Aptitude Research
Schedule a Briefing

Tag: Recruitment

Categories
Blog Talent Acquisition Strategies

New Research: TA Buyer’s Guide Top 10 Findings (Part 1)

Eightfold AI: What’s Next?
Eightfold AI: What’s Next?

I am excited to announce that we published our annual talent acquisition buyer’s guide report this week sponsored by Verified First. It serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the trends impacting technology and the requirements critical to making decisions. The talent acquisition technology market is constantly changing, and staying ahead of trends is becoming more challenging. Organizations need to evaluate providers based on a new set of criteria that encourages partnership and collaboration between the business and the solutions. Trust in the company, product, and roadmap is a critical part of the buyer’s journey and a key differentiator when evaluating solutions.

Evaluating technology is not as easy as it used to be. Ten years ago, the talent acquisition technology market was comprised of multiple providers offering clear products in defined categories such as background screening, job boards, applicant tracking systems (ATS), assessments, and onboarding. Today, the market has exploded with hundreds more providers and new ones entering each month. Additionally, the lines have blurred. Many of these providers offer several solutions in talent acquisition or have created new categories of technology, making a buyer’s decision much more complicated.

Below are 5 top findings from this research:

  • Efficiency is driving decisions. Companies have stated that improving efficiency is the key driver when evaluating technology providers. Companies are looking at providers to improve time to fill, increase recruiter productivity and improve overall decision-making in talent acquisition technology. Improved efficiency benefits the candidate and the employer by helping candidates receive communication, stay informed and move through the process.
  • Talent Acquisition Technology Investment Continues to Increase. Although some technology investment has slowed down over the past year, one in four companies are increasing their TA investment, and 44% of companies invested in new technology in 2020. Companies are looking at providers to support the challenges they face but often do not consider how they will work with the existing technology infrastructure.
  • Companies need to measure ROI early. Only 1 in 2 companies measure the ROI of their technology investment. As talent acquisition is being held more accountable to the business, showing the value and the timeframe is critical. Measuring and demonstrating ROI is a crucial part of any technology decision and does not need to happen after a company makes its investment – it should actually be considered before.
  • True partnership helps to improve adoption. Adoption is a challenge in talent acquisition technology. Only 3% of companies use all the ATS functionality and only 2% in their CRMs. Companies need to look at how their provider will partner with them during implementation and how they will make that relationship stick after year one, year two, and beyond. Companies should consider their change management resources, and customer advisory boards and councils, customer feedback sessions, and “Idea Labs,” where customers are free to voice concerns and connect with other customers.
  • Companies are looking to replace solutions this year. The top areas of TA tech replacement this year include ATS, CRM, background screening, and assessments. Before evaluating technology options, organizations should conduct an internal needs analysis and be prepared to answer some questions internally. Companies need to identify and communicate expectations before evaluating solutions. Before signing on with a provider, companies should ask how confident the provider is in meeting these expectations and what plans they have in place to meet and even exceed them.

TA buyers face more difficult decisions today with new providers, new categories, and new pressures. The TA tech market changes rapidly, and companies must balance their own unique requirements with the providers that will partner with them. This report can help companies at any stage of their TA tech buyer’s journey.

Categories
Blog Talent Acquisition Strategies

The Future of AI Matching: A Conversation with Tim Sackett

It is hard to find a conversation in TA tech that doesn’t include AI matching. ATS providers are enhancing their capabilities to connect jobs to candidates and candidates to jobs. Providers like HiredScore and Eightfold have gained a lot of momentum in the past year. While SeekOut, a search and sourcing provider, announced that it raised $65 million in Series B funding expanding its matching capabilities. All eyes are on AI matching. In our latest study, 34% of companies stated that they are using some type of matching and they are two times more likely to improve diverse sources and three times more likely to improve quality of hire.

Although companies understand the value of AI-matching, they don’t always know where to go to find a technology partner. My friend, Tim Sackett (a true expert on all things TA) and I had a discussion on AI matching last week.

Here are some of the questions we addressed:

  • Should AI matching come from an ATS provider or a stand-alone provider?
  • What are the benefits of AI matching? Why is everyone interested?
  • Are providers truly considering ethical AI? Are companies?
  • Should matching be employer-driven (matching candidates to jobs) or candidate-driven (matching jobs to candidates)?
  • What else is going on in TA tech today?

We would love to know if you agree or disagree and what your thoughts are on the SeekOut announcement or TA tech.

Categories
Blog Talent Acquisition Strategies

The Talent Landscape in 2020: Total Talent, Metrics that Matter, and Finding a Partner

It has been an exciting year in talent acquisition.

The technology landscape has changed. Talent acquisition leaders face new responsibilities and are being held more accountable for business metrics.

Yet, at the same time, so much in talent acquisition remains the same.

When we asked what recruiters spend their time doing, scheduling interviews and finding candidates in the ATS were top of the list. With new responsibilities, talent acquisition leaders need to think about partners that can help them focus on more strategic initiatives. I am excited because next Tuesday, I will join Jim McCoy, General Manager of Scout, for a webinar to discuss some of the most critical topics in talent acquisition in the next year that is driving change including:

Total Talent Acquisition: Although a flexible workforce can help organizations reduce costs, close talent gaps, and navigate change, developing a strategy around the use of contingent labor has become increasingly complex. In order to maximize the value of contingent labor and plan for future workforce needs, organizations must adopt a more systematic approach to the way they manage this critical talent pool. During this webinar, we will discuss how organizations are looking beyond the long-standing boundaries that divide traditional employee talent acquisition from management of the contingent and free agent workforce talent supply. Companies are adopting a single-integrated framework for employee recruitment, and contingent workforce supply chain management, yielding what is known as a total talent strategy. Nearly 30% of companies have a strategy for total talent acquisition.

Metrics that Drive Success: Talent acquisition is being held more accountable to business metrics yet, some companies still fall behind in their efforts to measure the success of their talent acquisition efforts and recruiter performance. During this webinar, we will discuss the metrics that are most critical for talent acquisition leaders and solutions that can help to measure the performance of recruiters and recruiting teams.

Finding the Right Partners: According to Aptitude Research, nearly 50% of companies are still not measuring the ROI of their investments in talent acquisition technology and services. With so many new options and startups to consider, companies need to be careful when evaluating providers and look for partners that have demonstrated expertise and a commitment to talent acquisition. During this webinar, we will talk about the questions that companies need to ask when evaluating partners in today’s market.

And, it wouldn’t be a talent acquisition webinar without a discussion around AI, so we plan to discuss AI’s role as well. This webinar will help companies at any stage of talent acquisition prepare for the next year. I hope you can join us!

Categories
Blog Talent Acquisition Strategies

iCIMS Announces a New Framework for Talent Acquisition

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.

 

Categories
Blog Talent Acquisition Strategies

Shaker International Merges with Montage: Reshaping Talent Acquisition Technology

Today marks a significant shift in the talent acquisition technology landscape. Shaker International, a leading assessment provider, has merged with Montage, a leading provider of candidate interview and hiring solutions. The new company will be co-headquartered in Delafield, WI, and Cleveland, OH under the leadership of Kurt Heikkinen as CEO and Brian Stern as President. The merger is designed to enable organizations to make better decisions through the combination of science, data, and technology.

According to Aptitude Research’s 2019 Talent Acquisition survey, 58% of hiring managers stated that they don’t have the data they need to make decisions around talent. This announcement is helping to solve a critical need in the market.

The HCM market has undergone numerous mergers and acquisitions over the past decade. While some provide value to customers and prospects, others fall short. According to research by Harvard Business Review, the failure of mergers and acquisitions is  somewhere between 70% and 90%. A successful merger will require alignment of goals, a commitment to the customer, and a willingness to change the course when needed. Below are my early thoughts on what will make this merger successful and what customers can expect in the future.

–          Deep Understanding of the Partnership: In this case, the merger is based on mutual respect and a desire to expand both products and customer base. These providers do different things. So, they don’t have to manage conflicting interests or compete with each other internally. They have taken the time to truly understand each other’s businesses and share similar values and goals for the future.

–          Common Culture: Both Shaker and Montage are Midwestern companies that have sustained growth while innovating to meet the needs of the market. Montage has innovated through its scheduling and interview capabilities and Shaker through its predictive assessments and Virtual Job Tryout. After spending time with both companies over the past decade, I can say that this is a natural fit.

–          Similar Customer Base: Both providers target enterprise companies. The combined company has hundreds of customers and 47 of the Fortune 100. This combination will give these companies more options from a single provider.

–          Short-Term and Long-Term Goals: Establishing both short-term and long-term goals is a critical part of any merger. In the short-term, the providers will maintain separate brands, and the companies will remain intact with separate sales, customer support, and product teams. In the long-term, we can expect to see a holistic view of the company.

–          More Insights: Unlike acquisitions, mergers are successful when both providers thrive. This merger gives both companies better data and insights to help grow their products and support customers. The combined company has over 15 million candidates and enable over 1 million hires in over 20 languages in 200 countries and territories this year.

This merger is helping to reshape and reimagine how organizations hire. But, it also has the potential to change how organizations invest in technology. Companies can start to think less about filling a category and more about solving a business challenge. Over the next year, this combined company will need to adjust to changes along the way and carefully consider future branding and customer requests. We will keep you posted over the next few months.

Categories
Blog

New Research: Quality of Hire

Over 60% of companies in Aptitude Research’s latest survey identified improving quality of hire as their greatest recruitment challenge. Organizations have been talking about quality of hire for years. Yet, we have no standard in the market for defining or measuring it. In fact, most companies still don’t know what makes a great hire at their organization.

Why is quality of hire such a struggle? What can organizations do to improve it?

I am excited to announce that we are launching some new research on quality of hire that will help to answer these questions. Yves Lermusi, CEO of Checkster, and I will be discussing some of the findings on a webinar next Tuesday at 12pm EST. I hope you can join us!

Here are some of the topics we are going to discuss include:

–          Ownership: Is quality of hire a talent acquisition metric or a hiring manager metric? Over 70% of companies surveyed said it is the responsibility of talent acquisition. Yet, companies need to use post-hire indicators to measure it. We are going to discuss how to get the right data on your first- year employees and use that data to improve your talent acquisition processes.

–          Business Impact: Organizations can no longer ignore quality of hire. The impact extends into the business since companies that improve quality of hire are three times more likely to see gains in first-year retention , first-year performance, and first-year productivity.

–          Definition: Currently, only 26% of companies have a formal methodology for measuring quality of hire. Quality of applicant is a pre-hire metric that addresses the candidate’s performance at previous jobs or through previous experiences. Quality of hire measures post-hire metrics including first-year retention, performance and productivity. Understanding this distinction and then creating better collaboration and communication around the two is critical for defining quality.

–          Measurement: Measuring quality of hire is dependent on the availability of data . While many of these key performance indicators are common in discussions around quality of hire, more organizations do not have visibility into this data. Hiring manager satisfaction is not measured consistently throughout the organization while organizational fit is often not measured at all. This data is easy for hiring managers to access through payroll or HRIS systems but it is not communicated with talent acquisition teams and leaders.

–          Improvement: Companies that invest in technology solutions were two times more likely to improve quality of hire. The key to success for quality of hire is in what happens from interview to offer. Organizations cannot ignore solutions that play further down in the funnel that directly impact quality of hire including interview solutions, assessments, background screening, online reference checking and onboarding solutions.

Organizations need more clarity around how to define, measure and improve quality of hire. If you are just starting your quality of hire journey or you are looking to help validate or refine what you are currently doing, I hope you can join us next week!

Categories
Blog

Amazon’s 2nd Headquarters: Building the Case for Boston

Last week, Amazon announced the finalists for its 2nd headquarters and Boston is a contender. This is exciting news for a city that has seen significant growth in tech from companies like Wayfair, Tripadvisor, Raytheon, EMC, and Hubspot. According to the SEC, at the end of 2016, Raytheon added over 2000 jobs and Wayfair not far behind with 1791 new tech jobs. Amazon would certainly accelerate this growth and completely change the job market and recruitment landscape in Boston. We believe for the better. And yes, as a Boston-based company, we are slightly biased. Here are a few reasons why we think that Boston is a strong candidate for Amazon and what impact this could have on talent acquisition efforts:

  • Brain Drain: A 2016 study by real estate services firm, CBRE, found that college students with tech degrees are leaving Boston for cities like San Francisco and New York that offer greater opportunities in their field. This is not a new phenomenon. Boston has always struggled to retain students from schools such as MIT, Harvard, Boston University, and Northeastern University – especially in tech. Amazon would offer a huge opportunity for students considering staying in the Northeast. It is planning to add 50,000 high paying jobs and invest $5 billion into the city.
  • Location: The location that Amazon is considering is just minutes from a major international airport. This location makes it incredibly convenient for customers, partners, candidates, and remote workers to meet with Amazon. Anyone owning real estate in Revere or East Boston should hold on tight to their investments.
  • Competition for Talent: Competition for talent is not always a bad thing. Amazon’s presence in Boston will certainly require companies like Wayfair, Raytheon, and even GE to offer better salaries and incentives to their existing employees. Amazon will also bring new talent to the city that will help boost the economy.
  • Diversified Industries: The Boston economy is thriving. According to BLS, Boston unemployment rose 2.3% in October 2017 from a year ago. Boston added nearly 15,000 jobs in that time in a variety of industries including professional services, education and health services, and finance. Amazon’s headquarters will increase Boston’s prowess in tech.

Amazon’s announcement on its 2nd headquarters will be exciting for any of the 20 contenders but Boston is well positioned to make the short list (despite its cold winters). We are watching very closely!

Categories
Blog

Five Talent Acquisition Predictions for 2018

The past year in talent acquisition has been characterized by new trends, new providers, and new investments. While this is an exciting time to be in talent acquisition, all of this change can feel overwhelming.

At Aptitude Research Partners, we are thinking a lot about the future and what 2018 will bring. As companies make more strategic decisions around their technology providers, we have a few predictions.

The Gap in the SMB: With every solution moving up market, we will see a gap in solutions targeting the SMB. Many best-of-breed providers are itching to move upmarket as the growth that many of these providers experienced in the SMB and mid-markets no longer seems to be enough. These providers are flexing their muscles by creating new partnerships, establishing a European presence, and demonstrating security and scalability that enterprise clients require. This mad rush upmarket is leaving a gap that needs to be filled in the SMB.

The Inevitable Acquisition: Market consolidation in talent acquisition technology is inevitable with too many providers doing too many different things. Aptitude’s 2017 research found that over 50% of companies are investing in 3 or more ATS systems and 3 or more primary sourcing tools. As 70% of companies invest in recruitment marketing solutions, ATS providers have an opportunity to make the technology landscape simpler for their customers, and we can expect some acquisitions in this area.

The Rise of Assessments:  While the assessment market is certainly not an emerging category of HR technology, it has evolved quite rapidly in the past year. Yet, at the same time, it is also a market that has sparked some controversy. Many traditional assessment providers are criticized for their high costs and negative experience for both employers and candidates. Too often, they remain a luxury of enterprise organizations recruiting for senior positions. Many new providers, on the other hand, face backlash as companies question the validity and fairness of these solutions and their effectiveness at attracting quality talent. Successful assessments today must balance sophisticated grounding in data science with a simplicity of user experience for both the candidate and the hiring manager.

The Need for Simplicity: We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again. Companies need simpler solutions in talent acquisition. Recruiters have one major problem. They need an easier way to attract, recruit, and hire talent. If a technology provider is not solving that problem, they do not have a viable solution.  According to Aptitude’s 2016 Hire, Engage, Retain survey, only 3% of companies are using the full functionality of their ATS systems. Companies either don’t know the functionality is there or they don’t understand how to use it. Again, many of these solutions are too complicated. If you want to give recruiters and candidates what they need, technology providers need to make it simple.

The Role of the Big Guys: Several big providers made bold moves in talent acquisition this year. Google Hire turned many heads with its launch earlier this year. Workday acquired new customers, making many of the ATS providers nervous. And Microsoft seems committed to its LinkedIn acquisition. All eyes are on the big providers in 2018 and it will be interesting to see what they do.

The next year is likely to present some major changes in the talent acquisition technology market and we are excited to cover it and help provide clarity around the uncertainty.

Categories
Blog

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.

Categories
Blog

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…

LinkedIn Twitter Email
Top
Aptitude Research