New Money Pouring Into Talent Management Metrics

January 20, 2016 – Randstad Holding, a firm specializing in solutions in the field of flexible work and human resources services, is leading a seed financing in Focus Orange Technology through its Randstad Innovation Fund (RIF). Randstad’s service offerings range from regular temporary staffing and permanent placements to in-house, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions.

The investment is centered around the development of Crunchr, Focus Orange’s analytics platform. Crunchr collects, validates and consolidates people data into meaningful insights around strategic workforce planning, succession, talent management and employee preferences. Crunchr was recognized by consultant Gartner as ‘Cool Vendor in Human Capital Management 2015’ in a recent report.

“Crunchr fits Randstad’s objective to offer comprehensive total talent management solutions,” said Linda Galipeau, Randstad executive board member. “We have high expectations of Crunchr’s HR-analytics tool and of its potential to give our clients insights in their human capital and workforce planning.”

“We are at the forefront of HR data analytics,” said Dirk Jonker, founding partner of Focus Orange and chief technology officer of Crunchr. “We are thrilled to have the financial support of Randstad Innovation Fund to accelerate the development of our custom modelling solution Crunchr Next, and to scale up deployment in Western Europe and the United States.”

As a strategic corporate venture fund, RIF is building a portfolio of early-stage HR technology investments. It invests in companies that are at the forefront of technology or transforming the talent acquisition and workforce management industry. RIF has invested in seven portfolio companies since its launch in March 2014.

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New tools for HR professionals could not come at a better time. Only 52 percent of organizational leaders are satisfied with the data they currently receive from their recruitment process outsource provider, according to the ‘Measuring Up’ report released by Korn Ferry subsidiary, Futurestep. Low volume of data, accuracy of metrics, and alignment with business outcomes were specifically highlighted as problem areas by businesses monitoring performance metrics.

While the Futurestep findings emphasized the need for RPO vendors to go above and beyond to satisfy clients, the report warned of the importance of mastering basic analytics first and foremost: “Good metrics go hand in hand with good RPO and achieving this pointed to the promise of a successful long-lasting partnership between the RPO provider and client.”

The report revealed five recommendations to get the most out of metrics:

A clear understanding of how HR aligns with business objectives is essential so decisions can be made in-line with the relevant metrics;

A systematic approach must be taken, regardless of what metrics are employed;

Creating a single integrated information system is key;

Continuous innovation and improvement is imperative;

Trust is crucial to success — the quality of the relationship between client and provider and the extent to which sensitive data is shared and examined will determine a true partnership.

“It’s clear there is still some work to do when it comes to analytics,” said Elliot Clark, CEO of HRO Today. “Continuous innovation and trust will make for an improved relationship, enabling success over a sustained period of time, but companies and RPO providers need to align metrics with business objectives from the outset to gather truly valuable data.”

It is also more important than ever for today’s CHRO to understand how important new technology is within a company’s HR department. According to research from Aon Hewitt, future CHROs will need to be cognizant of the rapid progress in HR technology, particularly SaaS solutions, to improve HR processes and analytic capabilities.

Other companies have invested in HR technology services in recent months. In November, Talentsoft, a global, privately held leader for cloud-based talent management solutions, completed a funding round of $27 million. The round was led exclusively by Goldman Sachs’ merchant banking division. The company’s software application suite provides an end-to-end talent management solution, ranging from recruiting to learning, and from compensation to performance management.

“IDC forecasts high future growth in the market for talent management applications as organizations in Europe and elsewhere are adopting digital business models and new work practices,” said Bo Lykkegaard, associated vice president at IDC. “Furthermore, we see customer demand changing from niche talent applications to broader, SaaS-based talent and human capital management suites.”

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