Human resources technology continued to play a key role for talent acquisition and HR departments in 2021 amid record turnover and labor shortages. In Q4, the space saw nearly $4.83 billion in investment as companies sought solutions to hire and manage talent.
Cielo’s Elaine Orler, Senior Vice President – Technology Consulting, and Matt Jones, Vice President – Global Business Services, joined Larry Basinait, Vice President of Market Research at SharedXpertise, to discuss HRO Today’s Q4 HR Technology Report in a podcast.
In the U.S. alone, 44.7 million people quit their job in 2021, with similar trends occurring in Europe and APAC.
“The reality is that a lot of people have made life changes during the pandemic,” Orler said, pointing to childcare duties, other responsibilities, and a desire for new working arrangements as major reasons for this transition. “The way in which work is delivered is changing and [companies] are rushing to keep up.”
To keep up, companies must show employees they are valued by offering them the right learning and upskilling opportunities. Here are four ways employers can harness technology to engage and retain talent:
Create more robust employee profiles
Most TA and HR departments are unable to utilize the full breadth of data collected during the hiring lifecycle. Often, candidate information collected during the TA process does not transfer to an employee’s profile post-hire. Meanwhile, there’s no way to bring together this data with post-hire information, such as their job duties, skills and certifications. New technology is emerging that curates this information to create a robust employee profile, giving TA leaders a better picture of a person’s potential.
Use matching and outreach capabilities for internal recruitment
Employees applying for internal positions once faced a reactive process that required them to seek out opportunities themselves, gain approval from their manager to apply, and resubmit their resume for consideration. Today, TA teams are using the same matching and outreach solutions typically used for external hiring to provide internal applicants with a premium experience. Once again, having access to robust employee profiles can help recruiters identify qualified candidates and reach out to them proactively.
Use data for better succession planning
Many employers are now merging succession planning within their TA departments to better plan for future vacancies. Having the right data on employees can help determine employees who may be eligible for more senior roles, either within their existing team or elsewhere in the company, and those who could benefit from upskilling. Proactively identifying these candidates can prevent business disruptions and give employees confidence that they can grow their careers within the company.
Track turnover
Although offering the right benefits, compensation and opportunities can reduce turnover, employers cannot stop every employee from leaving. However, by utilizing customer experience tools to track engagement and sentiment, from the initial hiring process to their end of an employee’s tenure, companies can use the data and insights gathered to put in place the correct programs to reduce “regrettable turnover.” This information also allows employers to positively engage former employees and potentially rehire them in the future.
In today’s market, there is simply not enough available talent for companies to forego employee retention. HR technology, when combined with the right people and processes, offers employers unique new ways to improve their talent strategy.
