Aptitude Research
Schedule a Briefing

Tag: talent acquisition

Categories
Blog

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!

Categories
Blog

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.

Categories
Blog

We Are a Tech Company

This phrase seems to be the rally cry for many of today’s largest companies. Financial firms are now competing for tech talent against companies like Google and Facebook. According to CB Insights, Goldman Sachs is hiring more tech talent this year than financial talent with a third of its workforce in engineering roles. JP Morgan has created “Tech Connect” to attract and develop tech talent and Morgan Stanley is upping its game as well. These firms are offering competitive salaries and considering more relaxed work environments that might appeal to the Silicon Valley genre of talent. And they are not alone. According to McKinsey & Company, large companies will make technology-related investments averaging hundreds of millions of dollars and some upwards of a billion dollars in the next five years. Every large company seems to be trying to become a tech company. But what do these firms need to consider if they want to recruit the best of the best?

Here are a few or our recommendations for a more tech-friendly talent acquisition strategy:

–          Invest in Best-of-Class Technology: The top tech talent are not going to want to work for a company that uses outdated or traditional recruitment software. If you are going to be taken seriously as a technology company, consider you own tech investments including your recruitment marketing solutions, employer branding, ATS, and onboarding solutions. These solutions should provider the right candidate communication and a simple, consumer-like experience.

–          Consider Scheduling Tools: Many of the tech companies are startups are experimenting with different scheduling tools such as Olivia, Brazen, and Calendly. Not only do these tools lift the administrative burden for recruiters but they show tech companies that your firm is up-to-date with the latest innovation.

–          Narrow Your Candidate Pool: If you want to be more effective at identifying the best candidates and competing for talent, you may want to consider assessment tools. These solutions can help you identify talent with the right skills, personality, and cultural fit.

–          Invest in Employer Branding: If your company is transforming, you will need to update your employer brand. You will need to showcase why top tech talent would want to work for your firm using video and social channels. It might mean a change in company culture, competitive salaries, or highlighting your existing top talent.

As most companies try to establish themselves as tech companies, they will need to do more to identify and attract top talent. Recruiting in tech is one of the most competitive markets right now and companies that will succeed will need to highlight their brand, connect with candidates in a meaningful way, and use innovative technology.

Categories
Blog

Improving the Candidate Experience Through Better Communication

Two tin cans connected by a string

I have been thinking a lot about the candidate experience. For the past two years, companies we have surveyed cited improving the candidate experience as a top priority yet, only 40% of companies are actually successful at achieving this goal. If companies spend so much time and energy focused on the candidate experience, where does it go wrong? And, why has something so basic become so complex?

Sure, there is something to be said for the fact that candidates who don’t get an offer, may view the experience as less than stellar. But, overall, companies that have a systematic approach to communicating with every candidate in a way that is frequent and meaningful see results. Communication is the most important element of the candidate experience. When we asked companies what the candidate wants, they said to be notified when they are screened out of the process (52%), to receive information on the company (52%), and to have a single point of communication (50%). Candidates want to be informed and here are some recommendations:

Provide Transparency: Too often, employers try to paint some picture perfect scenario of what life is like at their company. The reality is some jobs are not fun. And working for your company might not be ideal for everybody. Why do we try to pretend differently? The more we can be transparent about the company and the job, the better. Companies should think about creating more meaningful and candid content on career sites and in employer branding efforts. Also, job previews are one way companies can show candidates a more accurate depiction of a job or your company.

Consider Recruitment Marketing: The primary reason that companies fall behind in improving the candidate experience is that they don’t have a mechanism to engage with candidates before they apply. Recruitment marketing is where the candidate experience starts. Companies need the right strategies and a single solution to attract, nurture, and engage with candidates. Many of these solutions give companies a way to provide relevant and meaningful content to candidates to inform them about the company and potential jobs.

Use a Variety of Tools: Companies tend to rely on email as their primary mode of communication with candidates. Yet, few candidates read their communication. Companies should use a variety of communication methods including chat, video, SMS, and phone calls.

Set Expectations: Candidates want to know where they are at in the recruitment process. They want to know if they will hear anything after they apply and how long it will take before they are called in for an interview. Candidates want to know how long background screening will take and when they will find out if they have an offer. It sounds basic but companies do not set expectations and they don’t communicate consistently with everyone that applies.

If you are interested in learning more about ways to improve the candidate experience, The Talent Board conducts some great research every year and the latest research is available now.

Categories
Blog

AI, Voice Activated-Assistants, Robots: Does Any of It Matter?

In talent acquisition, we hear a lot about things like AI, voice activated assistants, and robots. Will recruiters be replaced by AI? Will home voice activated assistants liked Google Home and Alexa become part of our workforce? What jobs are in danger? Providers are talking about it and many talent acquisition leaders are asking for it. I get it. Technology is changing. And we need to keep up and prepare for the future. But in research we did last year, 60% of companies are still confused about AI and its value in recruitment. By focusing so much on the unknown, are we losing sight of the basic challenges with attracting and recruiting talent? Are we losing sight of what really matters?

Recruiters face some serious challenges (improving the candidate experience, attracting talent, hiring quality talent to name a few) and companies need to consider solutions that actually address those challenges. We have become so focused on what’s “new” that we are missing what’s valuable.  What solutions can actually help recruit better? When we ask companies about their top investments and where they see value, this is what they say:

  • Background Screening: It may not seem like the most exciting area of talent acquisition but for many companies it is the most important investment. Many companies have had the same provider longer than they have had their ATS. It is also the top investment with nearly 80% of companies using some type of background screening provider. In 2018, companies need to consider not only what type of screening is important but also what providers that they can trust.
  • Assessments: When using the right provider, assessments can provide tremendous value to talent acquisition by helping organizations improve the quality of hire. The challenge that most companies face is that they have been leveraging very traditional assessments that provide a poor experience for the candidate and take too long to complete. Companies need to consider validated providers that will partner with companies to create a better experience.
  • Online Reference Checks: It is surprising to me that more companies are not investing in providers like SkillSurvey and Checkster. There is tremendous value in online reference checking in reducing time to fill, improving quality of hire, and giving companies an additional talent pool where they can source candidates. These solutions along with background screening and assessments address real challenges in recruitment.
  • Communication Tools: The candidate experience is essentially about communication. Organizations need to give candidates the information they need to feel engaged and prepared. They need to provide more meaningful communication through multiple channels including chat, video, messaging, or event a phone call.
  • Predictive Analytics: I recently moderated a panel with Dr. Anton Smessaert from Visier where every question I have ever had about predictive analytics was answered in 45 minutes. Predictive analytics can help companies understand patterns of data and help guide them to make better decisions about talent. But people need to be the ones to make those decisions. He will explain this much more eloquently than I can but predictive analytics is valuable and you need a provider you can trust.

We are launching our 2018 talent acquisition survey in a few weeks and would love to hear what your priorities are in the next year.

Categories
Blog

Why iCIMS’ Acquisition of TextRecruit is a Big Deal

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

When you think about iCIMS, “risk taker” might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But the NJ-based provider has demonstrated its ability to push the envelope and drive change more than many of its Silicon Valley peers. And its recent acquisition of TextRecruit, the mobile recruiting platform, is no exception. Colin Day, CEO, has taken significant risks over the past 10 years, including turning down investors and potential acquisitions in favor of organic and consistent growth. iCIMS has taken risks with its messaging, marketplace, and products – including moving away from an integrated Talent Management suite in 2012 to refocus on strategic talent acquisition.

iCIMS understands that Talent Acquisition is complex enough to deserve its own suite of solutions and its own conversation. Its acquisition of TextRecruit continues this commitment to helping companies attract and recruit talent.

If you are unfamiliar with TextRecruit and wondering what this means for Talent Acquisition…here are a few reasons why we think this is a big deal:

  • Product Leadership: iCIMS is much more than just an ATS. By announcing that TextRecruit will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, servicing and integrating with other systems based on their clients’ needs. It is expanding its customer base and leadership in Talent Acquisition.
  • Enterprise Market: iCIMS, like many other next generation Talent Acquisition systems, has been making a play to move up market. TextRecruit, with over 400 enterprise customers (including several existing iCIMS clients) gives iCIMS more credibility in the enterprise market.
  • Candidate Communication: According to research Aptitude Research Partners conducted in 2016, 47% of employees are not even opening their emails from HR departments. Companies need to find new ways to communicate with candidates via text, AI, and chat. TextRecruit will give iCIMS’ customers that option.
  • Market Consolidation: Consolidation is inevitable for Talent Acquisition. Companies are using too many providers to do too much of the same thing. iCIMS is the first provider to make a significant acquisition and setting the stage for end-to-end Talent Acquisition.

iCIMS’ strength is in its deep expertise in Talent Acquisition and its exceptional customer service. As it continues to move up market and expand with this new acquisition, maintaining strong customer satisfaction and high customer retention will be challenging but critical to its continued success. 2018 is already proving to be an interesting year in Talent Acquisition technology.

 

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

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.

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 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…

LinkedIn Twitter Email
Top
Aptitude Research