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Can We Be Honest About Wellbeing?

On this episode of Transformation Realness, I’m talking with Natalie Egan, CEO and founder of Translator, Inc., and Steven Huang, director of social justice at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Our conversation today is raw and heartfelt. I try to give every conversation the realness treatment on my little show, but this is one for the books. 

Today we talk about how much of ourselves we can and should bring to work — and how there may be a double standard for leaders and HR when it comes to how much of ourselves we bring. We also talk about trauma, therapy and supporting employees when they go through challenging life experiences. Finally, we get real about self love, and we shed some serious tears. 

So grab a tissue, grab a notebook and be ready for some serious soul food.

Find the Right Realness Balance

Learning to bring our authentic selves to work while upholding professional responsibilities is a nuanced challenge for HR leaders. On one hand, fostering vulnerability and emotional expression allows employees to feel truly understood and supported. However, HR professionals must also make difficult yet necessary decisions aligned with legal and business needs. 

“If it’s all emotion and all vulnerability, we probably don’t go very far,” Natalie says. “You have to counterbalance that with — at least in my case — other personalities, other people that you know, for their own reasons, may not bring everything to work, or maybe just are not as emotional as I am.”

Finding equilibrium requires intentionality. HR leaders can promote authenticity by modeling openness about personal dimensions, while also communicating to employees and other leaders that they should bring as much or as little of themselves to work as they feel comfortable with. 

“We’re all human. I don’t think human leaders should be pressured to bring more of themselves at work,” Steven says. “I do think leaders need to recognize that they are a leader, and they should model for others that it’s okay to bring some parts of yourself and not others by being explicit about that. Even if I show up as my whole 100% self most of the time, I should make it clear that I don’t expect you to as well.”

Experimenting respectfully with new approaches can provide valuable support. As Steven shares, one organization “had a licensed therapist come and hold space for whatever people were going through in their life that month. And part of this was a response to the CEO saying, “I can’t respond to every issue that impacts everyone.’” Prioritizing well-being demonstrates care for employees’ whole selves within professional boundaries. With openness and care, HR leaders can navigate this complex role in a way that enables both organizational success and individual growth.

Remember Employees Are People, Too

Creating spaces for meaningful connection is vital for supporting employee well-being. But in today’s mixture of in-person, hybrid and remote working environments, you need a deliberate plan for fostering connection at work. “We don’t interact with each other outside. We’re not bumping into each other at the water cooler. We don’t live near each other,” Natalie says. “We have to be very intentional about that. And I think creating intentional spaces for people to connect is really easy to say — [but] it’s hard to do.”

At Translator, Inc., Natalie gives her team members space during their Monday morning check-in to reflect on the weekend and build rapport in low-stakes discussions. This small investment nurtures the relationships that sustain engagement and performance. Aim to craft a culture where people feel seen, supported and able to bring their best work — however much authentic self they choose to share — to their duties each day.

Test New Ways to Support Well-Being

Creatively explore new approaches for bolstering employee support — and don’t forget to ask them how you can help them feel more comfortable being themselves at work. Periodic pulse surveys or anonymous feedback, for example, allow you to collect employee input without too much pressure on them. 

Steven’s CEO took a straightforward approach to handling frequent stressors or triggers employees were experiencing. “Every three or four weeks we had a licensed therapist come and hold space for whatever people were going through in their life that month,” he says. “And part of this was a response to the CEO saying, ‘I can’t respond to every issue that impacts everyone. So what if we just have a space where people can bring what’s impacting them and all support each other?’”

With open communication and frequent evaluation of evolving needs, a variety of support structures may unfold to complement existing benefits and resources.

People in This Episode

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Blog Learning Cultures

New Research: Nurturing a Strong Learning Culture in Today’s Organizations

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our newest research report on learning cultures! This collaborative effort brought together the expertise of our team, including the brilliant Laurie Ruettimann, and our amazing partner, Learnerbly.

One of the key highlights of this report is the introduction of a comprehensive maturity model—a tool designed to assist companies in assessing their current position and charting a course for future growth. With this model, companies can gain a clear understanding of where they stand and identify specific areas where they need to focus their efforts to enhance their learning cultures.

We found that 67% of companies are ramping up their investments in learning and development initiatives this year. This surge underscores a growing recognition among businesses of all sizes: continuous learning is essential for staying competitive and agile in the dynamic business landscape.

However, despite the increasing investment in learning initiatives, there’s a glaring gap between intention and execution. Less than half of companies express confidence in the effectiveness of their learning cultures, and only one in three are satisfied with their providers. This disconnect exposes a critical gap between investment and perceived value, highlighting the need for a paradigm shift in how organizations approach learning and development.

The significance of cultivating a strong learning culture extends beyond organizational growth—it profoundly impacts the employee experience. By fostering a learning-centric environment, companies empower employees to acquire new skills, stay engaged, and enhance performance. Yet, despite these benefits, many organizations lag behind in their approach to learning and development, treating it merely as a business benefit rather than a tool to empower individuals.

To bridge this gap, organizations must embrace a transformative approach to learning and development—one that prioritizes alignment, personalization, and inclusivity. These pillars serve as the foundation for nurturing a comprehensive learning environment that resonates with individual employee needs and fosters an inclusive and engaging atmosphere.

Personalization: Only 42% of companies personalize the learning journey for their employees. Recognizing that learning is not one-size-fits-all, organizations need to tailor learning experiences to meet the diverse needs and preferences of their workforce.

Inclusivity: Despite the pivotal role of inclusivity in fostering a diverse and equitable learning culture, only half of companies state that their learning cultures are accessible to all employees. Prioritizing inclusivity requires addressing barriers to participation and ensuring equal opportunities for all employees to engage in learning and development activities.

Alignment: One in four companies believe their investment in learning is wasted, highlighting the importance of aligning learning programs with both employer and employee expectations. By ensuring that learning initiatives address the specific needs and skill gaps of their workforce, organizations can maximize the impact of their learning investments.

Addressing the challenges of low engagement, wasted spend, and the need for greater inclusivity in learning initiatives requires organizations to take a critical look at their learning cultures and drive meaningful change. By embracing a holistic approach to learning and development—one that prioritizes alignment, personalization, and inclusivity—organizations can cultivate a learning environment that empowers individuals, drives organizational success, and fosters a culture of continuous growth and improvement.

The report is available now on the Aptitude site.

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Blog

New Research: The Informed Candidate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Blog

A Simple Way to Improve Quality in Talent Acquisition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Blog

April Acquisitions in Talent Acquisition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Blog

Equal Pay Day: What Can You Do?

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

The gender pay gap is real.

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

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

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

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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…

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Blog

HR Technology Conference: 5 Reasons We are Excited to Attend

tortoise toy ahead of a hare toy

It is hard to believe that the HR Technology Conference is just one week away. This will be my 10th year attending the event and I have been spending the past few days reflecting on the past and considering the future. So much has changed in this industry over the past decade. Some of the largest providers have been acquired (Taleo, SuccessFactors, Kenexa and now Monster) and many exciting startups seem to be taking center stage. Providers are going to market with solutions that not only lift the administrative burden off of HR departments but also, provide a meaningful experience for candidates, employees and managers. The value proposition for many of these solutions has never been greater.

As we start to plan for next week, below are five things we are most excited about:

  1. Startup Pavilion: “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” – Thomas Edison, General Electric Co-founder. The startups at the conference will not disappoint. Over 50 companies will be participating in this year’s Startup Pavilion including onboarding, assessment, performance management and benefits companies. They are all rethinking the way companies rely on technology to manage their workforce and enhance the employee or candidate experiences.
  2. Next Great Technology: Speaking of startups…on Tuesday, October 4 at 3:30pm, I will be participating in The Next Great Technology session where participants will be able to hear and vote on 8 of the most exciting providers in the market today. Check out HighGround (performance management) and Clinch (recruitment marketing) who will be featured during this session.
  3. Performance Management: Are companies really ready to throw out traditional performance management practices and systems and replace them with more innovate and effective options. We think so. We have seen companies such as GE and Lionsgate rethink their approach for performance and invest in new solutions. Many providers are offering viable options- something we have not seen for a long time.
  4. Candidate Experience: Every talent acquisition provider is prioritizing the candidate experience in all aspects of recruitment. And while we are excited to hear what new technology is improving candidate feedback, we are most excited to hear from industry expert Gerry Crispin– who has spearheaded this movement. (He was also our last guest on the Research on the Rocks podcast).
  5. Conversations: Last year, we set off on a journey to start a new conversation in HCM. This year, we are excited to continue that conversation by reconnecting with familiar faces and making new friends in this very exciting market. We hope to see you there!
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Blog

The Future of Work: A Wish List

At the start of Labor Day weekend, it seems appropriate to reflect on the realities and possibilities of work.  According to the Department of Labor:

“Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Our theme at Aptitude this week has been the future of work but maybe it’s time to take a step back and think about the past. How can we do a better job as employers of paying tribute to the contributions of our workers? A day off is great but why can’t this happen throughout the year on a more consistent basis? So, in the spirit of Labor Day and honoring the past, here is our wish list for the future of work.

–       Recognition: Seventy-five percent (75%) of companies have a formal recognition program according to research we conducted earlier this year. Yet, so few of these companies make sure that recognition is ingrained in the company culture or invest in the right technology to motivate their employees. Recognition, the art of saying “thank you”, needs to be a core part of the work environment.

–       Communication: When asked to identify the top priorities for recruiting and engaging talent, stronger employee communication was top of the list across all industries and company sizes. Today, success is defined by a company’s ability to align strategy and execution, and effective communication is critical to achieving this alignment. In fact, top performing companies are 3 times more likely to invest in communication than their peers.

–       Flexibility: Earlier this week, Amazon announced that it would let some work a 30 day work week. This decision gives employees the freedom to spend less time in the office. Employees want greater flexibility not only with the ability to work from home but around the employer/employee relationship. With the influx of contingent workers in the market, employers that provide greater flexibility will not only see an increase in employee morale and engagement but also, in productivity and performance.

In order to take a look at the future, maybe we need to start by taking a look at the past and getting back to basics. We will be covering these topics in our upcoming Culture Survey later this month. Stay tuned…

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Don’t Call It a Comeback: Salary.com is Packing a Punch in Compensation

everlast boxing gloves tied together and hanging down

It is easy for traditional HCM solution providers to get stuck in a rut. Too often, they have a myopic view of the market and look only at themselves, their competitors, or last year’s trends. When the market changes, they struggle to keep up.

So, imagine a situation where a solution provider took some type of “sabbatical”- leaving the industry, exploring the broader tech world, and testing out innovative solutions outside of HCM. My guess is that we would see a more sophisticated, business-centric solution or at least, something we haven’t seen before. In many ways, this is what happened with Salary.com. You are probably familiar with the Salary.com story. The company was acquired by Kenexa (now IBM) in 2010 for $80 million and then, it was bought back by the original founding team in 2016 with the goal of helping companies pay competitively, improve efficiencies, and enable pay transparency. Nearly 40% of the original Salary.com team has rejoined the founders to develop a comprehensive suite of compensation and data solutions as well as training and implementation services. They have returned to try to innovate a market that has gone stale.

This week, Salary.com announced new features to its Compensation Analysis Suite of solutions including configurable dashboards, interactive insights and a mobile application. These new features make it easier for employers to access compensation data the way they need it and essentially, keep their employees happy through better transparency and ease of use. Something, we haven’t seen enough of from existing providers.

Compensation is an interesting market and 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 while 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. It makes sense that the founders of Salary.com, given their expertise, would see the need for a more robust solution in this market.

We are covering the compensation market in our upcoming Culture survey and research that we are publishing soon. So, this is a market we are watching closely and looking forward to sharing our research with you.

 

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