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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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HCM Startups: Asking the Tough Questions

worker holding a tablet with data and charts explaining to co-workers

It is a good time to be a startup in HCM technology. With new investment, new priorities, and a new focus on the experience, this market presents some exciting opportunities. In fact, according to CB Insights, the amount of investment in this industry has increased from $400 million in 2012 to just under $2 billion last year. The investment and opportunity seems so promising that entrepreneurs from all walks of life are entering this market with new solutions that promise to change talent and workforce management. Sounds great. Yet “new” is not always better in the world of HCM and companies need to be cautious when investing in startups.

Below are a few questions to consider:

  • Financial Viability: Some startups have every intention of becoming a leading provider in the market with staying power. They are passionate about the work they are doing and the value they provide to your company. Other providers are just hoping to get acquired. They have an exit strategy, and it doesn’t include helping you achieve your goals. When considering startups, you want a provider that is going to be around in the next few years and will partner with you around your unique needs.
  • Integration: Startups don’t always understand the complex HCM ecosystem and how important integration is to corporations. You should consider providers that integrate with more than your HRMS and have a willingness to learn and connect with many partners.
  • Deep Domain Expertise: Startups don’t have to be experts in everything HCM but they should have a strong understanding of their market. They should partner with clients to build out their expertise and be flexible to new challenges that come up. According to Aptitude Research Partners, 56% of companies are investing in providers that can demonstrate deep domain expertise in talent acquisition.
  • Budget: It is easy to get excited by something that is new, but you need to make sure that the startups you are considering align with your HCM budget. Is this something you will need to get buy-in for, or can it replace some of your existing technology?

Investing in a startup can be a positive thing for your company. It can help you reimagine the way you are attracting talent, engaging talent, or even providing benefits. Startups can take your HCM strategy to the next level – but you still need to be judicious about the providers you are considering. You need to ask the tough questions. Sometimes “new” is nothing more than new. Solutions should provide greater efficiency, a strong experience, and a willingness to partner with you as you face challenges.

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New Research on the Employee Experience

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

In this economy, the employee experience is everything. It is the experience that gives companies a competitive edge even when their products fall short. It creates loyalty and a powerful commitment to a certain company or brand.

Yet, when it comes to creating, maintaining and measuring a positive employee experience, most companies fall short. According to Gallup, 70% of the US workforce is actively disengaged and US companies are losing north of $500 billion in profits each year due to loss of productivity. According to Harvard Business Review, organizations with low engagement report up to a 65% increase in turnover. Clearly, something needs to change.

I am excited about new research that we worked on with our friends George LaRocque (Founder, #HRWins) and Ben Eubanks (Principal Analyst, Lighthouse Research and Advisory) for Talmetrix that talks about the strategies for improving the employee experience.

Here are a few highlights from the research:

  1. Define Culture: Culture is the foundation and the most critical step in creating a positive employee experience. It includes the set of beliefs and behaviors that shape a team and all of their interactions. Studies show that companies with performance-enhancing cultures far out-perform those without it in terms of revenue growth, stock price growth, and net income growth.
  2. Measure the Experience: Don’t expect to make changes and improvements without a strategy for measuring the employee experience. Aptitude’s 2016 Hire, Engage and Retain Survey found that 81% of top-performing companies measure the experience of candidates, employees, managers, and leaders.
  3. Strengthen Employee Communication and Collaboration: Communication received by an employee during all interactions with the employer affects their feeling of engagement and leads to particular behaviors. Communication is most effective when it is personal and shouldn’t be done through email alone. Companies need to find what type of communication works for engaging employees.
  4. Use Data to Drive Decisions: While an increasing number of companies are recognizing the need for better analytics and insights, the majority are still utilizing ad-hoc approaches to collecting data, pulling reports, and analyzing. Data needs to drive decisions around how to engage with talent and provide a more meaningful relationship between companies and employees.

As you start planning for how to improve the employee experience in 2018, check out the research and let us know what you think.

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New Research: Talent Acquisition Systems 2017

talent acquisition systems 2017 mockup

It has been over a year since we published our first ATS Index report and what a year it has been. Over the past year, providers have enhanced interview management capabilities, dabbled with Artificial Intelligence (AI), provided more options for employee referrals, and improved analytics and dashboards. It has been a busy time.

The biggest shift in the past year is the realization that the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) as a stand-alone product is not enough. In order to be efficient and provide a positive candidate experience, organizations need capabilities that engage talent both before they apply for a job and after they accept an offer. The providers we included in this year report offer much more than an ATS and several offer end-to-end talent acquisition solutions. The list of this year’s providers includes: ADP, Cornerstone OnDemand, gr8 People, Greenhouse, IBM, iCIMS, Jobvite, Lever, Newton Software,  Oracle, PeopleFluent, SAP, SmartRecruiters, Symphony Talent, and Workday.

We have made some significant improvements to this year’s report including

  • Integration: As more providers are offering ecosystems and marketplaces, we included more information on how providers are integrating with third-party providers and what their platforms offer for integration and support.
  • Security: Few providers in this report can truly support a global enterprise client. As companies look to expand globally, we believe that security is an important differentiator.
  • Advanced Capabilities: We evaluated providers based on some of the advanced capabilities we are seeing in the market, including events management, internal mobility, employee referrals, and CRM capabilities.
  • SWOT Analysis: We replaced the customer journey section of the report with a SWOT analysis to show where providers have strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • Investment: Many of the providers in this report have received a considerable amount of investment. We called this out in the beginning of each profile, as financial viability is a key differentiator.
  • More Analyst Insight: We included more insight into what impressed us about each provider and what companies should consider when evaluating these solutions.
  • New Providers: This year gr8 People and Symphony Talent were both included in this report.

We are excited for all of the change in the market and we would love to hear any feedback on the report.

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HR Technology Conference 2017: The Beginning of a New Conversation

compass with the arrow pointing towards the word talent

The HR Technology Conference is a time to reflect on the past while looking toward the future. More importantly, it gives us a pulse on what matters in the market.  And this year, ‘what matters’ feels different. It feels more thoughtful and more meaningful. What matters is less about competing for market share or trying to outshine and outsell our peers. What matters is not how big our booth is or how many times we are on the agenda. This year, what matters is a community coming together to support our Bay Area friends impacted by the Sonoma fires, the importance of women in tech, and the recent tragedy in Las Vegas.

Priorities have shifted. Conversations and discussions moved beyond products and capabilities and focused on the bigger issues. Providers are no longer just talking transforming HR, they are providing solutions and expertise to actually do it. It’s about time. Some of the themes that resonated with us this week included diversity and inclusion, the employee experience, compensation, and enabling better decisions.

Here is my 2017 HR Technology Conference review:

Diversity and Inclusion

In research Aptitude Research Partners conducted earlier this year, diversity and inclusion initiatives were a top three priority for organizations in 2017. This is an area that has been underserved in the past, and today, it seems to be a critical part of most roadmaps. Many of the providers we met with are focused on diversity hiring and offering capabilities such as anonymous screening, job description checkers, and bias detection.

–Talent Sonar: Talent Sonar empowers clients to look at the qualities that predict success. Its 5 Best Hiring Practices support diversity and inclusion efforts by prioritizing job skill sets, creating inclusive job descriptions, enabling a blind resume review, and providing data-driven hiring. Oh, and they just acquired Talent Function with industry rock star, Elaine Orler, joining the team.

–Textio: Textio uses a rich data set based on 300 million job applications and provides “augmented writing” to help recruiters improve job posts and attract a more diverse talent pool. Textio doesn’t currently partner with ATS providers but I am guessing that will change in the future.

–Yello: Yello is no doubt the sleeper of 2017. This provider has raised more money in the past six months than most of its competitors combined (including a $31 Million round of Series C led by JMI Equity). It has an aggressive product roadmap and has made diversity and inclusion a priority through capabilities and specific use cases. It provides companies with insight into their candidate pipeline to see the effectiveness of their diversity and inclusion efforts.

–WCN: Of all the companies I met with last week, WCN was the one that impressed me the most. Partly because I had never heard of them before — and I should have. They support over 400 employers, have a growth rate of over 30%, and cover end-to-end talent acquisition. Their diversity solution strengthens recruitment marketing, events management, and analytics efforts.  It also helps companies strengthen their talent pools of diverse candidates actively looking for new jobs.

Experience Economy

According to research by Aptitude, 83% of companies plan to continue to improve the experience of candidates, employees, and managers. But most companies are not clear about where to start. They understand that they should empower individuals, but do not have the right strategies and tools in place. Here are a few providers doing some great work:

–Beamery: Beamery is the company to watch in recruitment marketing this year. Beamery personalizes the candidate experience and allows organizations to measure that experience through every stage of the process and compare data across different functions. It includes feedback surveys, talent promoter scores, and a way to measure recruiter performance.

Jellyvision: Jellyvision combines behavioral science with technology and a little bit of humor to help guide employees through difficult life decisions such as obtaining healthcare coverage, selecting life insurance, and establishing financial wellness. It does this through Alex, a communication platform. The solution is so popular with clients that Jellyvision even tracks the number of marriage proposals that Alex gets each year!

-Jobvite: This provider offers a comprehensive suite of solutions to handle everything from employer branding to attracting talent through onboarding. The entire suite is developed on one code and fully integrated. Analytics and advanced reporting gives clients a full view of the candidate’s entire journey and a consistent experience for users.

–The Muse: The Muse has always been successful at helping individuals prepare for their next job and connect with employers. This year, they are also focusing on employers improve their brand and the overall candidate experience. Johnson & Johnson recently announced its’ Shine initiative- leveraging The Muse to bring a digital and consistent experience to all candidates.

–Survale: Survale is a provider that offers something that every company in every industry needs: an “always-on” tool for collecting feedback and analytics around the candidate experience, quality of hire, and the employee experience. It was founded by former Cytiva executives who understand the importance of measuring the experience and holding recruiters and hiring managers accountable for their performance.

Recruitment Intelligence: Making Better Decisions

AI, machine learning, call it whatever you like…companies are looking for technology providers that can help them make better decisions around how to engage with talent. In fact, Aptitude found that 40% of companies are investing in some type of AI in talent acquisition. HRTech had no shortage of these providers.

–Entelo: Entelo continues to dominate the sourcing market with its latest product, Envoy. Envoy sources on behalf of the customer. It takes care of everything and lets recruiters focus on other initiatives. Customers provide basic information about the job(s) they want to fill and Envoy uses AI to find who would be a good fit and then provides all of the communication to those candidates on behalf of the customer.

–Greenhouse: Greenhouse, with its scorecard functionality and its focus on best practices, is a product that guides recruiters and hiring managers to make the right decisions. It doesn’t force them into the decisions, but it shows them what the obvious answers are and then lets them decide.

–IBM: The power of IBM’s talent acquisition solution can be found in Watson, IBM’s supercomputer that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated analytical software for optimal performance as a “question answering” machine. It uses knowledge, skills, and the data within organizations (performance and succession data) to help companies better identify quality hires.

–Symphony Talent: The product differentiates itself because of its simplicity and ease of use. While other ATS solutions are prioritizing the candidate experience, Symphony has invested equally in the recruiter’s experience. It feels more like a consumer product than a corporate talent acquisition solution and AI is built into every stage of the process.

Compensation

Compensation is an interesting market that hasn’t had the attention it deserves, considering it is one of the most important aspects of the employer/employee relationship. Employers are being held more accountable because employees expect more. And so much has changed with the way compensation is managed for organizations. We are seeing an increased emphasis on competitive pay, the need for greater pay transparency, and new regulations around gender pay inequity and executive compensation. These are two providers worth watching in the compensation market:

– Willis Towers Watson: Towers Watson’s Total Compensation Management solution brings its expertise, robust data, and advisory services to compensation software. This solution provides market analysis, analytics and modeling, job leveling, interactive access to data, and a total rewards portal. It combines deep domain expertise with innovative software to help organizations both manage their strategy and reward employees.

–Salary.com: Salary’s Compensation Analysis Suite of solutions includes configurable dashboards, interactive insights and a mobile application. It continues to invest heavily in its product in 2017.

It was a busy week and a busy year. Providers are tackling the big issues and focused more on their customers and less on their competitors. It feels like the start of new era of HR Technology, and we are ready for it. Some of these providers are included in our ATS Index Report publishing next week. Stay tuned…

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Aptitude’s Advice for the HR Technology Conference: Take Time for You

silhouettes of people discussing and sharing ideas with ideas floating above their heads

The tone for this year’s HR Technology Conference already feels different. It feels more thoughtful and more reflective. Priorities have shifted. Last week’s tragedy certainly contributes to this new sentiment, but overall, the industry has changed. This year, it really feels like a community. One that is coming together to support charities, promote sessions, and encourage collaboration.  This year’s conference is a unique one and we are excited to be a part of it. Mollie and I have been preparing for this event for the past few months and we have also changed the way we are talking out our research and the future of HR.

It is an exciting time in our industry and this conference presents a great opportunity to strengthen our community. Below are a few recommendations for making the most out of next week:

–          Visit the Startups: Most of the innovation can be found with the technology startups. They bring a fresh perspective on this industry and provide a more personal experience to the technology available to employees, candidates, managers, and employers. Many of the startups at this show will either be acquired by a larger provider or will experience significant growth over the next few years. They are worth watching.

–          Get Involved and Give Back: The conference offers several opportunities to contribute to something meaningful, including HR Gives Back (founded by our very own Mollie Lombardi) and initiatives to support Las Vegas following the events of last week.

–          Think Beyond HR: Many of the sessions focus on issues that touch other areas of the business including financial wellness, compliance, contingent workforce management, and analytics. As HR becomes more closely aligned with business objectives, these topics and sessions need to be prioritized.

–          Beware of the Hype: Whether you are a corporation or a vendor, it is easy to get caught up in the hype of the event and can be difficult to decipher what technology can actually help solve your talent and workforce challenges. It is ok to be skeptical of some of the messaging and it’s ok to question the value of what these solutions offer. Ask the tough questions and trust your own experience.

–          Take Time for You: The best piece of advice we can give you is to take time for you. The event can be exhausting and it is important to take some time to pause and think about what you have learned and what you are hoping to get out of the event.

The HR Technology Conference is my favorite time of year. It is an opportunity to learn about our industry and to reconnect with old and new friends. We look forward to seeing you next week and sharing some of what we learn. Safe travels!

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Four Trends Impacting Employee Recognition

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

Employee recognition is something that feels right: motivating employees and encouraging positive behavior feels like something every organization should be doing. We know this. And for a long time, these “feelings” of corporate responsibility have driven the employee recognition market to reach $46 billion (as estimated by Josh Bersin in 2012). But, in 2017, is this enough? Or does employee recognition need to be tied to something bigger than a feeling of “right or wrong?”

For the first time, we are seeing a shift in how companies evaluate recognition software and measure results. Recognition is becoming less about employee satisfaction and adoption rates and more about business outcomes. I was at the Achievers Customer Experience event last week and business performance was a recurring theme. The CEO of Meijer Supermarkets – a company with 70,000 employees (mostly non-desk employees) – took the stage to talk about how employee recognition drives customers satisfaction. Companies like Meijer are actually looking at how consistent recognition drives retention, engagement, and productivity. This type of correlation is becoming the standard in an industry that was at one time considered HR “fluff.”

Fortunately, we are seeing an uptick in the investment in employee recognition providers and the number of startups entering this space. It is a market we are watching closely and a few themes definitely stand out:

  • Recognition is Not a Replacement for a Performance Management System: Some providers are complicating their messaging and seem to be going after performance management in a way that is confusing to their buyers and existing partners. Recognition is recognition. It has an established budget and the value is far greater than what a traditional performance management solution can offer.
  • Recognition Needs to Be Tied to Business Outcomes: Customers are asking for this and the providers that can show how recognition impacts retention, customer satisfaction, and productivity. Research Aptitude conducted earlier this year found that companies with a recognition program are two times more likely to improve the employee experience.
  • Recognition is a Communication Tool: It is no surprise that one of the greatest challenges companies face is communicating with their workforce. Ninety-six percent (96%) of companies we surveyed last year believe that communication is critical to achieving company goals. Social recognition technology provides a way for communication to be frequent, consistent, and meaningful.
  • Social Recognition is a Solution for HR Leaders: Recognition has historically been a priority for compensation and benefits practitioners. As the market matures and technology becomes smarter and more strategic, recognition is becoming a priority for HR Leaders.

We will be publishing some new research on employee recognition next month and will be looking at what differentiates providers and how companies are showing the ROI from their investments.

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HR Technology Providers: What Your Demo Says About You

worker holding a tablet with data and charts explaining to co-workers

I have had some bad demos this summer. I get it. Sometimes things just don’t go right. The connection might be slow. The product isn’t doing what it is supposed to be doing. The conference bridge has issues. It’s not a big deal…technology solutions are entitled to have bad days too. But why does it feel like the quality of demos is not what it used to be? Why does it feel like providers are less prepared  when presenting their solutions and articulating their value proposition?

They are not all bad. I have had some really impressive demos recently – including Moovila, Jellyvision, Crowded, and most of the ATS providers that are included in this year’s Index report (they are all demo pros). But, the bad ones stand out. I think as the market is rapidly changing, it might be time to slow down and revisit what matters in a demo (especially before fall conference season).

So, here are my Do’s and Don’ts of presenting an HR Technology Demo:

  1. Do Know Your Audience: Are you showing this solution to a buyer, an analyst, a partner? Not everyone is interested in the same capabilities. Tailor your demo to the right audience and try to understand what capabilities are most important to show.
  2. Don’t Talk About Trends: If the first 30 minutes of your demo is spent talking about “the war for talent”, you are doing something wrong. We all get it. Your customers get it. You don’t need to talk about these very high level trends. Instead, talk about the problem that your solution is solving and what capabilities and differentiators set you apart.
  3. Do Keep It Simple: You don’t want to overwhelm a customer or prospect with every capability or use case on a demo. Understand what is important to that individual before the call and show them the capabilities that best align with their unique needs.
  4. Don’t Forget Your Team: Most demos include some mix of sales, product and possibly leadership. Work as a team on the demo by engaging with your audience and involving everyone on the call.
  5. Do Ask for Feedback: The best demos create a dialogue where you are engaging your audience. It is important to stop and ask for feedback and to check to see if anyone on the call has questions that need to be addressed.

Some of this may sound basic but the way that companies buy HR Technology is changing. In some cases, the demo needs to change as well.

Next week, we will publish the second part of this blog series on demo recommendations for organizations…

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The Seven Year Itch: What Will Happen to Taleo’s Customers in 2018?

businessman selecting change from a panel with other business options

2018 promises to be a pivotal year in talent acquisition technology. I’m not talking about the amount of new providers, AI discussions, or strides to improve the candidate experience. I’m talking about the fact that many of Taleo’s (now Oracle) key customers will be nearing the end of their seven year contracts. It is the elephant in the ATS room these days. Providers are eagerly anticipating some type of mass exodus of enterprise clients and hoping to gain more market share. But the question remains: are these customers really going to leave Taleo, and if so, where will they go?

The answer is not as simple as we might think. Sure, we can expect some customer churn. Today’s companies have options and the next generation of ATS providers have been building out capabilities and trying to move up market. Not to mention Workday’s growing presence in ATS deals. But the reality is that many companies are planning to stick with Taleo. They need a provider that can support a global enterprise organization, provide the scalability and security they need, and one that can integrate with their HRMS. In the ATS world, global providers are few and far between.

In conversations this year, we found out that many companies have lowered their expectations for their ATS and are focusing more on recruitment marketing and the ecosystem of providers that integrate with their core systems. The ecosystem is where they see innovation and transformation. Yet, the challenge is that many of these providers are still learning how to support a global enterprise client and don’t necessarily have a ton of experience.

Below are some of the key criteria that are important for a global talent acquisition department (for both ATS and ecosystem providers):

–          Security and Scalability: It goes without saying that security and scalability are the most important considerations for global talent acquisition. These systems must be able to scale with increased demands and provide the security that will satisfy both HR and IT.

–          Resources: A large global organization needs more than a few representatives to support their complex requirements. They need a dedicated team of representatives that can work with them from selection through implementation and help tackle challenges with adoption. They need the right resources who will be willing to listen and execute.

–          Integrations: Integrations are particularly complex for large organizations — especially when you think about the amount of data that these organizations need to manage. Companies should look at providers that have a strategy around integrations and a history of working with clients to ensure that integrations go smoothly.

–          Partnership: In talent acquisition technology, companies need to think less about selecting a system and more about selecting a partner who will support them. Providers need to listen to their clients’ needs and be open to making adjustments to the product and their roadmap.

Aptitude is in the process of updating our ATS Index this summer and many of these themes and differentiators will be addressed in more detail in this year’s report. Stay tuned…

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People Not Paper: Children’s Mercy Hospital Disrupts Talent Acquisition

Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinic of Kansas City logo

Last week, I attended HireVue’s Digital Disruption event in Park City, Utah. This conference is one that stands out from the rest- not just because of the incredible venue but because of the content, partners, and customers. These attendees are not HR generalists or entry level recruiters. They are senior talent acquisition leaders from companies such as The Estee Lauder Companies, JPMorgan Chase, Unilever, and UnitedHealth Group. For many of these leaders, this event is the only one they attend all year.

I learned a lot. I learned how these companies view the current talent acquisition technology market. I learned that what’s important is finding a partner not a provider. I learned that the talent acquisition technology buyer is becoming more sophisticated than ever before and I learned that when we talk about “disruption”, it begins with these companies.

Children’s Mercy Hospital is a perfect example of this disruption. They are flipping the recruitment model to interview candidates before they even apply for a job. Through HireVue’s “Introduce Yourself” product, Children’s Mercy invites anyone interested to interview right on the career page. Candidates are then interviewed by the children at the hospital- instead of hiring managers or recruiters. Candidates immediately build a connection with the hospital and get a sense of the company culture. Over the past year, Children’s Mercy achieved the following results:

• Improved Candidate Experience: Candidates have more fun during the interview process and the experience is more personal and meaningful. The experience of including children in the videos is extended beyond the interview process into the offer messaging and onboarding phases.
• Increased Diversity Efforts: One unexpected outcome of flipping the recruitment model is the increase in diversity hires. Since using “Introduce Yourself”, Children’s Mercy has 28% diverse hires.
• Increased Number of Hires: Children’s Mercy was able to significantly increase the number of hires they made using “Introduce Yourself” to 285 hires last year.

Molly Weaver, Talent Acquisition Director at Mercy Hospital, shared the following recommendations for any organization looking to disrupt talent acquisition and become more creative in the way they engage candidates:

• Embed culture in the interview process: Children’s Mercy connects with candidates by showcasing the company culture and providing transparency into the key values of the organization.
• Get ready to talk about “people not paper”: Recruiters at Children’s Mercy do not talk about applications. They talk about people and make a connection with the individual.
• Try a video first strategy: Children’s Mercy recommends that companies try a day, a week, or a month if they are hesitant to commit to a new model for recruitment.
• Track your results: In order to gain buy-in, companies must be able to measure their results and share them with key stakeholders.
• Be a superhero to hiring managers: Children’s Mercy was able to improve hiring manager satisfaction by finding people that they don’t even need.

As talent acquisition departments mature, they are rethinking traditional strategies and technology options. Children’s Mercy is one example of a company that is connecting with candidates and driving results. Check out their career page and see some of the “Introduce Yourself” videos. I promise you will be inspired.

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The Talent Acquisition Technology Market is Heating Up

compass with the arrow pointing towards the word talent

According to CB Insights, HR Tech deals reached a record high in 2016 with $1.96B invested across 350 deals from January to October. And, no surprise, most of those deals were in talent acquisition technology. Compare that to 2012 (with only $400M of investment in HR technology) and it becomes clear that this market is not slowing down anytime soon.

In fact, it really began to heat up this month. Every day seems to be marked by a new round of investment for some of the leading startups in this space. Not to mention the other major announcements – CareerBuilder got acquired and all eyes are on Google. It is an exciting time to be in talent acquisition technology.

Below are some of the major announcements this month:

• Entelo: Entelo is a leader in the talent acquisition technology market and has become a critical part of any forward-thinking recruitment or sourcing strategy. What makes it standout is not only a stellar product (inbound and outbound recruitment) but also, its approach to employees, partners, and customers. Last week, it announced $20M in Series C funding led by U.S. Venture Partners.
• Yello: One of the more impressive companies I have met with this year, Yello has a product suite that includes a CRM, scheduling, video interviewing, events management, campus recruiting, and employee referrals. This week they raised $31M in Series C funding from JMI Equity.
• Textio: The augmented writing platform helps companies create more effective job postings. Textio claims to predict the performance of these postings by analyzing the outcomes of 10 million postings each month. This week, it announced $20M in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners.
• Workey: This AI recruitment solution is helping companies reduce or replace their cost on third-party recruitment companies. Earlier this month, it announced $8M in Series A funding led by PICO Partners.

What’s driving this focus on talent acquisition technology? Why are investors watching this market so closely and what does it mean for you? A few factors to consider:

• Business Pressure: Talent acquisition is elevated to more of a business priority. Companies are making more strategic decisions around where they spend their dollars and what value they are seeing from these solutions.
• Importance of the Ecosystem: The modern talent acquisition landscape is comprised of three core systems (recruitment marketing, ATS, and onboarding) and an ecosystem of providers that integrate with those systems. This ecosystem is helping to drive change and improve talent acquisition efforts and this is where most of the investment is happening.
• Focus on the Candidate: For over 70% of companies, the candidate experience is the top priority. Traditional recruitment providers are not designed to enhance the candidate experience. Startups and third-party providers are leading in this area.

One important question that customers must ask is “Where does this investment go?” Customers need to consider if these providers are going to develop the product, enhance sales and marketing, or strengthen customer support. Ideally, they would do all three but it can be hard to tell. It is important to ask your providers tough questions about their investments and partner with them as they grow over the next year.

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