iCIMS Hire Expectations™

Today's guest blog post is by Kyle Lagunas from Software Advice.

Last year, you convinced your leadership team to purchase a full talent management suite to streamline hiring, onboarding, performance review and learning management across every department. Up until last week, you were living in bliss. And then it happened. Your beloved talent management provider was acquired.

And you’re not alone. Since December, both SuccessFactors and Taleo--big-time vendors in the talent management space--we acquired by even larger legacy ERP providers. And while an acquisition in and of itself may not be cause for concern, how it impacts your organization is something leadership expects you to manage with care. To lend you a hand, I’ve put together some suggestions on managing the uncertainty that is often associated with acquisitions like these.

1. Touch Base with Your Account Manager
   In times of change, maintaining an open line of communication is key. To that end, stay in regular touch with your Account Manager. Feel empowered to voice your concerns and ask direct questions about changes in product direction, service or support that are on the horizon. However, be sympathetic to the fact that he or she might be in the dark, and understandably as anxious about changes as you are. Be patient.



2. Do Some Research
   If you’re not already familiar, iCIMS Chief Strategic Officer, Susan Vitale, recommends reviewing exactly what type of customer support you require from your HR solutions partner. “All vendors offer different levels of service regardless of if they are a TA or ERP provider. When mergers happen, service can change. Be sure to do your homework to see if that change will affect your experience upon a completed transaction.” Even if your contract isn’t up for renewal anytime soon, some higher-up in your organization is bound to ask you some questions about immediate impact. So be proactive and review your contract.



3. Identify your Dependencies
   There may be a part of your talent management process where software is essential to its success. The worst time to realize that dependency is after something you rely upon has changed. If SAP or Oracle makes a product change that breaks your custom workflows or configurations--which often happens unintentionally--you'll want to have a workaround in place.“ Prioritize what is most important to your business and HR/recruitment operations,” says Vitale, “so you can isolate best of breed technologies that can fulfill those requirements if need be.”



4. Leverage the Open API
   Rather than replacing your entire talent management system simply because you’re afraid of a change in, say, the software’s recruiting and onboarding functionality, there is another option to consider: extending your existing product capabilities by integrating other point solutions via an open API (in tech speak: application programming interface).
   
   Vitale suggests: “Discuss the pros and cons of moving in that direction with other functional leaders to determine if this acquisition makes business operations easier for your company or if a more focused technology approach (perhaps using integrations/APIs) is preferred.”



5. Master Your Domain
   It’s easy to be intimidated when your vendor is acquired. Change can be painful. But remember that you’re not a helpless bystander. After all, at the end of the day, neither SAP nor Oracle win if they start hemorrhaging customers from companies they paid a hefty price to acquire.

Also keep in mind that if you’re ultimately not happy with what the new direction the vendors take, there are always other options available to you.

Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice--an online resource for reviewing and comparing human resources software. Located in Austin, TX, he reports on trends and best practices in HR and recruiting technology. For the full survival guide, check out the original article on his blog: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/help-my-talent-management-provider-has-been-acquired-1021511/

Note from the iBlog: Last week we focused on the importance of onboarding and some easy-to-implement techniques. Now let's get into details on how to further create a successful program.

This blog post is by Kyle Lagunas, an HR Analyst at Software Advice. On the surface, it's his job to contribute to the ongoing conversation on all things HR. Beyond that, he makes sure his audience is keeping up with important trends and hot topics in the industry. Focused on offering a fresh take on points of interest in his market, he's not your typical HR guy.

Organizations invest a lot in their people, and it's no surprise that they expect to see a return on their investments (ROI). But as business leaders look for the best ways to maximize the ROI of their workforce,  the onboarding process is often overlooked. For many, the onboarding experience is reduced to a mere checklist of tasks to be completed and forms to be submitted. The fact that such organizations fail to understand, though, is that an employees that experience a smoother onboarding process will be more connected to the organization, better trained and, thus, quicker to produce.

The key to making the case for future resource allocation lies in being able to illustrate the effectiveness of your onboarding process. Your decision-makers need to know their resources are being put to good use. With the right metrics at your disposal, you can deliver the information they're looking for.

Establish a Baseline for Measuring Onboarding ROI
Many HR departments struggle to establish a baseline for how their organization will assess ROI. Evaluating the value of an enhanced HR process is not always a straightforward process, but establishing a baseline is the first and most important step. Spending time with leadership and defining your standards for measuring ROI is invaluable.

When establishing your baseline to measure ROI, there are a few key concepts you should keep in mind:

• Onboarding should be consistent. All of your fancy data gathering will be for naught unless you can roll out a universal process for onboarding new hires.
• The onboarding process is more than a checklist. Though checklists are great for staying organized, your new hires’ success depends on your ability to get them connected to your organization and keep them connected beyond their first day.
• The onboarding process goes beyond the first week. Though the normal probationary period for new hires is 90 days, The Wynhurst Group reports 22 percent of staff turnover occurs in the first 45 days of employment.

How to Brave the Metrics Madness
After identifying what information will be most valuable, you can begin strategically tracking data. Keep in mind that some of the data you measure won’t be cold, hard facts that fit nicely into a spreadsheet. Don't let this frighten you! This is why you've established a baseline with leadership.

There are three areas you can focus on for information: performance, experience and effectiveness. In terms of scope, I'd suggest looking beyond your new hires. Measure the impact at various levels (team, department, organization). To view a a few ideas of what you can measure (as well as how frequently) click here and scroll down to the "Brave the Metrics Madness" chart.

For Maximum ROI, Take Engagement Beyond Onboarding
The best metrics should be forward-thinking analytics tools. According to Dr. John Sullivan at TLNT.com, “They tell you who’s going to win the Superbowl next year, not who won last year.” Furthermore, they should provide the information you need to win the Superbowl every year.

At the end of the day, your ROI is answering one question above all: What is the value of onboarding new employees more effectively? Here’s a hint: Take a look at your metrics and note improvements in employee performance, time to proficiency and increased retention. Once you can answer that question, move onto the next question: “How can we maximize the value of a better-onboarded employee?”

One way you can maximize this value is to keep the momentum going. Many organizations leverage the tools and technology found in talent management systems such as the iCIMS Talent Platform to better manage the process of engaging and motivating their employees. Beyond core talent management functionality, these systems also offer reporting analytics and dashboard elements that provide the information you need to support your ROI analysis.

This article can be found in its entirety on Kyle's blog at: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/onboarding-roi-metrics-for-measuring-the-true-value/

Today's guest blog post comes to you from Kyle Lagunas. He is the HR Market Analyst at Software Advice, a company that provides consumer information such as HR and applicant tracking software reviews. Please find the original blog here.

With the emerging prominence of social media and cloud-based computing, sourcing and hiring strategies have no doubt changed in recent years. More and more hiring professionals and human resources (HR) departments are relying on applicant tracking systems (ATS) to automate, streamline and organize the complicated processes associated with bringing on new employees. In order to get a strong pulse of the market, I recently interviewed executives from three applicant tracking software vendors: Dresser & Associates, AcquireTM, and iCIMS. Who better to tell us where things stand and where they’re going than the leaders of the pack?

Before we jump in, though, let me introduce you to our roundtable participants.

Jason Barnett, CIO and co-founder of EON Applications, Inc.
As the Chief Information Officer and co-founder of EON Applications, Inc – creators of Acquire Talent Management – Jason is responsible for product and strategic technology planning. He brings over 15 years of software product development experience across several industries delivering enterprise software. Prior to founding EON, Jason worked as a consultant for several Fortune 500 companies.

Mark Dresser, President and CEO of Dresser & Associates
Dresser & Associates is the leading Sage Abra HRMS partner in the US. For over fifteen years Mark's company has provided unique solutions for hundreds of businesses to boost productivity using human resources software. Providing the highest level of expertise in the HRMS applications, they deliver products and services that meet customers’ needs and surpass their expectations.

Susan Vitale, CSO at iCIMS
As Chief Strategic Officer for iCIMS Talent Platform, Susan directs business strategy to drive corporate growth. She works closely with linking iCIMS' business vision to the product roadmap to help bring valuable new functionality to market through iCIMS’ Talent Platform. Prior to overseeing corporate strategy, Susan was iCIMS' Director of Marketing, leading all strategic marketing initiatives.

Q: What trends do you see as having the largest impact on the ATS market?
Barnett: HR and hiring professionals, as well as third party recruiters are all focusing more on finding passive candidates. To accomplish this, they’re using social media to tweet jobs and share information via Facebook and LinkedIn. And while we all hear that social media is a great tool, how do we leverage it? From a product perspective, we have to dive in and provide deeper integration with Twitter, Faceboook, and LinkedIn. Using these platforms should be easy for someone who hasn't been utilizing social networks before. Accordingly systems are becoming much easier to use, and the adoption rate is growing.

Dresser: With the recession and the tight financial market of the past few years, I think companies have realized that they needed to start doing more with less. What they used to do with 10 people, now they're trying to do with 7 or 8 – and they they need to attract and retain the best quality people. These companies need a system that can automate the process – that helps them find ways to attract the best candidates. Where once it was only large companies using these systems, we're now seeing more of the smaller companies tapping into ATS in order to improve their hiring processes and stay competitive.

Vitale: We're seeing organizations becoming more progressive with their recruitment efforts by leveraging networks – social media sites, social networks, employee networks – to bring talent in. They’re sharing jobs through these mediums instead of relying on more traditional sites like job boards like Monster or Dice. I think social media is going to change the dynamic quite a bit. Certainly not overnight, but I absolutely see social media as the number one massive change that will be taking place in applicant tracking.

Q: How has the emergence of software as a service (SaaS) changed the way hiring professionals use ATS?
Barnett: SaaS has simplified the process of implementation. The complications with legacy systems – connecting remote users, determining whether the system is going to be able to work on a wide area network – those types of things all go away. Being able to log in via an internet browser and use the application drives it deeper into the organization. Also, keeping the application up to date is taken out of IT's hands, and brought back to the vendor. We're usually doing updates every other week. We have liaisons who work with our customers who bring this info back to our development team, and that's how we develop our product. If it wasn't for SaaS, we wouldn't be able to make these changes and get them out to customers in a timely manner.

Dresser: With cloud computing, you have the flexibility to accommodate what employers need to get their information out to potential candidates. You can have as many requisitions as you want and have those requisitions have specific questions. Then you can have those requisitions followed up by specific hiring managers and recruiters. You don't have a hiring manager who has to do everything. The ATS gives everyone involved the visibility to see where your requisitions stand. Where does this requisition stand right now? Why hasn't it moved? Who is holding it up? What is going on? And this makes things faster for people.

Vitale: A ton of organizations are moving away from these licensed point solutions in favor of SaaS suites. SaaS solutions are far more flexible and scalable. You're getting upgrades for free, so you have more competitive tech. As your organization grows, it's very easy and cost-effective to add more users. If your org goes global or acquires another company, it's easy to scale that out–and scaling is an option as well. At the lower level, about 60 percent of iCIMS’ SMB customers come to us having never used a solution whatsoever. And these smaller companies tend to reap really great benefits when it comes to SaaS.

Q. What are a few major factors that are driving the increased adoption of ATS in the SMB market?
Barnett: As job boards have become more prolific, so have the candidates using them. As such, HR departments are getting inundated with a flow of candidate information, and they know they need a better way to manage it. A SaaS-based ATS model is more accessible and easier to use. You can use it without getting involved in a long-term contract. Literally, you could sign up for two or three months, and if that was all you needed it for, then move on. A SaaS solution is an expense rather than an asset. You can just put it on a credit card and solve a problem.

Dresser: There is a lot of competition out there for top-quality candidates. As competition gets stronger, hiring professionals at small and mid-sized businesses want to make sure they have a system in place that can easily identify and tag talent for them. When you have an ATS in place, you can do keyword searches within your database and rate applicants so you're always looking at the cream of the crop. A big part with the ATS experience is instant access to information, and knowing exactly where people stand. With SaaS-based systems, small and mid-sized businesses have access to this sophisticated functionality without a huge IT staff.

Vitale: The efficiency is tremendous. When you're a small or medium company, you may have a handful of people in recruitment or HR. And when you're going through a growth spurt, that kicks you in the butt to get a system. Recruiters are dealing with a million emails and are literally using Outlook and Excel to manage that information. If recruitment is not a good function within an organization, it literally can stifle growth. So there is a lot of buy-in from an executive level to say, "let's get recruitment right," and using an ATS is just a tremendous benefit to doing that more easily. ATS help ensure things get done better – from the candidates' perspective as well as the recruitment and hiring manager perspective.

Q: How do you see social media effecting the future of ATS?
Barnett: I think it's difficult to say right now because it's so young. There are a lot of people talking about job boards falling away, speculation that everything is going shift to a social media environment – and people have been talking about that for a while. Although social media is certainly going to be an integral part of ATS, I don't know that it is going to be the end-all solution when it comes to managing applicants. I see social media functionality becoming better and more deeply integrated into the ATS, as well as becoming more a part of how HR interacts with their applicants. But I don't know how much further we're going to see things go until the social media platform mellows out a little bit.

Dresser: Social media allows you to get your words out there to passive candidates. As such, I think any ATS is going to need to be able to adapt or evolve to be able to access all of the social media vehicles that are there now, as well as what comes up in the future. That’s what's great about cloud systems: if you buy a system and you own it, and a new system or whatever takes place a year or two down the road, then you have to do an upgrade, etc. Whereas the SaaS models are going to have to be constantly evolving to meet what today's needs are for them in order to stay competitive.

Vitale: It's going to get more sophisticated. Hiring professionals are leveraging social networks to post their jobs and promote opportunities opportunities at a given organization. That's the push mentality. What we're really going to see, though, is the pull mentality. It’s not just "How do I post and advertise jobs?" but " How do I get the appropriate social media content into my ATS so that it's a better candidate experience?" We’ll see a better recruitment experience because we’ll rely on data that's fresher, that's more real-time using social content.

Reposted from Software Advice.

Today's guest blog post comes to you from Kyle Lagunas. He is the HR Market Analyst at Software Advice, a company that provides consumer information such as HR and applicant tracking software reviews.

Growing your organization is no cakewalk. The search for the proverbial needle in a haystack is time-consuming, and time is one thing many hiring professionals have little of. Thankfully, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and your hiring headaches can easily become a thing of the past. Thanks to the emergence of web-based Software as a Service (SaaS), small businesses can tap into feature-rich web-based applicant tracking software (ATS) and streamline their hiring process.
 
If you think you are ready to retire your Rolodex and recycle those paper resumes, here’s what you should know about ATS:

1. ATS automates the entire hiring process: from online applications and document management to interviewing, hiring and even onboarding talent.
2. ATS ensures the work-flow is easily accessible to everyone involved in the hiring process: From HR to hiring manager to CEO.
3. Some ATS delivers better than others. We’ve put this easy-to-digest guide together to review some of our favorite systems.

 
To learn more about which applicant tracking systems can fit your needs, review this guide in its entirety at: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/web-based-applicant-tracking-systems-comparison-1070711/...