7 Questions with Greg Scott, Founder and CEO for Jiibe

On my recent trip out to Vancouver to take in my sister's wedding, I had the opportunity to chat to Greg Scott, Founder of Jiibe at my favourite new venue in Vancouver -the Salt Tasting room (yum).

As part of a continuing series of vignettes of different community and web 2.0 luminaries, this time I had the forum to chat with one of the brighter 2.0 experts in Canada over great wines, cheese and dips to understand a little bit more about Greg's site Jiibe, described as helping career seekers  "make better decisions for a happier life " - a recent jewel of a find through my judging of Backbone Magazine's Pick 20 Web 2.0 Awards (Jiibe ranked no. 12 on the esteemed Canadian site list).

1) Sean: Greg - you've created a very interesting 2.0 friendly site in Jiibe - have you created the future of HR company reputation management here?

Greg: Yes, we are just getting started. Corporations value their employees and prospects, now more than ever, because there is a global shortage of talent paired with a sharp increase in international competition. Tools that help pinpoint or retain the best people will be invaluable. Jiibe does that.

2) You've centered Jiibe around individuals as opposed to companies - is this bottom up 2.0 traffic-building savviness or a more nobler intention?

Jiibe wants to help people identify the best companies and shift the other companies towards that ideal. Only with this form of 2.0 democracy can that be achieved. Is that noble? You could say it is, but how do we drive real change? Trust. Jiibe offers is a way for individuals to share the REALITY of their workplace and find better value matches, but only with enough users, with critical mass, does it have the power to become an efficient, trusted and powerful cultural marketplace. Now, consider the POWER of that… if enough people tell us their ideal, we can move the market – Jiibe users become one loud voice that shift company cultures.

Jiibe is not the only voice in this movement. So, without compromise, companies need to find authentic, unbiased ways to listen to their people (employees and their recruitment prospects.) As Jack Welch said, "Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be." The best companies "get it" and will win.

3) Sounds very missionary and I love this Jiibe reliability factor score - it shorthands my potential customized fit with a company culture, that's hot - but what gives me the faith it's reliable and when do we take the "Beta" label off your site?

The reliability factor is based on the number of users within a single company. We added it to our search so people would know we are being very open. The more people Jiibing in any one company the more likely their cultural Jiibe (DNA) is accurate. This Jiibe system gets much more interesting with more people. We have a few companies that love Jiibe and want all of their employees on the system. Once that happens, believe me, we will trumpet it to the world!

4) This kind of reminds me of eHarmony and other compatibility dating sites - are we looking at corporate dating as a trend in the workforce now :)?

Yes. Exactly, just like you wouldn't want to marry someone after one date I don't think people want to commit to one company after one interview. Before you had little choice, but today, 2.0 changes all of that.

5) With increasing amounts of free agents and contract people, do you see this site not only an effective tool for a full time career choice but also for short term contract positions?

That is a great idea! We would love to see free agents find opportunities with Jiibe. Many times the client company is just testing to see if the contractor is a fit. Wouldn't it be better if you know you were a fit from the start? Then the odds of getting the bigger contracts are substantially greater.

6) What's been the biggest insight-to-date you've generated from the aggregated content of the site? Do you see the value of user generated content in a different light after this experience?

The greatest insight was finding out how many companies are really open to this global transition towards greater authenticity – greater trust. Those companies, from the data, clearly will attract the best people and have the most engaged staff. If I was to bet on a company's future success, I'd bet on our most active companies, they just have a culture that encourages their employees to speak up.

User generated content in the enterprise is nothing new; it is synonymous with "managing by walking around (MBWA,) made famous in the 1982 best selling book, "In Search of Excellence." However, 2.0 makes that principle truly scalable and far more efficient. We still need personal contact, we still need leaders, but the best ones can now get to the heart of their problems much quicker.

7) What's the future hold for Jiibe and the greater industry of Human Resources 2.0?

Employees are now recognized as a real asset – Human Capital. To keep and attract people you need to engage them, keep them interested in their job. This means we will see greater employee participation at all levels of an organization. The value of sincerely listening to your employees is nothing new; but the consequences are dire for those that don't engage their employees. Human Resources 2.0, Human Capital 2.0 or Enterprise 2.0 just make it easier for a leader to be in touch will all parts of their organization. The smartest leaders will find a way to harness this power and catapult their company past all the others. But leaders beware; the 2.0 dialogue must be authentic.