|
KEA and RealContacts extend global network for Kiwi expatriates
The Kiwi Expat Association (KEA) and RealContacts Ltd. today announced a partnership to bring unique RealContacts personal networking capabilities to KEA members around the world.
These services will allow KEA members to:
| | - help New Zealand companies with sales leads and distribution channels
- advise New Zealand companies on how to enter overseas markets
- organize events worldwide for New Zealanders living overseas
- post or apply for job opportunities within the KEA network and their personal networks
|
Because of the rapid growth of the KEA network, KEA has sought a scalable, secure application to help match New Zealand-based businesses and research institutes with New Zealanders overseas who can provide advice, contacts and skills.
The first service to be implemented will be the jobs application, with the other services to follow later in the year.
With the new service, KEA members and New Zealand based employers using RealContacts will be able to post jobs online in the KEA network as well as to their employees and their extended personal networks. Only job seekers who are in the KEA network and the extended personal networks of the KEA members can view the job details and choose to be notified of opportunities posted to the KEA network. This reduces the flood of inappropriate responses and screening costs that plague traditional online job boards, yet extends visibility to personal extended networks, where many high-quality candidates are available through referrals and "word of mouth." RealContacts makes the process easy, repeatable, and cost-effective, with the global reach provided by personal and organised networks.
According to Mark Vivian, KEA Executive Officer, "KEA was founded to provide a bridge between New Zealanders overseas and New Zealand-based organisations, providing them with a forum to help them succeed around the world and at home."
KEA is growing beyond our expectations, and to be truly scalable in facilitating connections in the network, we sought technology that could do this in a safe, secure, and self-managing way. Having reviewed a number of products, Im delighted to say that we chose a local solution that is, without doubt, world-leading. Networking is essential to anyone in business, and the potential of a tool that allows this networking to be conducted in a virtual way across a global network of contacts will prove to be incredibly valuable. RealContacts is a service and platform that perfectly supports these objectives. It provides our members with a secure, private way to identify mutually-beneficial partners and to satisfy a number of requirements, whether it be business or personal. Another key benefit is that it allows me to concentrate on the global direction of KEA, as the underlying service and technology is managed by RealContacts."
Grant Ryan, CEO of RealContacts, said, "The RealContacts personal networking technology evolved from our experience in building previous businesses, where we learned the value of networks of contacts. Allowing KEA to link Kiwi businesses to the thousands of New Zealanders offshore who want to put their knowledge, skills and contacts to use is a powerful competitive advantage for New Zealand. We are very excited about the positive impact these services could have for New Zealand over time. KEA is a truly global network that allows RealContacts to demonstrate the power of contacts, regardless of location."
New Zealanders overseas and New Zealand-based organisations can join both KEA and RealContacts at http://www.realcontacts.com/kea
About KEA
KEA is a unique way of building contacts and relationships between New Zealanders around the world. KEA is an inclusive network that currently spans 48 countries, with members from a wide range of industry, academic and public sector backgrounds. The global connections made through KEA allow sharing of information, ideas, opportunities, and contacts. This 'network of networks' aims to provide New Zealand businesses connections with fellow New Zealanders who have knowledge, specific skills and contacts in offshore markets. KEA acts as a facilitator and moderator for the network, and manages the profiled database of individual and corporate members.
KEA is a non-profit organisation, headquartered in New Zealand with chapters around the globe. Founding Directors are Stephen Tindall, Dr. David Teece, and Dr. George Barker.
About RealContacts
RealContacts allows useful information to flow within extended networks of contacts while minimising time and effort and protecting privacy. The unique RealContacts online jobs service connects employers and job seekers through their mutual extended networks of trusted contacts. By replacing the ad-hoc or manually intensive ways that people contact their networks, RealContacts makes it faster, easier, and less intrusive to get results.
RealContacts Ltd. is headquartered in New Zealand with their online service in use globally. Directors include Dr. Grant Ryan, Gary Franklin, and Mike Chisholm. In 1998, Dr. Ryan started the Internet Search Company GlobalBrain.net. This company was acquired by NBCi which at one point had the 7th most visited web site in the USA. He is on the board of the New Zealand Government's Venture Investment Fund (VIF) and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology (FRST).
For further information please contact:
For KEA
Mark Vivian
Phone: +64 4 496 1359
markvivian@kiwiexpat.org.nz
For RealContacts Ltd.
Grant Ryan
Phone: +64 3 577 2106 (international)
Phone: 0800 802 292 (in New Zealand)
Email: grant.ryan@realcontacts.com
Shelley Grell
Communicate IT Ltd
Phone: + 64 (0)3 381 6656
Mobile: + 64 (0)21 747 355
Email: shelley@communicateit.co.nz
|
