by Janine Nicole Dennis | Sep 15, 2015 | Ask Czarina, Featured, HR Innovation, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips
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We evolve as we go or so we hope. When I have led HR Technology implementations in the past, my recommendations have been countered at times by word-of-mouth recommendations and/or reports by some of “human capital” firms who make it a practice of regurgitating the same HR Technology vendors in their HR Tech state of the union reports year-after-year. I think we can all agree having more information readily available has not necessarily meant for more qualitative information. In fact, I would say it is harder than ever to find a reliable, factual or useful piece of information.
The “Best-In-Class” Racket
I have read many reports on HR Technology and how players in each segment stack up. As an HR practitioner, user and HRIS Analyst, I was often dumbfounded by the results I was seeing in these reports for the following reasons:
1) Many of the HR Tech vendors that have been touted as being “best-in-class” were the most troublesome to implement, lacked in customer service and many other attributes that would be important to consider when shopping for and implementing a new system.
2) The HR Tech vendors that were providing service as specified or even exceeded customer expectations were often left of this “best-in-class” roster or given marginal ratings. How?
3) Very little of the information presented in the reports I was reading resulted from a significant sampling of actual customers who have had the experience of working with these vendors.
Users Trump All
If you are going to position your company to influence consumers on HR Technology purchases via the reports, analysis and data you provide, you better make sure that you have got the experience right from the ground floor where the practitioners live and breath with the technology daily. Part of the issue with evaluating HR Technology is as follows:
1) Too many companies rush to make hasty purchasing decisions without carefully considering teams, resources and the product’s compatibility with their processes-resulting in a lot of poorly implemented systems.
2) At the enterprise level, you have extreme variability in approach and execution with regard to sales and implementation teams with a specific HR Tech vendor. That means that, I could have a great sales and implementation team for Vendor “X” in NY; but my colleague in Minnesota will have a different team and likely a difference in experience. Different teams are fine. Variability in approach and execution from an organizational and branding perspective is not.
The G2 Crowd Difference
I believe I have encountered a report that is as true to the users experience as it is evaluating HR Tech vendors performance. The company that produces the report is called G2 Crowd. I have made their reports available here before. Their use of crowdsourced feedback from actual users makes for a far different report than I have seen. Finally, I am reading a report on Core HR or Recruiting Software and I’m not cringing at most of the results.
They published their Core HR report in July and I am comfortable with most of their results. I say “comfortable” because there are at least two systems I am not intimately familiar with – so I have to go by their evaluation. Below I share the “Core HR category” grid; but before we get there- some transparency for you. While I love a lot about this report and G2 Crowd, I have to tell you that I have not been paid by them to share this information. As always, I merely seek to keep you aware of the best of the best in HR, HR Technology etc.
What does Core HR represent?
Core HR is defined in this report as the following: systems that automate organization management, expense management, salary structures, benefits administration and time tracking. Below you will find G2 Crowd’s grid for depicting how Core HR vendors stacked up. If you are in the market for a new Core HR system and would like to purchase the entire report of customer-sourced feedback- visit G2 Crowd’s site here.
I have personally combed through their reports and found it to be a valuable asset to have when deciding which vendors to engage based on your company’s needs. Consider making this investment next time you are in the market for an end-to-end Core HR system. I can honestly say I wish I would have had something like this during the implementations I have been involved in.
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Watch the latest Ask Czarina on “The Aristocracy of HR” You Tube Channel here.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jun 2, 2015 | Featured, HR Innovation, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips
Image courtesy of Flickr.com
Technology is evolving rapidly. HR Technology is a subsection of this innovation, and is also evolving rapidly in its own right. In addition to rapid expansion, HR Technology appears to be lucrative as well. According to a 2014 Forbes Article by Josh Bersin, the HR Technology market is a $15 billion dollar market. With that kind of money backing this industry, there are endless options and opportunities for both for HR Tech companies and potential buyers.
With more and more leaders shifting their focus to talent management strategies, having the right technology working for you is an operational imperative. The trouble with having all of these choices and options at our fingertips is it is overwhelming. From experts to reports, whitepapers and admittedly bloggers like me- it can be confusing to digest all of the tips, tricks and advice that is out there.
The purchase of HR Technology is one of the larger investments we make in HR. In many organizations, the request to purchase technology is enough to make your CFO gasp and that is even with the proper justification backing the request. If you’re going to invest money in new technology to facilitate your operations; it would make sense to do your homework on the market to ensure you are making the right investment.
You may be thinking ” well that’s obvious, Janine”. My experience has taught me that companies are not as dedicated to a proper selection and implementation process as you may think. More often than not, the purchase of HR Technology is lead by good intentions, distorted by unrealistic expectations and compromised by flawed decisions. One of the things that drives me mad about organizations is: when they choose a provider based on market presence or some other arbitrary factor without holistically considering other important factors like: customer satisfaction, customer retention, their specific niche, and how the technology will improve or facilitate operations etc. Instead, they end up making the wrong decision or poorly implementing a good system, because they were unclear about their requirements. Additionally, they forget to spend a fair amount of time thinking about the inherent limitations and opportunities involved with the purchase. The criteria I mention are just a few of the many things that should be considered when looking to purchase HR Technology. As an HR practitioner and potential buyer, half your battle is understanding how important it is to give yourself and your team adequate time to evaluate your HR Technology of choice before purchasing.
Now for some help…
Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive the G2 Crowd Grid for Recruiting Software from my friends at Ultimate Software. While it should not be your sole data point for deciding what to choose- it is certainly a step in the right direction towards making sensible HR Technology purchases. Perusing this report, you will find scores for satisfaction, market presence, number of ratings etc. You can even compare HR Tech providers to see how they stack up when it comes to implementations, contract terms and pricing.
If you are in the market for a new ATS or other HR Technology-this report is worth reviewing. You may even be surprised to find out who is leading the HR Technology landscape at the moment- I know I was. I will hint that some of my favorite Recruiting Technology providers are finally receiving the kudos they deserve.
You can get a glimpse of the report below. The grid as pictured below shows how Recruiting Technology providers stack up when it comes to ‘satisfaction’.
For the a free, full report and the ability to run your own analysis of Recruiting Technology providers, click here.
Have an HR Technology Implementation question? Set up a 15 minute Talent Strategy call with me here.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | May 12, 2015 | Featured, HR Innovation, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips
Image courtesy of IBM Smarter Workforce
I love Human Resources.The idea that we are charged with an organizations most prized possession- its people- is no easy task. Everybody has their niche in HR. My role in the organizations I worked for were focused on process improvement and facilitating strategic transformation. In essence, I was often brought in as the person that would see the state of the companies processes and strategies and develop a plan for moving it forward. It is a skill and niche I continue to enjoy as I serve customers through my business.
As HR practitioners, we have enjoyed the luxury of working within siloed niches with very little gumption or energy to look up from our mounting work to see how much the workforce has changed. There are certainly progressive HR departments trying to increase their value and move in unison with the businesses they support. The problem is as a discipline we aren’t moving forward together in a way that will support our survival in the future. You have people on the left hating HR and counting the days to its demise. The ones on the right-who are happy living in Personnel World circa 1980; and then the ones in the middle that are following whatever the latest trend in HR is despite any applicability of the trend to their particular business.
There is so much potential collectively and separately for HR to transform the organizations they serve. It requires us to take a step back from what we think we know and examine the economic, societal and business-specific realities of the overall workforce. To continue down this road of doing HR for the sake of keeping the discipline alive is really to be an accessory to the inevitable death of HR. Business and technology are evolving quicker than we are as a discipline. This realization is not a reason to be defensive, but a memo to all of us that we need to either transform or be transformed.
Last week, IBM announced a partnership with SAP (yes, you read that right) that will allow them to deliver a consistent and streamlined customer experience via an offering of an integration between SAP’s SuccessFactors® Employee Central and IBM Kenexa’s cloud-based HR software Talent Acquisition Suite. This alliance is an effort that will allow IBM customers to move to the cloud; while also reaping the benefits of ongoing support and services from these two tech giants. IBM and SAP are competitors. Each of these companies could have continued in privacy creating and deploying products independent of one another. What I get from this partnership is: they have realized that offering a better product to consumers is far more important than anything they could do separately. Will it be lucrative? Only time, will tell. The point is they looked at the market and they are transforming rather than being transformed.
Everything in life and business travels in cycles. There are times for rebuilding, stagnation, and transformation. We are in an age of evolution and transformation and it is exciting. What can you be doing as an HR practitioner to raise the bar in your own organization?
Stop. Don’t answer that question now, but please accept my invite to IBM Smarter Workforce’s #SWFChat where I will have the pleasure of co-hosting a chat with Denise Holt of Grateez, Inc. about the Transforming HR and the evolution of Talent Management.
You can join us on Crowdchat by following this link: https://www.crowdchat.net/swfchat. I hope to see you there.
For the complete press release on the IBM SAP alliance, please click here. Also, follow the hashtag #IBMSAP on Twitter for more insights from the New Way To Work and IBM communities.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Dec 1, 2014 | Featured, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips, Human Resources, Recruitment, Sponsored Post
As the calendar flips over to the months of November and December, our minds inevitably drift to holiday shopping. Recruiters are preparing their shopping lists now for the hiring that is sure to begin (budgets willing!) come January. Taking advantage of the slower pace of business, recruiters need to capture the attention of candidates who may find themselves with a little more free time over the holidays to do some job shopping.
If you’ve ever shopped online (and come on, who hasn’t?), then you understand the value of the “Quick View” feature. It’s not a laziness factor that stops us from going to another page to get the full details of the product. It’s more of a convenience factor. You can easily click on the Quick View option and still get detailed information like the colors the item comes in and whether your size is available. Quick View makes it even more convenient to find what you want quickly and easily.
Where am I going with this?
As many of you know, I am on a quest to find HR technology vendors who are finding unique ways to solve HR problems. As such, I recently stumbled across a new company called Match-Click. If you haven’t yet heard of this company, you likely will soon. In a nutshell, the company is taking the concept of the “Quick View,” enhancing it by adding video and applying it to the recruiting process.
Launched in June of this year, the start-up is quickly spreading the word about its ability to help companies move beyond those staid job board listings to market their positions using short and sweet videos. Like the Quick View feature, the videos (three for each job posting) give candidates a brief look at the salient details of the job – who they will be working with and what the culture of the company is like. It’s a unique way to browse before buying, if you will.
What I found most interesting is that these aren’t your typical lengthy, high-production corporate videos. Instead, these videos are made by the hiring manager and a couple of co-workers using whatever recording device they happen to have on hand, whether that is a mobile phone or a webcam. It’s real, it’s authentic, and it recognizes what we are all short on – time – by keeping the videos blissfully short.
As those who follow me regularly understand, I am in support of HR technology companies who are delivering products that find practical and distinctive ways to help HR practitioners perform their work more efficiently. No copycats, no replicas. Now, I’m not saying that Match-Click is the be-all and end-all solution for recruiters and companies, but what Match-Click does – help companies grab the attention of job shoppers and “just browsers” alike – it does well.
What Match-Click is doing is giving companies an innovative and cool tool to attract interest – to a job, to a company, to the people who work there. It is always challenging to capture the attention of candidates, but compelling content and useful information go a long way. Whether it is an active candidate, a passive candidate or a candidate somewhere in between, the brief, personal videos offer a no-obligation peek into a job. The site also lists the typical information you’d expect – job requirements, day-to-day responsibilities, benefits, etc. The candidate then gets to decide if they want to invest more of their time to apply for the job.
Want to know more about Match-Click and just how easy they are making it to attract attention to your job postings? Visit them on the web at: http://www.match-click.com/
Do you know about an innovative product or service that is making HR practitioners’ jobs easier? Tell me about it and I just might give it a test drive, too!
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Sep 22, 2014 | Featured, Guest Post, HR Innovation, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips, Mobile, Talent Management
We are a company that believes trusting and supporting the power of individuals will lead to greater things in the workplace. After more than a decade of building HR portals, we realized it was time to revolutionize the way we work, because the reality is that traditional methods are simply not meeting the needs of today’s changing workforce.
Consider the thoughts of a worker: “My work influences who I am and what becomes of me, not only as a worker but as a person. So anything that supports me in being more connected at work and more effective in life is something for me”.
The workers of today are self-taught digital managers. Outside of our working hours, we are used to having all the information we want at our fingertips through apps on our mobile devices. It doesn’t have to be different at work. People also want to be connected and trusted to contribute, without being constantly monitored. Self-service combined with intranet tried to capture this, but is cumbersome for employees, particularly for remote employees without access to computers or email. Adoption is a problem, particularly in a generationally changing workforce where millennial’s represent a growing majority of the work population.
But how do you capture this as an employer? How do you relate to this and support your own goals–and theirs– in a cohesive and non-invasive way? The answer is trust. Trust both frees and motivates.
Trust is a backbone of relationships in work and life. It is often perceived to be granted from the employer to the employee through social collaboration tools, which however are generally attached to strict guidelines or monitoring policies. Employees in turn often view these limitations as undermining the purity of that trust. Facebook or WhatsApp are popular tools among dynamic workforces, but the enterprise cannot really utilize these platforms effectively. Corporate social tools implemented and monitored from the top down are all too often unsuccessful. Workers fear exposing themselves. At best, they use them cautiously; at worst they reject them wholesale. It is a key aspect of why many HR practitioners do not get the results that they would like out of intranet and collaboration initiatives currently.
Hunite sees itself as a connecter within the “black box” of any enterprise, especially among dynamic workforces. By actually entrusting them to a tool that promotes self-organization and growth, employees can become better at what they do and can be recognized within their teams or self-made networks. Employers can positively influence this disconnected realm where there is little reach or control. The key, though, is respecting the balance between control and trust for everyone involved.
Our mission: to access the potential of workers within enterprises for the good of all. By adopting this tool, that mission can be fulfilled for both individual and enterprise. Individual workers can effectively support themselves not only in work, but also in life, while enterprises can reach out to connected workers with meaningful information in a non-invasive way.
Free from fear, workers can begin to learn—and love—an unencumbered and self-organizing way of life, while employers and HR practitioners reap the benefits of increased employee contribution, motivation, efficiency & success.
Hunite will play an important–and revolutionary–role in transforming and building competitive workforces to drive revenue. Help your people be connected in work and more effective in life!
Author Biography
Kym Lukins works as an Industry Specialist at Hunite. He investigates the needs of workers in dynamic workforces. Previous work in customer focused industries such as hospitality and retail along with study in international HR management has spurred an interest in engagement and connectivity of workers on an international level. He is a firm believer that mobile will play a huge role in improving not only the ability for people to communicate in work and life, but also the chance to balance it in a more effective and cohesive manner.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Sep 15, 2014 | Business, Featured, Guest Post, HR Innovation, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips, Recruiting, Recruitment, Talent Acquisition
Only in the last few years has the amount of social data begun to scale, allowing data-driven individuals to begin to search for hiring trends. Within this social data, there are strong indicators of when a top performer is about to “come to market,” or pursue their next career opportunity. As a result, it’ll be the job of tomorrow’s recruiter to figure out how to leverage big data and predictive analytics to find the right candidates when they aren’t yet actively looking.
The majority of recruiters lack the time to gather all public data on each of these professionals. They lack the ability to run multivariate regressions needed to identify the one in 200,000 professionals who are both qualified for and open to a new opportunity. These recruiters will need a tool to do these things for them. Until now, no one’s done a good job of building one.
That’s why we’ve built Entelo. It takes the average recruiter a half-hour to manually collect all available information on just one candidate. Entelo does all this work for you, providing the most comprehensive view of talent available and saving you from hours of research. Entelo Search includes rich profiles of over 30 million candidates, each filled with data from social sites such as Github, Dribbble, Quora, Twitter, and more.
Entelo also uses this wealth of data to help recruiters identify those candidates who are about to change jobs, using our first-of-its-kind More Likely To Move™ filter. Our proprietary algorithm analyzes over 70 variables indicative of upcoming career changes to tell you the right candidate to speak with at the right time. We track everything from layoff announcements and M&A activity to length of time at current company and social profile activity. When a candidate is flagged as More Likely To Move™, they have a 30% likelihood of changing jobs in the next 90 days.
We feel we’ve only scratched the surface of what this data can do to help HR professionals build great teams. We launched Entelo Diversity in April, which helps you find candidates whose social profiles indicate a high probability of meeting specific gender, race or military experience requirements. It’s our hope that this latest element of our algorithm will help companies of all sizes reap the benefits of building strong, diverse teams. Studies show that a more diverse workforce is more creative, more productive and less likely to turn over.
We’d love to show you and your organization how Entelo can help you hit your hiring goals and build a great team. For your free demo of the Entelo platform, visit www.entelo.com/demo.
Author Biography
Kyle Paice runs the Entelo Marketing Team. Previously, he was the Head of Marketing for RentJuice, a real estate software company that was acquired by Zillow. Before RentJuice, Kyle built inbound marketing software as a Product Manager at HubSpot, and consulted to investment banks and other financial services institutions with Deloitte. He has a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Boston College.
