A.I. PREDICTS JOB APPLICANT BEHAVIOR

A.I., the ability for a computer or other machine to perform activities usually associated with human intelligence, is currently being used by numerous leading retailers to hire hourly employees in an intelligent manner using technology from Unicru Inc.

Unicru, a leading provider of automated hiring solutions for the recruiting, retention and assessment of hourly workers, uses artificial intelligence in its Smart Assessments product that "learns" patterns contained in a company's employment history data and applies that knowledge to the selection of prospective employees.

For example, by using Smart Assessments employers can predict-- with up to 70 percent accuracy -- how long an applicant is likely to stay on the job. This is a significant benefit because turnover among hourly workers such as cashiers, wait staff, and call center representatives often ranges from 100 to 200 percent. Beyond forecasting job tenure, Smart Assessments are also designed to predict other metrics of job performance, including attendance, sales performance and dependability.

"Unicru's Smart Assessment technology has helped our hiring managers make wise decisions when recruiting hourly workers," said Laurie Saylor, director of employee relations and staffing at The Sports Authority, the largest full-line sporting goods retailer in the United States, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "With the information the Smart Assessment technology provides, my company will now be able to predict employee tenure, thereby reducing turnover and increasing ROI."

Artificial intelligence, which is already used by stock market analysts to predict fluctuations in trading prices, has never before been applied to the human capital management field. With the advantages of adaptive technology and a paperless data flow, hiring managers have more tools to make informed employment decisions.

"This Smart Assessment technology demonstrates the ingenuity of Unicru," said Sharon Ward, vice president of enterprise applications and CRM for The Hurwitz Group. "Unicru continues to increase the value of human capital management for the market by bridging the digital divide between hourly workers and their employers with recruiting technology that matches the right applicant with the right job."

Unicru's recruiting solution combines the employment application, employment testing, background checks and tax screenings into one easy step. On average, customers using Unicru's recruiting technology have seen decreases in employee turnover of 10 to 30 percent and reduced hiring time by more than half. Unicru's on-site job center and Web-based employment application makes it fast and easy for candidates to apply, dramatically increasing the number of job applicants being processed. In addition, customers have seen improved sales and greater employee effectiveness for employees hired using the Unicru hiring system. Unicru's Smart Assessments take these results to the next level, allowing hiring managers to identify the right person for the right job, faster and more consistently.

"For the first time, it is economically and technically feasible to bring world-class behavioral prediction to the hourly labor market, which includes over 110 million workers in the United States alone," according to Dr. David Scarborough, Ph.D., developer of Smart Assessments and manager of strategic information products at Unicru. "Smart Assessments represent a breakthrough in employee selection decision support that allows companies to do a better job in hiring by learning from their own employment lifecycle history."

About Unicru

Unicru Inc is the first company to provide customizable recruiting solutions for employers of over 80 percent of the American workforce -- hourly workers. The Unicru system is deployed via on-site application centers, the Web, and through back-office processing of employers' job applications, hiring, and terminations. The company's services are used nationwide by large retailers, call centers, and hospitality businesses with over 12,000 on-site application centers, as well as its Internet presence, representing over 200,000 hourly job listings. Unicru currently processes job applications at a run rate of six million per year. Clients include Kmart, Toys R Us, Blockbuster Video, Metro One, Target, and Metromedia Restaurant Group. On average, Unicru customers decrease employee turnover by 10 to 30 percent and reduce hiring time by more than half. For more information visit the company's Web site at www.unicru.com.

Contact Unicru, Suzame Tong, 503-596-3257, stong@unicru.com.