In a few weeks, we are publishing an updated Recruitment Marketing Index. It is a project I started a year ago and this market continues to surprise me. Although, it is one of the most exciting areas of talent acquisition technology, evaluating these providers is not always easy. Organizations are looking at these solutions from very different perspectives and based on very different needs. Some companies want support with career sites. Some companies want a true CRM. And, some companies are not even sure what they want. Unlike the ATS market, recruitment marketing can feel like apples and oranges.
Over the past year, many of the providers in our report have enhanced their capabilities, secured investment, created service offerings, and acquired large global customers. It has certainly been a year of change but some of the confusion around what these solutions do and what value they bring has remained the same. The goal of this research is to help provide clarity on a complex market and highlight the key differentiators in this space. With over 70% of enterprise companies investing or planning to invest in these solutions this year, we want to share some of the latest trends.
Below are a few of the key takeaways from the report:
Replacement: It is amazing to see how many second and third generation buyers exist in a market that is still immature. Recruitment marketing is the top area of replacement in the next year above ATS, assessments and background screening. Organizations looking to replace these solutions cited capabilities, price and customer support as the top reasons. The providers that succeed in this market are not those that have secured the most investment but those that are committed to building products that their customers want to use.
Adoption: Adoption continues to be one of the greatest challenges with recruitment marketing. Only 2% of companies are using all of the functionality in their recruitment marketing solutions. The problem is two-fold: many companies do not have the resources in place to support implementation and adoption and many of these providers are not making products that are simple enough to get adopted. These solutions provide great value but only if they are getting used.
Buyer: The recruitment marketing buyer is different for every company and it is not always the head of talent acquisition that is the key decision maker. At many companies, recruitment operations professionals are responsible for evaluating providers and talent acquisition teams with candidate experience roles, campus recruiting roles and employer brand specialists are having influence as well.
Events Management: One of the key drivers for investing in recruitment marketing is the ability to create, track and manage all events. It is surprising that many of the providers in this market are still lacking some robust capabilities in events management. This is one area that is becoming increasingly important especially with the demand for more campus recruiting solutions.
The Recruitment Marketing Index report profiles eight of the leading providers in the space and will look at differentiators, product roadmap, investment, and capabilities. We are looking forward to sharing this research with you!
