More than ever before, organizations must think more strategically about their talent acquisition processes and invest in solutions that identify quality talent. With the competition for talent and shifts in workforce demographics, organizations can no longer afford a bad hire. Yet, over 90% of companies admit to making bad hires each year. Organizations that continue to make the wrong decisions about talent jeopardize organizational growth as well as retention and engagement strategies.

While there is much debate on what is at stake when making a bad hire, it is clear that the cost increases significantly higher up in the organization. During qualitative interviews, some organizations cite that hiring the wrong executive can cost 3-5 times their salary — partly because filling these positions takes more time. Brandon Hall Group found a significant increase in the average cost of hire for executives compared to other job levels in the organization.

Below is a look at some of preliminary 2015 data.

Average Cost of Hire by Job Level

Source: 2015 Brandon Hall Group Talent Acquisition Study

We will be publishing more research on what these metrics mean and the action steps needed to mitigate the cost of a bad hire. Stay tuned…

–Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post What Are You Spending On Your Hires? appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

So What Goes Wrong?

It may seem obvious – especially in industries like retail, professional services and hospitality – that the candidate experience should be a priority. Companies understand that customers are candidates and vice versa. So what exactly goes wrong? According to Brandon Hall Group research, 55% of companies have no budget, 43% cite a lack of resources and 28% say a lack of tools.

But the candidate experience does not need to be a costly endeavor. It should be part of the foundation of any talent acquisition strategy and incorporated into existing processes and technology. For those organizations concerned with budget or resources, below are a few strategies and “quick-fixes’ you might want to consider.

What Can You Do?

Communicate with Candidates: In a competitive market, organizations must change their mindset around the way they attract and engage top talent. Above all else, candidate communication must move beyond isolated touch-points and create a consistent and personalized end-to-end journey. Companies take this approach with customer interactions; they need to do the same with their candidates. Brandon Hall Group found that the top strategy for improving the candidate experience is communication for 42% of organizations.

Strengthen Employer Branding: It is hard to talk about candidate experience without talking about employer branding. Fifty percent (50%) of organizations cite employer branding as the top strategy for improving candidate experience. This doesn’t necessarily require a huge overhaul or investment. In many cases, organizations must think about how they position their organization and leverage technology to support these efforts.

Invest in Technology: Technology plays a critical role in determining the candidate experience. In the past, organizations had limited technology choices for managing recruitment processes and most of these tools focused on improving efficiencies and lifting the administrative burden for recruiters and hiring managers. Today, a new set of tools focused on improving the candidate’s journey has emerged. Organizations have options when selecting technology that can focus on the candidate experience.

For additional insights on the topic, check out my fellow analysts’ thoughts on the impact of candidate experience and branding and some ideas for revolutionizing the candidate experience. 

Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst,
Talent Acquisition, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post Three Quick Fixes for the Candidate Experience Problem appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

Employee recognition is quickly becoming one of the greatest priorities for HCM technology. In fact, over one-third of organizations plan to increase their investment in recognition over the next year. Many of these organizations are looking at innovative providers, such as Globoforce, that can create an engaged community, build relationships, share success and encourage positive relationships. If you are interested in recognition and curious about the conference, here are a few reasons to attend:

1. The Power of Relationships: Our work relationships drive performance, retention and engagement levels. Globoforce’s conference will focus on strategies and solutions that can encourage and strengthen these relationships, including social recognition and years of service programs. More than 60% of companies celebrate an employee’s anniversary with a basic card or simply do nothing. This conference will share best practices and technology that can make these programs more meaningful.

2. Opportunities to Network: Although most conferences include messages about networking, it seems to be ignored during these events. At Globoforce, these sessions are more interactive. Not to mention, there will be plenty of time to network and build relationships during the entire event.

3. New Content: Many of today’s conferences use recycled sessions. This conference focuses on critical topics that most conference ignore such as culture and recognition. It will feature all new sessions and content from best practice organizations.

4. Workshops on Disruptive Ideas: This conference gives organizations an opportunity to learn from experts and also share their own experiences. Tuesday night’s “Big Ideas” cocktail reception will include TED-style talks, and the Bold Talks track features powerful speakers from business and academia speaking on three tracks: The Power of Thanks, Humanity & Leadership, and Curating Culture.

I hope to see you next week!

–Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst,
Talent Acquisition, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post 4 Reasons to Attend the Globoforce Conference Next Week appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

Many of our veterans have more experience managing people and more responsibility for million dollar assets by the time they are 21 than most individuals will ever have in a corporate environment. But we don’t talk about this enough and we don’t hire veterans as often as we should.

If I told you that 64% of organizations that Brandon Hall Group surveyed in our 2015 Strategic Talent Acquisition Study said less than 5% of their new hires are veterans, would you be surprised? Would you think we are doing enough?

Recruitment of veterans is a big topic for HireVue and something that has been a theme at its Digital Disruption Conference in Park City, Utah. HireVue is providing companies with the tools, recognition and resources they need to make hiring vets a priority. Fortunately, they are not alone. Equifax Workforce Solutions, Randstad SourceRight (under the leadership of Chad Sowash),  Jibe, and iCIMS are a few others.

If you are an organization struggling to improve your military recruitment strategy, here are a few companies you might want to check out:

• Hilton Corporation: Hilton provides any veteran applying for a job two free nights at their hotel. This improves both employer and customer branding efforts.
• Team Rubicon: Team Rubicon empowers veterans to utilize the skills they developed in the military to support crisis and disaster efforts here in the United States. It develops team building, support and a sense of fulfillment for returning service men and women.
• Apollo Education Group: 20% of Apollo’s hires are veterans and the company also provides extensive resources and support for these individuals entering the workforce.

–Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst,
Talent Acquisition, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post Veteran Hiring: We Need to Do More (#VUEDD15) appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

How can retailers create a strategic talent acquisition model? How does the candidate experience translate into the customer experience? What tools will help to improve efficiency and quality of hire?

If you are struggling to answer any of these questions, we have good news. On May 19, Brandon Hall Group joined IBM and Sears Holdings to share key trends, best practices and recommendations for retail organizations looking to improve their talent acquisition strategies.

Below are a few of the topics covered:

1. Your Candidates Are Your Customers: For retail companies, candidates applying for positions are also customers purchasing merchandise in their stores. For this reason, the candidate experience should have the same rigor that goes into the customer experience and customer satisfaction programs. Currently, 58% of retail organizations have some type of candidate relationship in place.

2. Technology Makes a Difference: Companies that automate the recruitment process are able to significantly improve efficiency as well as the candidate experience. Nearly 60% of retail organizations have an ATS in place and 72% cited sourcing technology as a priority.

3. Identify Critical Roles: In any organization there are critical roles responsible for driving revenue, performance and client outcomes. Although these leadership roles have an immediate impact on achieving higher levels of business performance, organizations often feel challenged identifying these roles and matching employee strengths to these roles. For retail organizations, identifying critical roles is a necessity and 72% of these companies have a clear picture of what these roles include.

These are just a few of the reasons why retail organizations are thinking a little bit differently about identifying and attracting talent. You can listen to the web cast here.

—Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst,
Talent Acquisition, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post Strategic Talent Acquisition: 3 Recommendations for Retailers appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

Hundreds of startups have entered the HCM space over the past few years. The goal is often to help companies rethink traditional processes and innovate different areas of talent and workforce management. Some of these providers achieve significant growth and profitability. Others do not. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what drives success of a new HCM player but partnerships certainly play a significant role. Successful startups seem to have a willingness and openness to integrate and partner with a wide range of companies- even competitors. These relationships can help providers enter a new market segment, expand their suite of products or gain access to talent and ideas. Partnership and integrations are helping to define the future of the entrepreneur.

So, why wouldn’t the same be true for larger, more traditional players? Why wouldn’t these same relationships drive product leadership and vision and growth? Yes, it’s true that most of the “big guys” partner and integrate with the “small guys” to help round out their product portfolio. But very few partner or offer integrations with their competitors- companies that have overlapping product suites. IBM and SAP are challenging this model. This week, the two companies announced they will begin cloud-to-cloud product integrations starting with SAP’s Employee Central (HRIS) and IBM’s Talent Acquisition Suite. Although the two companies have had a strong alliance for 40 years, the news of this new level of integration and partnership came as a surprise to many of us.

Below are a few thoughts on what this acquisition might mean for HCM.

What This Means for the Market

1. The Customer Comes First. Solution providers have been saying this for a long time. But how often does it truly happen that a provider thinks about the customer needs before its own business needs? This partnership does seem to be about the customer…providing companies with better data, stronger solutions and a more positive experience.
2. You Don’t Have to Do It All. For so long, many of the large HCM providers have been going to market with a comprehensive suite. Checking every box of every single product to claim they do it all. What IBM and SAP’s partnership says is “we do some things well and we are going to partner with providers that do other things well to give our customers the best.” It’s honest.
3. Services and Software Go Together. Companies today want both services and technology from the same provider. This partnership with IBM’s history of services and SAP’s commitment to HCM technology reinforces this message.
4. An HCM Leader This level of integration will certainly change the HCM landscape and gives IBM and SAP a chance at the leadership position. Time will tell how this relationship will resonate and if the focus on the customer will stay in place.

-Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst, Brandon Hall Group

The post IBM and SAP Integration: The Latest HCM Software Partnership appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

Below are a few strategies from Brandon Hall Group’s recent report on selecting pre-hire employee assessments:

• Expand Your View of Assessments. Assessments should be used consistently throughout the organization. Leading-practice organizations are leveraging these tools for every job level, not just senior positions. These organizations are also using assessments early on in the recruitment process — either during the application process or before the interview is conducted. 10% percent of organizations are leveraging assessments at multiple stages of the recruitment process.
• Invest in Personality Assessments. Nearly 50% of organizations are leveraging personality assessments for their pre-hire initiatives. This type of assessment in gaining popularity as organizations recognize it can help identify patterns of behavior and ensure quality of hire.
•  Determine the Most Important Outputs. Organizations must consider what they are hoping to get from their assessment provider and what outputs will help to strengthen their overall talent acquisition efforts. Organizations in Brandon Hall Group’s Assessment Study identified skill competency ratings, indicator of overall potential for the job, and work style/personality insights as the greatest outputs.
•  Validated Assessments are a Priority. Above all else, organizations must ensure the validity of the assessment tool itself. Before organizational business impact can be tracked, organizations need to know that there is valid and reliable science behind the assessment solution they choose. Validity, along with the service level provided around the assessment, is the top solution provider selection criteria.

–Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst,
Talent Acquisition, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post 4 Strategies for Selecting a Pre-Hire Assessment Provider appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

1. Creating a Culture of Recognition. Companies that invest in this technology no longer view recognition as traditional rewards or company “perks” but rather as a strategic business endeavor.
2. Alignment with Business Results. According to Brandon Hall Group research, companies with a culture of recognition were able to improve business results including engagement, performance, productivity, retention, and customer satisfaction.
3. Selecting the right partner. Companies must think beyond traditional providers and select innovative social recognition providers that will enable stronger engagement, collaboration and communication.
4. Measuring the results. Organizations that invest in social recognition are able to measure the impact on productivity, retention, performance and engagement.

Don’t forget to sign up for this webinar before Tuesday and we look forward to seeing you next week!

The post 4 Reasons to Attend Next Week’s Employee Engagement Webinar appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

The concept of “community” was a theme at this year’s Equifax Forum in New Orleans. Equifax Workforce Solutions is committed to helping communities face challenges and make change. They do this by tackling very complex issues such as compliance, Affordable Care Act regulations, and unemployment. While other providers are expanding their suite of products into different areas of HCM, Equifax has stayed focused on the bigger issues in our community – issues that impact the success and staying power of the overall business.

A few ways that Equifax has differentiated itself is through the following solutions:

1. The Work Number (which providers credit verifiers secure information to employment and tenure information) helps organizations and individuals by enabling access to credit, benefits and ACA subsidies. It brings better risk transparency to lenders and lowers the increasing costs of compliance across a broad range of federal and state requirements. It also teaches lenders that employment and tenure matter more than credit scores.
2. Voluntary unemployment is on the rise — mostly for hourly workers. Some industries, such as financial services, are seeing 96% turnover for hourly workers. Equifax is providing data and analytics that help organizations make better decisions and insights into this turnover and what they can do to reduce it.
3. ACA Management. This solution has experienced the most growth over the past year as companies want help navigating through the complexities and staying compliant with ACA policy. Now with 350 customers, 8.9 million employees are covered and supported through the Equifax solution. The marketplace is shifting and organizations need support managing the full lifecycle of ACA.
4. Equifax values its customers and takes suggestions for innovations and enhancements very seriously. Customers can expect to see more additional compliance solutions in immigration reform readiness, state compliance, ACA IRS Reporting (1095C forms) as well as additional tax management solutions.

–Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst,
Talent Acquisition, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post Insights from the 2015 Equifax Forum (#EFXForum15) appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.

LinkedIn has been acquiring several providers over the past year, including the employee referral tool, Careerify. So, its decision to continue to expand its suite of products is not surprising. Market consolidation is a reality in the HCM technology market. With nearly half of organizations planning to increase their investment in both learning and talent acquisition technology over the next 12 months, solution providers are looking to gain more customer wins. But the truth is that the majority of these acquisitions do not have a significant impact on the overall market.

LinkedIn’s acquisition of lynda.com is an exception and it stands out from others for a few reasons:

• Size of the Acquisition: Most HCM acquisitions happen on a much smaller scale. It has been several years since we have seen this large of an investment from a major player. Just to but this in perspective: SAP acquired SuccessFactors for over $3 billion, Oracle acquired Taleo for $1.9 billion and IBM acquired Kenexa for $1.3 billion. Each of these acquisitions significantly reshaped areas of the HCM technology landscape.
• Empowering the Individual: The most significant way that LinkedIn’s acquisition of lynda can be differentiated from others is that its focus is on the individual. The goal is not to empower employers but rather empower job seekers, freelancers and employees to develop skills and advance their careers. Mollie Lombardi, VP and Principal Analyst of our Workforce Management practice, wrote about both providers in a previous blog: Workforce Technology Freelance Nation.
• Possible Leader in Learning and Development: Learning and Development is one of the most mature areas of talent management. According to Brandon Hall Group’s 2015 HCM Trends research, 50% of organizations have had a replacement solution in place. With many of the leading providers acquired over the past decade, it is challenging to identify a leader in this space. lynda.com was one provider that had gained a significant amount of attention over the past few years for its unique approach and extensive library of content. Only time will tell if this acquisition will establish LinkedIn as a leader or open the door for another provider.
• Reinforces the Belief that Video is King: Video is a key trend that we have been researching over the past few years. The adoption of video learning has exploded. In fact, according to Brandon Hall Group Learning and Development Benchmarking research, 95% of companies use online videos for learning. This acquisition further emphasizes the power of video in helping recruit, develop, engage and retain employees.

–Madeline Laurano, VP and Principal Analyst,
Talent Acquisition, Brandon Hall Group
@madtarquin

The post Raising the Stakes: LinkedIn Acquires lynda.com appeared first on BrandonHallGroup.