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Author: Madeline Laurano

Madeline Laurano is the founder and chief analyst of Aptitude Research. For over 18 years, Madeline’s primary focus has been on the HCM market, specializing in talent acquisition and employee experience. Her work helps companies both validate and re-evaluate their strategies and understand the role technology can play in driving business outcomes. She has watched HCM transform from a back-office function to a strategic company initiative with a focus on partnerships, experience and efficiency.

Before founding Aptitude Research, Madeline held research roles at Aberdeen, Bersin by Deloitte, ERE Media and Brandon Hall Group. She is the co-author of Best Practices in Leading a Global Workforce and is often quoted in leading business publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Yahoo News, The New York Times and The Financial Times. She is a frequent presenter at industry conferences including the HR Technology Conference and Exposition, SHRM, IHRIM, HCI’s Strategic Talent Acquisition Conference, Unleash, GDS International’s HCM Summit, and HRO Today.

In her spare time, she is a runner, an avid sports fan and juggles a house full of boys (where a spontaneous indoor hockey game is not unheard of!).

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New Research: The Informed Candidate

Today’s candidates are making smarter decisions about what they want from an employer. They are diving deeper into job sites, career sites, and social media to get a clear picture of an organization before making a connection. They want to understand if the skills they have are the skills needed for the job. This more “informed candidate” brings significant benefits to organizations by improving efficiency and helping companies stay more strategic in the hiring process. And it is becoming clear that companies that want to successfully compete for talent need to embrace the informed candidate and manage their online brand to provide the most accurate and relevant information.

According to Aptitude research conducted in 2018, companies define the informed candidates as having the right information for an interview, the right skills for the job, and someone who has conducted his or her own research. When candidates know what to expect, recruiters are able to better meet those expectations and provide a positive experience. Last month, we published some new research on how companies can do a better job engaging the informed candidate. Here are some of the key findings and recommendations:

• Provide Accurate Information: Only 22% of companies communicate with candidates in a timely manner and much of the information provided is not accurate. In fact, only 32% of companies are confident that they know where they are advertising jobs to candidates. Companies need to pay close attention to the information they are providing candidates whether through advertisements, career sites, or even job descriptions. The more accurate and relevant the information, the more likely the candidate will be the right fit.

• Invest in Employer Branding: Thirty-eight percent (38%) of companies say that employer branding is still a significant barrier in the hiring process. In Aptitude Research Partner’s 2018 Hire, Engage and Retain study, companies identified employer branding tools as one of the top 3 most effective sources of hire for every position from executive level roles to hourly workers. Companies that invest in employer branding efforts are empowering the informed candidate with information that can help them through their journey. It gives them information about the company as well as relevant jobs.

• Manage Online Reputation: Candidates are doing their own research and companies should be involved in that process. Eighty percent (80%) of candidates have accurate information from companies that manage their online reputation compared to only 36% of candidates from companies that do not manage their online reputation. Managing an online reputation could include employer branding efforts, social media sites, as well as employee feedback sites. Candidates are 40% more likely to apply for a job at companies where they recognize the brand.

The key to building a successful candidate experience is understanding that it begins well before an individual is actually a “candidate”. It begins during the attract phase of talent acquisition when employers leverage a variety of channels and content to engage and inform both active and passive candidates early in the process. This experience begins when a candidate starts to gather information on a job or an employer.

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Assessments: You Have Better Options

I have been covering the assessment market for the past 15 years. And to be honest…I have done a less than stellar job. Looking back on research from 2005 makes me want to cringe. We are still talking about the same trends, the same providers, and the same challenges. Companies continue to invest heavily in assessments (some close to $2 million) and assessments continue to frustrate recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates. Not much has changed. Overall, most companies feel that assessments are not short enough, not predictive enough, and not candidate-friendly enough. If you have ever taken an assessment, you get it. It is a test and most people don’t like tests.

But the conundrum that companies face is that assessments actually provide tremendous value when used correctly. In an era when everyone wants less bias and more science, assessments are a proven model. In research we conducted earlier this year, assessments are one of the top three investments for talent acquisition leaders and an investment that 30% of companies believe has the greatest impact on quality of hire. It is a market where most companies want to increase their budgets. Unfortunately, they need better options.

Last week, when most of the talent acquisition community was focused on the acquisition of Glassdoor, HireVue announced its own acquisition of MindX– a game-based assessment provider. It is not HireVue’s first acquisition but it may be the best to date. HireVue is establishing itself as a strong contender in assessments and providing companies with exactly what they need…a better option. This acquisition represents a shift in the assessment market where companies are no longer at the mercy of traditional providers.

We are publishing a major piece of research on assessments this month and some of the trends we are seeing include:

–          Experience vs. Validation: The assessment market is not a startup market. Companies need providers with validated solutions and I/Os on staff. Many times, this commitment to validation comes at the expense of a positive experience. The next generation of assessment providers will provide both a positive experience (shorter assessments that are more candidate-friendly) and trusted data and solutions.

–          Lack of Awareness: Most enterprise companies invest heavily in assessments but most have limited knowledge of the providers that play in this market. The assessment market is not small by any means but the number of providers with brand awareness are few and far between. It creates a feeling of “meh” around assessments. Companies have a hard time leaving a provider that they are not satisfied with when they do not know what options are available.

–          Increased Demand for High-Volume: Most companies are increasing their investment for assessments for high-volume positions to help them narrow the funnel and attract quality hires. This is a shift from the heavy investment in custom assessments for executive level positions of the past.

–          Game-based assessments: Companies want game-based assessments for their most critical roles and see value in a better candidate experience and the ability to predict future performance.

We will publish our latest assessment research this month. We have interviewed many talent acquisition leaders this year and feel confident that we will do a better job addressing the real challenges and opportunities in this market.

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A Simple Way to Improve Quality in Talent Acquisition

According to our latest talent acquisition survey, forty percent of companies are increasing their headcount this year and as a result, need to think about investing in the right solutions. Many of these companies are thinking differently about some of the basic areas of talent acquisition rather than investing in what seems to be “new”. Companies want solutions that can help ensure quality of hire and provide a better candidate experience. It sounds simple but with thousands of solutions entering the market, finding providers you can trust is more valuable than bells and whistles.

Over 50% of companies said that background screening solutions have the greatest impact on quality. Screening solutions help organizations make better decisions around the talent they are bringing into the organization. Most companies are investing in criminal background checks as well as verification of employment and education. And…over 60% of companies view screening as so strategic that they are moving it up in the process.

Next week I will present on a webinar to discuss how companies are leveraging these solutions to improve both sides of quality: quality of hire and the quality of the candidate experience. Here are some of the topics we covered:

Quality of Hire: Background screening is one way organizations can improve quality of hire by providing another layer of objectivity needed to make better decisions and retain talent. When an organization is able to eliminate applicants that do not fit the position or role in the process, they can focus on the individuals that are more likely to contribute to organizational performance and growth. Organizations that are taking a more strategic approach to background screening – deeply probing into relevant information on candidates and relying on more than single errors to reject candidates – identify quality hires. Companies that invest in screening are three times more likely to track quality of hire.

Quality of the Experience: Aptitude’s research shows that investing in the right provider improves efficiency and the quality of hire and the overall candidate experience. Companies that invest in background screening solutions are viewing it as part of the process and are twice as likely to have improved their overall candidate experience in the past year. A proper and efficient screening process saves candidates the headache of getting too far along in the application process before being rejected. According to research from The Talent Board, on average, over a quarter of the employers surveyed stated that 50-75% of applicants aren’t qualified for the jobs they applied for across job classifications. Companies that invest in screening improve the candidate experience and track it so they can make changes and communicate better in the future.

Companies that invest in a strategic background screening provider are able to trust that the data about candidates is reliable. Thus, the quality of hire and the experience is improved. We hope you join us next week!

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April Acquisitions in Talent Acquisition

According to the PwC Deals report that published yesterday, 506 deals took place involving US tech companies in Q1. To put that in perspective, we are talking about $60 billion exchanged. And, no surprise, several of these deals were in HCM technology. These deal sizes and volume have remained up and the momentum has not slowed down in Q2. We saw some significant acquisitions this month in talent acquisition and talent management. Companies are looking for the right exit strategies and opportunities to expand their customer base and product suites.

Here are a few of the major announcements this month in case you missed them:

-Learning Technology Group (LTG) entered into an agreement to acquire talent management provide PeopleFluent last week. LTG has acquired several leading learning providers over the past few years including NetDimensions and the PeopleFluent acquisition allows it to expand into other areas of talent management as well as some robust solutions in the contingent workforce space. PeopeFluent is no stranger to acquisitions. After acquiring PeopleClick, Authoria was acquired by Bedford Funding which then rebranded as PeopleFluent. (It’s confusing to us too). 

-Gemspring Capital completes its acquisition of TMP. This acquisition doesn’t come as a huge surprise. TMP’s been trying to reinvent itself for the past few years – especially through its TalentBrew product. Gemspring Capital can help to accelerate its transformation into becoming more of a tech company.

–Indeed Acquires Workopolis. The biggest indicator of a provider’s decline is when it starts to acquire companies that do exactly what they do but on a smaller scale. Indeed’s recent acquisition of Canadian job board, Workopolis is a good example (Does anyone remember some of Monster’s acquisitions of several job boards before it started to decline?). Joel Cheesman provides a great overview of the acquisition on ERE.

But how do these acquisitions impact customers? Having your provider acquired is not necessarily a bad thing but there are some things to consider. What is driving the acquisition? Is the provider trying to expand its product suite? Or is this merely an attempt to stay relevant? Customers need to ask the tough questions and start to prepare for possible changes in dedicated representatives, response time, and product updates.

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Equal Pay Day: What Can You Do?

April 10 is Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness for the gender pay gap. According to research by Pew Research Center, the gender pay gap has narrowed (mostly for younger generations) but still persists and has remained pretty consistent in recent years. In 2017, women earned 82% of what men earned, this is analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers in the United States. Based on this estimate, it would take an extra 47 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2017.

The gender pay gap is real.

So, on a day dedicated to bringing some much deserved attention to pay equity, what can your organization do?

1. Acknowledge It: Companies put so much energy into saying that they don’t discriminate that they often fail to look at the inequity at their own organization. Employer branding efforts can often hinder efforts to address the pay gap when employers try to give the perception that they are something they are not. Companies need to talk about the gender pay gap. Not just in general terms but in very specific, actionable terms that can be translated to their recruiting, development, and retention strategies.
2. Measure It: In research we conducted this year, over 60% of companies have diversity and inclusion programs. Yet, only 1 in 4 companies look at pay equity when they measure the success of these programs. Can’t we do better? Companies should be holding managers accountable, teams accountable, and leadership accountable. They should be measuring pay equity consistently and in a way that is transparent.
3. Communicate It: Companies often want to ignore their own gender pay gaps. If you have some work to do, it is important to communicate with your employees the steps you plan to take and changes that you plan to make. Companies can create awareness through an open dialogue with employees about topics that are relevant.
4. Invest in It: Companies should look at what services are available and how they are using their performance and compensation software to address the gender pay gap.
5. Continue It: Yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that companies can’t justify a wage differential between men and women based on prior salary. This is a step in the right direction and a commitment to continuing support for equal pay. Companies should not acknowledge the gender pay gap on one day during the year. They must continue to address it.

What is your organization doing to support Equal Pay Day? We would love to hear from you!

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Best-of-Breed vs. ERP in Talent Acquisition

The debate between ERP and best-of-breed is still very much alive in talent acquisition technology. In our latest survey, companies are two times more likely to invest in best-of-breed providers. These companies recognize that in many cases, best-of-breed solutions are able to provide both seamless integration and depth in functionality. These providers integrate (through an ecosystem or marketplace) with third-party providers such as background screening, assessment, and video interviewing providers, as well as existing HRIS providers. Aptitude’s research found that companies are 4 times more satisfied with a best-of-breed talent acquisition provider than a traditional ERP provider.

Below are three reasons why companies are considering best-of-breed over ERP: expertise, experience, and adoption.

  • Expertise: Many best-of-breed solution providers are building expertise into their solutions. These providers understand how to help organizations navigate talent acquisition and have product roadmaps designed for talent acquisition functions. Some providers are demonstrating their deep domain expertise by helping companies improve diversity and inclusion, offering organizations capabilities such as anonymous screening, job description checkers, and bias detection initiatives. These providers are also providing scalability to help support clients as they grow. According to Aptitude’s research, 56% of companies are investing in providers that can demonstrate deep domain expertise in talent acquisition.
  • Experience: Recruiters need an easy way to attract, recruit, and hire talent. If a technology provider is not solving that problem, they do not have a viable solution. Many legacy ERP solutions are too complicated. Best-of-breed technology providers need to make it simple and address the challenges they are facing. According to Aptitude’s research, companies using best-of-breed solutions are improving the experience for recruiters and candidates.
  • Adoption: Less than 20% of companies view their ERP provider as a partner once a solution has been implemented. Companies need to look at not only how their provider will partner with them during implementation, but also throughout the course of their relationship.

We are about to kick-off our recruitment marketing research and this topic of best-of-breed vs. ERP is still a very relevant one as many providers looking at expanding both capabilities and services. We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

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Hiring Success 2018: Top 10 Key Takeaways

The ATS market is not really about the ATS anymore. Companies are investing in solutions that are less about compliance and workflow and more about strategic talent acquisition. This is a market where differentiators go beyond product capabilities and include services, customer support, and leadership. This new reality certainly rang true at SmartRecruiter’s Hiring Success event in San Francisco last week. Over 1000 companies came together to discuss topics such as diversity and inclusion, recruitment marketing, and collaboration. Most of the sessions didn’t even mention ATS.

SmartRecruiters’ CEO, Jerome Ternynck, kicked off the conference defining what success looks like including a positive candidate experience, hiring manager accountability, and recruiter efficiency. It was a refreshing and simple message for a very complex topic. In addition to some very meaningful discussions about the role of talent acquisition, SmartRecruiters made some significant product and company announcements last week.

For those of you not there, here are the ten things we think you might want to know:

  1. SmartJobs: SmartRecruiters has launched its own programmatic advertising solution that will help companies with job advertising and attracting talent.
  2. Recruiter Assistant: As most talent acquisition providers are marching down the path of AI, SmartRecruiters is offering its own AI solution to help communicate with candidates and enable better decision making.
  3. SmartStart– If you have been in talent acquisition for the past ten years, SmartRecruiters original vision back in 2008 was to offer a free ATS to companies. They are continuing that commitment with SmartStart, a free ATS for companies with under 250 employees.
  4. CRM: In our latest survey, we found that 1 in 4 companies are looking at their ATS for CRM capabilities. So, it is no surprise that SmartRecruiters has developed a CRM solution to help attract and nurture leads.
  5. Shelley Winner– SmartRecruiters included candidates in their agenda. Shelley Winner presented a truly inspirational story about her candidate journey from prison to her role as an impressive Microsoft product leader.
  6. Leadership: Jerome’s passion for recruitment is hard to deny. He is the type of CEO that greets every customer and employee with a hug. With so many startups and ERPs dipping their toes in talent acquisition, this expertise and commitment to this space is rare. (Dan Finnigan, CEO of Jobvite, and Colin Day, CEO of iCIMS, also fall under this category.):
  7. Ecosystem: Most talent acquisition user conferences do not have a large expo or partner presence. Hiring Success was an exception. Many of the leading talent acquisition providers were in attendance at this conference both in sessions and in the expo.
  8. Diverse Industries: It is hard to find a company in the Bay area that is growing outside of the tech market. So, it was encouraging to see a wide mix of industries including retail, hospitality, professional services, and healthcare.
  9. Moving Up Market: Like many of their peers, SmartRecruiters is moving up market with significant customer wins in the past year including Adidas and Avery Denison. Avery Denison said that integration with LinkedIn and Workday were key factors in their decision to move to SmartRecruiters.
  10. Nor’easter: With 18 inches of snow headed for the east coast last week, I was very happy to be in San Francisco and in no rush to go home.

It is amazing to see how much talent acquisition has evolved in the past few years and how companies are thinking more strategically about the way they recruit and hire talent. These conferences are a reminder of how critical talent acquisition is in both hiring success and organizational success.

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The Role of Innovation in the Employee Experience

The customer experience dictates organizational success. It is the driving force behind where individuals shop, eat, and spend. More importantly, experience creates loyalty between customers and companies. Executives know this and they believe in this. But what role does experience play in organizational success? How is the experience impacting employees and how can we get executives to recognize this impact? Similar to the consumer world, the power has shifted from the organization to the individual. Employees have greater demands, greater expectations, and a greater influence over their employers. This shift is not only an indication of a maturing economy, but also a shift in what drives value in these relationships.

According to research by ARP, 83% of companies plan to continue to improve the experience of candidates, employees, and managers. But the reality is that most companies are not clear about where to start and most executives are not clear about the impact this experience brings to the company. Lighthouse Research authored an eBook that helps companies articulate the value of the employee experience to senior leadership. It offers insight into how companies can think about the impact of the employee experience on business metrics including customer success, revenue and productivity.

One interesting recommendation included in the eBook that often gets overlooked is the impact employee experience has on innovation. According to research by Gallup, 61% of engaged workers feed off of the creativity of their peers compared to just 9% of their peers. By creating an environment where employees are encouraged to be creative and present innovative ideas and projects to their managers, companies will not only engage those employees but improve retention and performance.

Experience has a powerful influence over the consumer world and now needs to be part of our workforce. In order for this to happen, companies must shift their view to empowering the individual.

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Willis Towers Watson: HR Technology, Consulting, and Data

When you think of Willis Towers Watson, “software” is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. As a leading consulting provider with over 40,000 employees in 140 countries, corporations use Willis Towers Watson’s services to help them grow, develop and retain talent. This firm has a reputation for expertise and excellence in delivering HR solutions to complex organizations. But, what might surprise you (and it surprised me) is its’ commitment to innovation and world-class technology. Willis Towers Watson has a suite of solutions that includes compensation software, assessments, engagement solutions, HR portals, and analytics. These are not traditional or outdated solutions but rather solutions that provide a modern, simple experience and innovative, next generation capabilities. What sets it apart and why I was so impressed with this provider is the combination of software, services, and reliable data. It doesn’t excel in just one of these areas. It provides expertise in all three and offers its customers what seems to be so rare in HR technology…a true partnership.

Each month, we select a different provider to profile that has impressed us and Willis Towers Watson is this month’s selection. Below are some of the more innovative solutions:

–          Compensation Software: Compensation is a top priority for organizations this year. When we asked companies what they are looking for in a provider, 1 in 2 companies said the ability to support growth at their organization. Companies want a partner that understands the complexities of compensation management, the dynamics of an evolving market, and can provide the expertise and insight to help them make more strategic decisions. Willis Towers Watson offers a solution to help companies design and analyze and manage their compensation programs with capabilities that include competitive benchmarking, salary structure design, job leveling (to achieve a balance across an organization), and reporting and analytics.

–          Engagement Solutions: Engaging employees is one of the greatest challenges facing HR professionals today. According to our 2018 Hire, Engage, and Retain survey, companies that invest in engagement software are 4 times more likely to retain employees and 2 times more likely to improve organizational performance. Willis Towers Watson offers more than just surveys. It offers solutions that measure engagement efforts and create an action plan to improve engagement efforts. It offers pulse surveys – a high growth area of HR tech that 1 in 2 companies plan to increase investment in over the next year. One global consumer goods company decided to implement pulse surveys to better understand local concerns and compare that to the larger employee engagement survey.

–          HR Portal: The HR Portal software has several benefits including a better approach for employee communication and engagement. This solution is personalized to the individual so he or she receives information that is relevant and unique to them. The portal is branded to reflect company goals and objectives and includes case management, total rewards dashboards, and analytics.  One financial services client with over 80,000 employees uses HR Portal to increase employee participation in total rewards programs and showcase the company brand.

HR technology seems divided between traditional providers (with outdated technology) that are able to support complex global organizations and startups that offer more innovation but lack the security and flexibility that large organizations need. Willis Towers Watson is proving that organizations do not need to sacrifice one for the other. They can have the expertise and the innovation across a suite of solutions.

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The Impact of Recognition on the Employee Experience

A group of co-workers smiling and working together around a table

Companies recognize the impact of experience on growth and profitability and are changing the way they engage and support customers. They are placing a heavy focus on the individual – creating a more meaningful relationship. This is our experience as consumers and it is starting into the workforce. Today’s companies must prioritize the employee and invest in the right strategies and technology to support these efforts.

The employee experience directly impacts business results. Yet, the challenge that most companies face is they do not know where to start. Despite being a top priority, only 34% of companies have improved the employee experience in 2017 – a decline from over 60% of companies in 2016. Organizations can no longer afford a negative employee experience and they need to begin to rethink their initiatives- particularly recognition.

Aptitude Research Partners found that 42% of companies plan to invest in recognition in 2018. Companies that leverage the right strategies and technology to recognize and motivate their employees are more likely to improve the employee experience. Recognition is one of the most powerful tools available to organizations yet it is often overlooked. When employees feel recognized and empowered, they are more likely to contribute to organizational goals, achieve performance objectives, and stay with their employer.

Companies that want to make more strategic decisions around employee recognition and the technology they use should consider the following:

Invest in Social Recognition: Companies that invest in social recognition software are able to create a culture where managers and peers are consistently recognizing each other in a frequent and meaningful way.

Empower Managers:  Managers often lack the tools and resources they need to recognize their employees. By providing solutions that empower managers to recognize employees and hold them accountable will improve the overall employee experience.

Measure the Results: Recognition will not impact the overall employee experience unless organizations have a systematic way to measure recognition efforts and adjust their programs accordingly.

Keep It Simple: Recognition should not be complex. Both processes and technology should provide a simple experience where recognition is easy to execute, track, and manage.

Tomorrow I am presenting on a webinar with SHRM and Achievers to talk about the impact recognition has on the employee experience and the steps companies need to do to create a culture where employees are recognized in a meaningful way. I hope you can join us at 2pm EST tomorrow!

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