“It is clearly a strategy that combines best-in-class sourcing from AIRS with a premier talent management provider,” says Nov Omana, founder of consultancy Collective HR Solutions. “I would be surprised if the ADPs and Kenexas of the world don’t examine this model closely to come up with their own take.”

The alliance was announced Monday, November 19. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

The program, which is being marketed and promoted to clients, packages Taleo’s traditional applicant tracking software with the AIRS SourcePoint product, says Chris Tratar, Taleo’s director of solutions marketing.

Omana says the alliance between two big-name HR tech providers could help to offset worries among employers who are on the fence about whether to outsource recruiting.

“These companies hold a lot of weight in the HR market,” he notes. “They can reduce the worry factors that some employers have about sending something as important as recruiting to an external provider.”

TalentReach enables recruiters to source active and passive job candidates. Employers are able to fill out talent requisition forms noting the skills and experience a job candidate must have in order to fill a specific vacancy.

It then hunts for candidates meeting the profile and lists contact information so a recruiter or hiring manager can reach them directly. It allows employers to develop an electronic recruiting management system whereby they can e-mail candidates, establish relationships with them online and, whenever appropriate, invite them to apply for certain vacancies.

“It is the difference between recruiting reactively or taking hold of the situation because you are not waiting around for people to respond to help-wanted ads,” says Chris Forman, chief executive of AIRS.

The fact that Taleo TalentReach will enable employers to contact passive candidates online is critical, particularly when it comes to reaching younger people from Gen X and Gen Y, Omana says. There is a gap in the way many employers communicate with young workers.

“Many don’t realize that the Internet is one of the most effective tools to get their attention,” he notes. “It is a part of their everyday lives.”

Forman says the recruiting tool mines for job candidates through three primary sources—extensive résumé databases from online job boards; business profiles on social networking sites; and AIRS’ own sophisticated referral network. AIRS has access to 40 million passive candidate profiles, according to Forman.

This is not the first time that Taleo and AIRS have teamed up. Taleo has been offering AIRS training solutions to its clients for several years.

“This latest venture is an extension of our existing relationship,” Tratar says.

—Gina Ruiz