The HR Technology Conference Part II: Mobile

As I mentioned previously, going to the HR Technology show is a lot like going to a Toys “R” Us. Even though you might not need the newest, greatest GI Joe or Barbie - it is still cool to see what is going on and how things are getting innovative. This year, the recruiting technology seemed to focus on Mobile (no... real mobile), and scary cool sourcing tools. Real Mobile One of the challenges a lot of ATS systems, and as a result, you are having, is that mobile job seekers don’t have a way to apply via mobile. This is going to get be more of a problem as recruiters continue to rely on email, Twitter, Facebook, etc... all of which are globally accessed 20% from a mobile device. Put another way, 1 out of 5 of those who get your message, can’t do anything further. The reason for the challenge is a lot of the providers systems are not “responsive systems” so the screen doesn't adapt to the device being used. The other issue is that a lot of ATS systems require 50 fields to be entered in the system - which on a mobile device can be a hassle. This year, I saw a few firms that have developed cool mobile systems that can sit on top of an ATS, and act as a way for a person to apply. Scary Sourcing I love this new concept (as of last year) of social artifacts or social exhaust. Basically, the concept is that we all leave enough digital bread crumbs on the internet that profiles can be built using those breadcrumbs. Last year, two firms showed systems that allow you to source for specific candidates - and they use these breadcrumbs. For instance, if you are looking for someone that knows Hadoop - then why not use a system that finds folks that post a lot of Hadoop code? This year, the innovation went even further. One of the areas that a sourcer/recruiter would like to know is when is a passive candidate about to become active. That way you don’t waste time trying to find or pursue folks that really aren't interested in a change. Firms are now looking at ways to take massive amounts of data, run all sorts of analytics, and come up with about 70 variables that accurately predict when someone is about to move. Candidates are Getting Savvy The other big takeaway from the show is that candidates are getting really savvy (e.g. wanting to apply for jobs via mobile) - and they are starting to really research firms. Specific to Glassdoor, the number of employer reviews continues to grow (in the millions, and millions) and as a result, their web traffic is exploding. The below chart is from Alexa and shows that Glassdoor has jumped to being the 768th most popular site in the WORLD, and 258 in the US.