October 8, 2019 - Aptitude Research

The talent acquisition technology market has experienced significant transformation over the past few years with new products, providers, categories and startups. It is an exciting time to be in the recruitment industry but at the same time, it can feel incredibly overwhelming as companies try to understand what a modern technology stack should include. Furthermore, a lot of organizations are stuck with the technology they have today and aren’t able to switch off systems that aren’t meeting their needs.

Models have been created to show the breadth of products companies need to include in end-to-end talent acquisition, but most don’t align with the priorities or strategies that talent acquisition leaders have in place. And, many of the providers tend to overcomplicate an already complex market.

iCIMS is one provider that is committed to helping meet clients’ needs within the talent acquisition market. It has announced a new framework that helps to simplify the market with a new product portfolio for customers to invest in solutions that they need at the stage that they need them. The portfolio includes three suites: recruitment marketing suite, advanced communications suite and a hiring suite (after a candidate applies for a job). These suites can be integrated with other applicant tracking and HR systems.

The Recruitment Marketing Suite: By definition, recruitment marketing includes the activities and strategies to nurture and engage with talent before they apply for a job. According to Aptitude Research, 70% of companies are investing in recruitment marketing this year yet, only 2% of companies are using all of the functionality that their provider offers. Recruitment marketing needs to be simplified. iCIMS customers can leverage recruitment marketing capabilities through dynamic career sites with iCIMS Attract, and through a CRM (what iCIMS is calling its Nurture product). These capabilities were made possible through the Jibe acquisition iCIMS made earlier this year.

The Communication Suite: 1 in 2 companies still use email as their primary form of communication with candidates and 62% of candidates never receive any communication from employers. iCIMS is helping companies improve this through “live communication” with iCIMS TextRecruit which includes chat, text and social media messenger and iCIMS ARI (Automated Recruiter Interface) which uses artificial intelligence to automate repetitive, high-volume tasks like candidate screening and interview scheduling.

The Hiring Suite: This suite of solutions includes recruiting, offer and pre-onboard. This suite includes the ATS capabilities as well as communication and compliance that needs to happen with employees before they join an organization. Aptitude Research found that the growth of the ATS market remains strong at 10% with companies looking to invest in true partners.

With several acquisitions over the past few years including TextRecruit and Jibe, iCIMS is providing clarity about its offerings and flexibility around how companies can adopt technology solutions to meet unique needs. It simplifies the talent acquisition technology market and makes it feel more manageable to companies that are confused with where to begin. These suites are supported by a unified platform with access to a marketplace of hundreds of providers that integrate with these core suites.

George LaRocque and I have been busy this past month research trends in how SMB organizations evaluate and select talent acquisition technology. While so much focus has been on the enterprise market, SMB organizations, in many cases, are rethinking their tech stack and focusing on innovation. And…they have great options. That Talent Acquisition Buyer’s Guide for the SMB Market sponsored by Verified First and JazzHR, published last week and we are sharing some of the key findings on a webinar tomorrow. Below is an overview of what we plan to cover:

The talent acquisition technology landscape continues to evolve every year with new providers entering the market and traditional providers expanding their offerings. Evaluating and selecting the right technology partner is becoming increasingly complex as companies try to navigate this new landscape. Additionally, business leaders are putting more pressure on talent acquisition to make strategic decisions and demonstrate the value of their investments. According to Aptitude Research’s 2019 Talent Acquisition survey, companies are using up to 20 different technology solutions and only 38% of SMB companies are measuring the ROI of their investments.

SMB organizations face a unique set of challenges when evaluating technology solutions and finding a partner has become challenging for many smaller organizations that do not always know what options they have available in talent acquisition. Small to mid-sized companies are rethinking the way they identify and attract talent in order to align more closely with business objectives. They are shifting their priorities and investing in technology that will improve quality of hires, recruitment efficiencies as well as the candidate experience. And, more importantly, they realize they do not need to sacrifice one for the other. According to Aptitude Research’ 2019 Talent Acquisition study, nearly 70% of SMB organizations invest in technology that is up to date with consumer technology and 80% of SMB organizations want solutions that will help to improve the candidate experience.

This webinar will help organizations answer the following questions:

– What is the current state of the talent acquisition technology landscape?

– Who are buyers for talent acquisition technology at SMB organizations?

– How can buyers gain the support of senior executives in their organization?

– What is the key criteria for selecting talent acquisition technology?

– What internal and external questions should companies ask before selecting talent acquisition technology?

I hope you can join us!