4 Predictions for HR Technology in 2015

At HRTechTank San Francisco, presentations and discussions focused on the evolution of the roles of Human Resource Professionals and Talent Acquisition Leaders, as well as, what that means for the adoption of future recruitment technologies.

“It all comes down to the areas in the industry where HR Tech can actually add value,”  said TEqV investment advisor and HRTechTank co-organizer Taras Polischuk. “There are

around 500 investment opportunities that I have evaluated in the last 2 years. However, most of these products’ main problem is that they are a point solution; and are solving a very small part of the bigger problem that customers experience. What clients want is to buy a solution, not a product. They want a platform, and they are ready to pay premium for having it, for getting rid of their pain.”

1. Redefining the HR Experience

The Old Way: The HR experience used to be thought of as in charge of compliance, and frankly – amongst employees in other departments – HR too often possessed an unwelcoming reputation. Look no further than how HR has been portrayed in TV & film:

The New Way: There’s never been a better time to be in HR! HR is sitting on a gold mine of big data. HR is gaining a more prominent role the boardroom because they are better than ever at leveraging recruitment analytics and talent management analytics to prove their ROI.

2015 Prediction: The role of human resources will become more cross departmental. Specially look for HR to deepen its relationship with the marketing department.

#HR practitioner at #HRtechtank says: Sourcer is called Dev. Rep, Recruiter is called Salesperson & Recruitment budget is marketing budget.

— David Smooke (@DavidSmooke) December 2, 2014

2. Death of Applicant Tracking System

“What’s the most social process? It’s hiring,” says SmartRecruiters COO Brett Queener. “You bring in a bunch of people to meet a bunch of people.”

The Old Way: Applicant tracking systems gained market share on the following assumption – if you can run a widget through a factory floor, you can run a person through the hiring process.

The New Way: Applicant tracking is just a small part of recruiting. Applicant tracking is to recruiting as order tracking is to sales. Yes, the modern employer stays compliant and knows the stage of every applicant. However, the modern employer understands that applicant tracking is just a feature within an encompassing hiring platform.

2015 Prediction: The interface for managing interested candidates will continue to follow the consumer facing interfaces such as Facebook and Twitter. Meaning – in recruiting platforms – be on the lookout for the rise of the collaborative feed, recruiting friends of friends, and smart marketing of job opportunities via social media.

3. Maturation of B2B Virality

“Architect for the hiring team,” said SmartRecruiters CEO Jerome Ternynck. “By optimizing for the hiring team, you can help a group of people hire in organizations of any size.”

The Old Way: Candidate facing – having candidates complete a 45 minute application form so that the company can gather all the information that the company “needs.” Employer facing – a top down sales structure where a highly paid sales person sold hiring systems to VPs based on presentations and demos.

The New Way: Social media freed word of mouth marketing. If your product stinks, the hiring manager forced to use it will tweet about how awful it is. With every passing day, the professional end user becomes more influential in the B2B software purchasing decision.

#HRTechTank Theme of Day: Consumerization of Enterprise Software pic.twitter.com/g2F4aVgJ7T — SmartRecruiters (@SmartRecruiters) December 2, 2014

2015 Prediction:  More B2B HR and recruitment technology companies will take a ‘Yammer-like’ bottoms up approach to software adoption. Always remember that time is a customer’s most valuable asset. If they are willing to spend time with your product, they have a willingness to pay for your product.

4. Head of Talent Acquisition

The Old Way: Leading talent acquisition was about bringing in great people. The recruitment strategy, workforce planning and general decision of who to hire was surrounded in much corporate secrecy. The New Way: Social media is the dog unveiling the man behind the curtain playing Oz in the Wizard of Oz. The person in charge of bringing in great people must have an online presence of expertise on sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and industry blogs. Ultimately, this role will increasingly lead relationship marketing efforts with candidates.

2015 Prediction: The most desired directors of talent acquisition will become public facing leaders of the company.

That’s where and why I see the direction HR technology in 2015. As Steve Wyn said, “Human Resources isn’t a thing we do. It’s the thing that runs our business.” Lets keep the technology up to the importance of the job.