Spring has finally sprung and with it came the 2021 Spring HR Tech Conference. This annual meeting joins thousands of talent professionals under a single virtual roof to get schooled on the latest happenings in the HR and Talent Acquisition tech field.
After a difficult year, one theme carried on throughout the week-long gathering: the time for action is here and there’s no better time than the present to start. Let’s take a look at some of the key points made at 2021’s Spring HR Tech Conference.
The Programmatic Revolution Will Be Televised
The power players for programmatic recruitment stepped out in a big way at this year’s Spring HR Tech Conference and its shining star was Aptitude Research’s Madeline Laurano. During her session, titled Don’t Get Left Behind: The Programmatic Revolution Starts Now, she unveiled a comprehensive study that highlighted the State of Programmatic within Talent Acquisition. Laurano meticulously gathered data on how leaders view programmatic, addressed misconceptions, and definitively answered the burning question, “Is programmatic right for my business?”
“This report, based on data collected in January and February 2021,
is a guide for any company interested in exploring programmatic job
advertising to reduce their spend or increase performance on their
job campaigns,” she said.
And her report revealed some compelling stats:
- 40% of job advertising spend is currently wasted
- Companies that use a programmatic model never go back to traditional methods
- 90% of companies that use programmatic are increasing their investment this year
- Programmatic doubles campaign effectiveness and triples quality of hire
Laurano’s session kicked off the start of the programmatic revolution within HR and programmatic’s momentum within the industry continues to pick up speed.
“Less Allyship, More Action”
These are the powerful words Torrin Ellis used during his keynote on the last day of the conference. This statement makes one thing abundantly clear: the time to act was yesterday.
The industry has spent a lot of time talking about diversity and inclusion without actually tearing down internal barriers to entry. So, Ellis championed a far more active stance than simple social posts parroting support. According to Human Resource Executive, “To help HR leaders get DEI efforts moving in the right direction, Ellis suggests HR leaders leverage analytics and look at their DEI data over the years and see if they’re including different people in their organizations. But leaders also need to do much more than just embrace tech, he insisted, adding that having tough conversations in your organization is paramount.”
These tough conversations may include changing the way you approach everything within your organization, top to bottom.
“You may have to shatter the ways you’re used to doing things to get better at diversity recruiting,” said fellow keynoter Jackye Clayton.
Inclusion and belonging initiatives are not built in a day, but allocating the proper resources and pushing an active approach can help you get there.
HR: Getting Back To Their Human Mission
It’s no surprise that the sudden switch to remote work has left many workers feeling physically and emotionally drained. While the ability to work from home has been a blessing, there’s no denying the toll it’s taken on the well-being of the average employee. That’s largely why so much of the Spring HR Tech Conference focused on the employee experience.
During Josh Bersin’s keynote, he called on HR to build better tech systems for themselves and their employees. Technology needs to drive our connections in our increasingly digital workplace. The isolation of remote work does not need to be the norm. HR should leverage technology and build them into a wider strategy. Only this can allow them to return to their human mission: focusing on the whole of a person and building connections.
2021’s Spring HR Tech Conference did not disappoint and with Fall’s HR Tech Conference and Expo (and IN PERSON!) just around the corner, we cannot wait for what’s next!