I Am Not Meeting You Half Way

As we start off 2012 with a clean slate and relish in the successes of 2011, I sit hear thinking about what needs to be done this year to take the next step, no make that leap forward.  I am not one to rest on our laurels and be content with the progress that was made.  No, I want to push the limits of what is yet to be accomplished.

2011 brought us some great success in terms of social recruiting.  We saw a significant increase in the number of organizations who were utilizing social media as part of their recruiting process.  Some studies said as many as 80% of organizations were using some aspect of social media for communicating opportunities.  Wow, that is pretty impressive.  80% of companies are using one or more social media sites to communicate their job openings.



We also saw a slight movement away from the use of a resume as part of the recruiting experience.  Now that is music to my ears.  You all know how I feel about resumes and their usefulness or lack there of in the recruiting process.  2011 took us down that path with the introduction of the LinkedIn integration.  Many ATS providers jumped on board and are now allowing candidates to submit their LinkedIn Profile when applying for a position on an organization's career center.  This is a step in the right direction.

But, it's simply not enough.  Yes, I give organizations credit who are allowing this behavior.  It definitely does simplify the experience for the candidate but I want more.   I want you to engage me where I am.  Stop making me come to you.  If you are going to entice me with an opportunity and allow me to submit my profile to you for consideration the least you could do is allow me to do it from where I am at.  Don't make me click on a link, come back to a career center which is typically not very engaging and click to upload my profile.  And don't get me started on the numerous other questions you are going to ask of me that may or may not have any relevance to the position.

Here's what I want from you instead.  Provide me with the opportunity to engage with you right from LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.  Allow me to easily submit my interest using my public profile (which by the way, is way more accurate than my resume), my YouTube video or see who in my network, circles or group of friends already works for you and be done.  I know, that is simplifying the process too much.  It just won't work for your organization. 

We won't know until we try, will we?  We have to change the way we think about people and technology.  Take  Mark Zuckerberg for example.  If he had let fear of the unknown or complacency of what works stand in his way we wouldn't have coined the term "Facebook Me".  Make this the year that you step back, evaluate what is truly adding value to the way you engage candidates and make a needed change.  This is an easy one.  It doesn't impact your employees.  Just those of us who may or may not consider you as a future employer.  Good luck!

The Ending Of An Era

Wow, can you believe it.  In just a few short days we will be ending yet another year.  Taking a look back, so much has occurred since January 1, 2011.  Especially in the HCM space.

As in years passed, we have watched a number of consolidations take place that are changing the game and how the players play in this space.  Will 2012 continue with this trend?  From what I see so far, it absolutely will.  Speculation is already out there on what the next acquisition will be.  Will Oracle make a move and go after a powerhouse full of integrations like Taleo or go after a company who has organically grown into an HCM leader like Conerstone OnDemand? I guess only time will tell.

Not only will the acquisitory nature of this space stay alive, I foresee other changes coming in 2012.  Just a few weeks ago Naomi Bloom, Jason Averbook and R "Ray" Wang spent an hour with Bill Kutik discussing their predictions for 2012.  A few of their points really stuck with me and I have continued to think about them and how we all need to change to move forward.  Naomi started with a prediction that "rip and replace" will be happening at a very noisy pace in the market.  Jason furthered that idea with the concept of "rip and create".  Replacing the same old experience with a new technology still yields you the same outcome.  As Naomi said, you either get in front of change or get ran over by it.  AMEN sista!!!

So here's where it gets a bit tricky.  There are many of us in the HCM, TM, HRMS space.  Thousands of us to be more accurate.  Not only does HR have to change to make this shift but so do we.  For years, we have been the enablers IMHO.  We have continued to allow HR, our solutions and the market to be stuck in a revolving door (thanks Mark Cuban for that analogy).  I personally have been an enabler of this behavior.  Not by choice but because we wanted to give our customers exactly what they wanted.  Well it's time to stop that behavior.  I am taking the late Steve Jobs approach from here on out.  We are going to create solutions our customers don't know they need until the use it.  Then, they simply can't live with out them.   

So, how do we get there?  Well for one, we need strategic thinkers in HR and in our businesses (thank goodness we have them already).  We have to stop listening only to what our customers want and start developing for the future.  We are not going to successfully "rip and create" if we don't innovate and take risks.  We have to be comfortable embarking on territories never traveled before.  Following the happy path may be the easiest way to go but it won't take you into the future.

So here's something to think about....in three years we won't say mobile first.  Mobile will be the only way to go.  Can your existing solutions really go fully mobile?  And no, I am not talking about just being accessible via a browser on your mobile device.  I am talking about providing mobilized content, driven to the user on any device of their liking.  No one is there yet.  But it's where our users are going so we have to get there before they do.

So just as there are predictions, we all have resolutions for the New Year as well.  Rather than focus on personal improvement (those never stick) I am going to focus on how I can change to help you.  So hear it goes.....My New Year's resolution is to challenge everyone I engage with to think differently about people and technology.  To take risks that make me uncomfortable and to stop letting others drive us in our journey.  Now this is one I can stick to.  I guess we will see at the end of 2012 how I did.

Thanks for your support this year.  Get ready for 2012, it's going to get very disruptive!

Happy Holidays to you and your families.