While Talentegy was formally founded in January 2017, the founding principles have been around and taking shape over the last 20 years. I’ll save the detailed HR Technology history lesson and backstory for another post but it all culminates in a question that keeps me up at night:
“Why do HR Technology solutions fail to meet expectations?”
If you’re wondering why that might make me lose sleep, head on over to my LinkedIn profile and read bottom up about my experience. I’ve been involved in various leadership roles in HR Technology since the mid-90s, from job distribution, to sourcing, to applicant tracking and talent management, so it’s safe to say I’ve had a stake in the game for some time.
So why do HR Technology solutions fail? Before you answer, let me further qualify the question by adding three assumptions going in:- The solution is generally recognized as modern, mature and feature complete validated by independent industry analysis and complimentary reference customers and is flexible enough to handle reasonable process evolution as needed.
- The Client company has a reasonable understanding of the talent process the solution is supporting and has an appropriate level of leadership and field support to drive its change management, adoption and use.
- The vendor provides an appropriate level of support for the Client needs.
Ok, I know what you’re thinking: “Not meeting those three things are some of the biggest contributors to failure!” I wholeheartedly agree. However, for point #1, this can be managed with a careful selection process and due diligence. There are plenty of great vendors in the market fitting company size, geographical, industry and pricing needs. For point #2, this is what the company must bring to the table, either through internal resources or through consulting partners. And for #3, it’s incumbent on both the Client and the Vendor to understand the required level of support, where any gaps or risks can be identified in the selection process. Again, I’m not minimizing the impact of being out of alignment on any of those three key points. Continued misalignment on one or more of the three without a successful corrective plan will guarantee failure.
But for the sake of the exercise, let’s assume that you’ve selected a reputable vendor and completed your due diligence with like references, you have top level alignment and field level support for the key objectives of your talent program and you’ve selected a level of support that fits with your needs and culture.
With those criteria met, you’re in the clear, right? Job Seekers are praising how easy your career Web site is to navigate and how easy it is to apply for jobs. Your conversion rates are high and your complaints are low. New hires are commenting on how great their onboarding process went. Managers are sending in notes complimenting your HR systems. Right? Didn’t think so.
That’s what keeps me up at night. Great companies working with great vendors, with less than great results.
And that’s where Talentegy can help. We’re here to measure your talent experiences, alert you whenever there’s a known or potential problem and give you the tools to collaborate internally, and with your vendor partners to set a plan of action to improve.
We call it Talent Experience Management TM. We think it’s important and we’re dedicated to helping great companies achieve great results. If you’d like to learn more, sign up now, for updates and early access to our platform launching this summer.
Dwaine Maltais
Co-founder and CEO
