MIAMI, FL and CINCINNATI, OH -- (Marketwire) -- 01/16/13 -- The Miami Foundation in Miami, Fla., has retained Blackbook HR to help the region improve its rate of turnover among major employers, retain bright young professionals and increase civic engagement.

"Miami has the fifth-highest percentage of college students per capita in the U.S. and the fifth-highest flight of those students once they graduate," said Javier Alberto Soto, president and CEO at The Miami Foundation. "It is incumbent on us to develop, attract and retain the best and the brightest here in Miami.

"Our future depends on it."

Soto and his team heard Blackbook CEO Chris Ostoich present at a recent CEOS for Cities conference and asked his team to help them survey employees at key companies in Miami and develop solutions for retaining them.

"We were excited about partnering with Blackbook for a number of reasons," adds Nancy Jones, vice president for development and communications at the Foundation. "Among them is the amazing results their tools have had in reducing year-over-year turnover for major employers in the Cincinnati area."

The Foundation convened more than 20 major corporations and community partners to engage with Blackbook in conducting a regional Embeddedness Quotient (EQ)™ survey, which determines how connected people feel to an employer or community and calculates their risk of leaving.

EQ is a patent-pending Web-based survey technology built on the LinkedIn API.

After completing the EQ survey, Blackbook plans to use its Yocal™ platform, connecting employees by using social networking tools and information, activities and events within the community, to engage 30,000-50,000 participants.

"Obviously, Miami has a treasure trove of community assets, and our job is to help evaluate why some citizens aren't connecting with them and how to make that happen," said Ostoich. "We are excited to bring the success we've had working in enterprises to regions such as Miami that understand that talent is a critical driver in economic and regional prosperity."

About Blackbook HR
Cincinnati-based Blackbook HR is focused on the science of employee retention. Its SaaS platform includes "human capital risk analyses" that measure how connected and 'embedded' an employee is in his or her workplace and city. If a risk surfaces, Blackbook can provide these employees with a customized Enterprise Social network to help them more easily build relationships with co-workers. Its clients include Fortune 50 companies, nonprofits and government agencies, including the regions of San Jose, Calif., and Des Moines, Iowa. Blackbook is a CincyTech portfolio company.

About The Miami Foundation
The Miami Foundation works to build civic life and improve the quality of life of the Miami, Fla., region. It works with all kinds of donors to help them make their philanthropy more effective and more fun. It has $220 million under management, allowing it to invest more than $10 million a year in its community.

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