing victories and recognizing achievements with the entire team. In closing, Kim countered the idea that electronic communication is cold or unfriendly: "Some leaders shy away from email or Twitter as impersonal, but a savvy manager can use the speed and reach of technologies to their advantage. The key is to communicate with humanity, not in corporate-speak." About the Event Comerica Bank's Women's Business Symposium series is an annual educational symposium, and this year's theme was "Mastering Your Business Potential". The keynote speaker was Cynthia Harriss, former president of Gap and Disney Resorts, and the emcee was Camille Jayne, president of The JAYNE Group. Melissa Pollard, Comerica Bank SVP and Group Manager of Middle Market Banking, founded the Women's Business Symposium for Comerica Bank. Ticket sales proceeds were donated to Girls Inc. of Orange County (GIOC), a nonprofit organization which offers girls age 4-18 programs to prepare for higher education, improve self-esteem, become active in their communities and grow into independent women. About Decision Toolbox Decision Toolbox provides end-to-end recruitment solutions for a 7% cost per hire on average. Armed with the very latest tools and a team of seasoned recruiters, Decision Toolbox is an on-demand recruiting department for one critical search, for large projects, or for a complete RPO. For every project, DT deploys a Six-Sigma inspired process that includes employment branding, aggressive candidate sourcing, comprehensive screening, and the dedicated support of an experienced recruitment professional. The company's hallmark is presenting the candidate who is ultimately hired within 14 days of project launch, demonstrating the speed and quality of the process. Founded in 1992, Decision Toolbox has recruited for over 12,000 different position titles and types across virtually all industries and specialties. Decision Toolbox has taken a leadership role in almost every aspect of recruitment, from technology and tools to strategies and process, and is recognized as a "Thought Leader" by organizations such as SHRM, PIHRA, and the NHRA. For more information, visit http://www.dtoolbox.com. # # # # # #

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