by Kathleen Groll Connolly
This newsletter is titled “Human Resource Measurement News,” so normally we’d write about surveys, tests, and assessments. Much as we love those topics, we’re also curious to find out what else people in this field are looking for. We took advantage of two Web services that report total searches by search term: Trellian.com and Google.com/Trends. What’s the answer?
Not surprisingly, recruitment and salaries top the list, at least according to the trial search offered in Trellian.com’s Keyword Discovery. We were surprised to find telecommuting in the top five, along with OSHA and change management. Trellian reports the combined searches of 180 search engines for the prior year, excluding Yahoo/Overture. Here’s a list we derived from Trellian.com reports on May 24, 2006:
1. Recruitment
2. Salary
3. Telecommuting
4. OSHA
5. Change Management
6. Job Descriptions
7. Balanced Scorecard
8. Time Management Training
9. Employee Surveys
10. Employee Assistance Program
11. 360 Degree Feedback
12. Workplace Stress
13. Maternity Leave
14. Wrongful Termination
15. Work Life Balance
16. Team Building Training
17. Leadership Seminars
18. Employee Motivation
19. Management Seminars
20. Team Building Seminars
Google offers a different view of search volumes through its new “Google Trends.” It doesn’t report actual numbers of searches, but shows a three-year trend line. Now, anyone can see the rise and fall of public curiousity on various terms. (Take a look at the term “Hurricane Katrina” for a vivid illustration.)You’ll also learn what cities and regions are producing the most searches, and in which languages. If you try out “Balanced Scorecard” in Google Trends, for instance, you learn that India and other countries search more on this term than lots of other places, including the U.S. Ireland is the top source of searches on “workplace stress.” Tampa, Florida is the top source for “work at home” searches.
Search terms provide a fascinating window into the daily concerns of people in the HR field. We’ve used search terms for a while to guide product selection and newsletter information. Top searches on Performance Programs’ Web site continue to be employee job satisfaction, morale, Hogan personality tests, and the Power of Full Engagement. Let us know if the topic of search engines interests you.
