London, UK: June 5th, 2006 - Professionalassociates, part of GCG plc, today announced the accelerated U.S. launch of its online sourcing service that matches highly qualified independent consultants and interim managers with potential management consultancy and Fortune 500 employers. www.professionalassociates.com was launched in the UK in 2005 to meet the growing challenge faced by companies when sourcing highly skilled experts for specific projects and interim management roles, as well as help world-class consultants source roles that more precisely match their particular skill set.
The service is free to qualified independent consultants. The service and website is already being utilized by over 500 active individuals in 50 countries across the globe, and is constantly attracting hundreds of new associate applications especially those with specialist skills in the technology sectors such as wireless, telecoms, and financial systems implementations. Professionalassociates also caters to management consulting firms and Fortune 500 employers that require fully vetted talent in specific regions of the U.S.
Commenting on the value of the service to U.S. based independent consultants, Braden Kelley, an Innovation Consultant located in Seattle, WA said: "Professionalassociates has the potential to revolutionize the U.S. contract talent marketplace. By creating a pool of world-class consultants that have been pre-screened and are immediately available, the service meets the growing needs of corporate clients who are seeking specific skills for particular consultant roles."
"Professionalassociates has seen extraordinary growth since we launched in the UK less than twelve months ago. We have seen particularly high levels of demand from the U.S. and have brought forward our U.S. expansion plans by six months in response to that demand. Professionalassociates addresses many of the core issues facing consultants and clients - it is increasingly difficult to find the perfect match because the number of consultants in the market place and the specialization of their skills." said Scott Bushell, Head of Global Operations for Professionalassociates.
"Professionalassociates is able to identify the most experienced and specialized consultants and ensures their quality through the screening process. We have married that with Internet technology to provide an online service whereby clients can freely search for the right skill combination, while consultants are empowered to manage their own profiles. We are finding that consultants get more work, and clients get the right person quickly and efficiently for their companies or consultancies," continued Bushell.
www.professionalassociates.com has stringent requirements designed to capture only the highest qualified and experienced experts. Independent consultants must have an MBA degree; been employed by at least three Fortune 500 companies; or have at least five years' experience working with a professional services firm. The service individually screens every applicant to ensure that all listed specialists meet the minimum qualification requirements, and requires candidates to constantly update their availability.
Professionalassociates statistics show that the type of candidate the service attracts is likely to have more than 10 years experience as a result of the way the screening process identifies those consultants with the most experience and education.
Professionalassociates has a unique auction feature that matches candidates and clients on both skill set and price. Candidates are pooled into certain high demand industry sectors or specific job roles and then put in to an online auction for clients who competitive bid for their services.
The service also offers independent consultants the opportunity to cash in on their professional networks through a system that rewards them for recommending members of their professional network for available projects, and vice versa. Professionalassociates offers a bonus of $500 to candidates who introduce active colleagues to the service. The company also pays a bonus commission on placements at clients where the consultant is instrumental in and materially contributes to the arrangement.
"www.professionalassociates.com grew from GCG's experience in executive search and placement. We experienced that finding the perfect candidate for a specific role was becoming more difficult because of the growing number of consultants and the diversification of roles. By providing companies with access to independent consultants, they can also avoid the land and expand techniques deployed by many of the larger management consultancies," said Valentine Feerick, CEO of GCG plc.
www.professionalassociates.com is headquartered in London, U.K and in 2006 plans to open up a head office in Cambridge, MA with supporting screening centers across the U.S.
Consultants, Fortune 500 organizations and management consultancies should visit www.professionalassociates.com or contact 1-866-392-4205 for more information and to sign up to the service.
For more information, please contact:
Cheryl Gale / Liz Swenton
March Communications
(617) 475-1570pa[at]marchpr[dot]com