A group of industry-leading Fortune 500 companies today launched AllianceQ, an organization created to build a free, exclusive and perpetually growing pool of job candidates to drive down its members’ cost of recruiting. Founding members include Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), Baxter, Best Buy Co., Inc., Entergy Corporation, FPL Group (Florida Power & Light Company, FPL Energy), Starbucks, and Wachovia Corporation.

The technology behind AllianceQ continually matches job candidates to employment vacancies across all Alliance member organizations. The result is that participating companies now have a free way to source new job candidates, and can offer those job candidates they cannot hire, opportunities with other AllianceQ members. The Alliance’s goal is to provide its members with a zero cost recruitment solution for three out of every five jobs.

U.S. employers spend billions of dollars every year in their attempts to reach relevant and qualified candidates. According to Borrell Associates, total recruitment spending is expected to increase from $58 billion in 2008 to $73 billion in 2012. The average cost to obtain an entry-level hire ranges from $3,000 to $6,000 (source: “Making Sense of Recruiting ROI,” Experience.com 2008). For the most part, these investments are not fully utilized and the expenditures to attract job candidates are repeated every year.

AllianceQ was conceived, formed and implemented by QuietAgent (www.quietagent.com) – a third generation recruitment solution – in response to the increasing time, energy and cost corporations often waste while recruiting qualified job seekers.

Jason Kerr, co-chairman of AllianceQ and CEO of QuietAgent, explains, “Collectively, the Fortune 500 is the world’s largest job board. They have all the jobs, they attract the most job candidates, so it just makes sense for them to collaborate resources and help each other save money.”

The founding members of AllianceQ agree.

“Best Buy cares about people and wants them to be excited about bringing their interests and unique talents to work,” said Kristina Parker, director of selection, Best Buy. “Working with AllianceQ ensures that our candidates can be connected to opportunities – inside or outside of Best Buy – that can put their strengths to work.”

“AllianceQ allows us to collaborate with other large corporations to help solve recruiting challenges while offering our candidates a higher level of customer service,” said Janet Manzullo, senior vice president for recruiting, Wachovia Corporation.

“The 'race-to-talent' is an issue for corporations of all sizes,” said Peggy Jude, vice president, HR Shared Services, ADP, Inc. “ADP is a worldwide leader in the HR industry, and we believe that AllianceQ offers us a unique way to get access to the best candidates in the market today.”

Information about joining AllianceQ is available at www.allianceq.com.

About AllianceQ

AllianceQ is a program put together by QuietAgent, inviting key employer brands to join an alliance and use the QuietAgent technologies to increase the number of candidates they can reach and improve the quality of the recruitment experience for every applicant that applies to their brand. For more information, visit www.allianceq.com.

About QuietAgent

QuietAgent is a continuous recruitment exchange and the pioneer of anonymous mutual matching for jobs. QuietAgent’s third generation recruitment solution considers every candidate for every job, every day and instantly pinpoints the qualified and mutually interested anonymous candidates from a large pool provided by an alliance of large corporations, recruitment providers and other organizations. For more information, visit www.quietagent.com.

About ADP

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP), with nearly $8 billion in revenues and over 600,000 clients, is one of the world's largest providers of business outsourcing solutions. Leveraging more than 55 years of experience, ADP offers the widest range of HR, payroll, tax and benefits administration solutions from a single source. ADP's easy-to-use solutions for employers provide superior value to companies of all types and sizes. ADP is also a leading provider of integrated computing solutions to auto, truck, motorcycle, marine and recreational vehicle dealers throughout the world.

About Baxter International Inc.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) operates an international portfolio of brands with a commitment to growth and innovation. Our employees strive to provide customers around the world with superior experiences by responding to their unique needs and aspirations. We sell consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services through nearly 1,300 retail stores across the United States, throughout Canada and in China. Our multi-channel operations include: Best Buy (BestBuy.com, BestBuy.ca and BestBuy.com.cn and BestBuyMobile.com), Future Shop (FutureShop.ca), Geek Squad (GeekSquad.com and GeekSquad.ca), Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers (PacificSales.com), Magnolia Audio Video (Magnoliaav.com), Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co. (Five-Star.cn) and Speakeasy (Speakeasy.net). Best Buy supports the communities in which its employees work and live through volunteerism and grants that benefit children and education.

About Entergy Corporation

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,300 employees.

About FPL Group

FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL) with annual revenues of nearly $16 billion and a growing presence in 26 states, is nationally recognized as one of the country’s premier energy companies. FPL Group’s two principal subsidiaries are Florida Power & Light Company and FPL Energy, LLC. (www.fpl.com). A testament to its long-standing commitment to the environment, FPL Group was the national leader in renewable power generation in 2006. Its approximately 14,000 employees are dedicated to safely providing reliable power while showing genuine concern for their communities and the environment.

Florida Power & Light Company is the largest investor-owned electric utility in Florida, serving more than 4.4 million customer accounts. It is one of the largest and fastest-growing electric utilities in the United States and is the nation’s leading utility in customer energy efficiency programs. FPL Energy is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels, a world leader in the development and operation of wind power, and the largest generator of solar power in the nation.

About Starbucks Coffee Company

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company (NYSE:SBUX) has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality Arabica coffee in the world. Today, with nearly 16,000 stores and more than 170,000 partners (employees) in 44 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through its unwavering commitment to excellence and its guiding principles, the unique Starbucks Experience is brought to life for every customer through every cup.

About Wachovia Corporation

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies, with assets of $808.9 billion and market capitalization of $53.8 billion at March 31, 2008. Wachovia provides a broad range of retail banking and brokerage, asset and wealth management, and corporate and investment banking products and services to customers through 3,300 retail financial centers in 21 states from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas and California, and nationwide retail brokerage, mortgage lending and auto finance businesses. Globally, clients are served in selected corporate and institutional sectors and through more than 40 international offices. Its retail brokerage operations under the Wachovia Securities brand name manage more than $1.1 trillion in client assets through 18,600 registered representatives in 1,500 offices nationwide.

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