My first response to the social media recruitment news the acquisition of Jobs2Web by Success Factors only two days after the acquisition of Success Factors by SAP was “holy shit.” While the news of power purchase by SAP might be boring to some, I find the manner in strategy in which they broke the news to be interesting none the less. You see Saturday early afternoon, I checked my email inbox only to find the announcement along with an invitation to join their online press conference only to have found out nearly 2 hours too late. And so last night, I was skeptical when yet again I received another invitation for a call promising an exciting announcement. I was not disappointed.
Success Factors Buys Up Social Recruiting Management Software and More
Outside of Success Factors’ strategy choosing to announce their purchase of Jobs2Web on a Saturday, the marrying of these companies means a great many things. Over the last twelve months, Success Factors has made some major acquisitions gobbling up companies like CubeTree (which I wrote about in early 2010), succession and talent management company, Plateau as well as video and social learning technology, Jambock.
Social Media in Recruiting is here to stay.
- You and I likely already knew this but many senior leaders and CEO’s do not. Social media has and will continue to be an important piece of recruiting, learning, and succession planning both inside and outside the organization. This purchase more than legitimizes this fact.
Acquisitions Will Heat Up.
- It’s safe to say that SF has thrown down the gauntlet and it’s only time before HCM solutions like Oracle, Taleo and other large software and service companies will follow suite making the industry an exciting place to be. Companies will target startups like SmartRecruiters, BranchOut, Work4Us, and even Jobvite to name a few.
Focus on Internal Engagement.
- One of the many appealing features with regard to Jobs2Web is their very robust analytics dashboard and the industry reporting they have to match. SF offers an equally robust set of analytics. Look for these analytics to go beyond social recruiting but dive further into how social learning and development plays a role in the further use of talent communities and success planning both inside as well as outside the organization.
Leveraging Our Most Valuable Asset.
- We are now seeing the shift between employees being a commodity and now an asset as recruiting qualified candidates continues to be one of the biggest challenges companies are currently facing even in light of the current 8.6% unemployment rate. As corporate leaders and HR teams begin to feel the talent pinch albeit slowly in the US, global companies like SAP are responding to fill the gaps across the globe.
When Recruitment Software Goes Social
Personally, I’m excited to begin 2012 and continue to watch the rise of social media as more than a social recruiting tool but also as a global learning, development, and engagement mechanism instead of the anti-engagement mechanism it’s often made out to be, making it easier to recognize and plan to retain top talent before it’s too late.
2 Comments
Well, I’ll comment here.
M&A activity often means more to financial markets than to the industry itself. Furthermore, if we look at the history of acquisitions in our industry, m&a activity has done more to stifle innovation than to support it. Job boards buy technology companies and kill them. Enterprise companies have been buying smaller companies to gain access to new markets, solidify market share, and to slow down the R&D pipeline to extend the shelf-life of existing products.
And if I have to weigh in — and I’m putting myself to sleep, here — HR lags in everything we do. The acquisition of SFSF isn’t validation of a trend (cloud or social recruiting). It’s the continuation of a trend that is being led by other parts of the organization. I’m not cynical. Just experienced. I might write a blog post about this but M&A happen for very specific reasons that often have nothing to do with the customer/buyer and everything to do with an insider game that none of us is playing.
So…, in old-school M & A theory, Laurie is right. However, financial markets are not what they used to be. Neither are the hiring, technology, or HR markets.
I believe what we are seeing now is a fear of being left behind. SEO and Internet/Cloud technologies scare those who have not been involved with them for the last 5-10 years. There are those who have ignored the power of social media and the internet – they are late to the party and late in recognizing the change it has and will continue to bring to, not only how we communicate, but also to the basics of how we do business – which really does boil down to communication, right? As well as, innovation and basic tech changes. For goodness’ sake, a failing mortgage industry STILL relies on faxing as legal and binding…, dear Lord.
And while it may not be validation of a trend, I think it is validation of change.
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