Is your talent tech saving you money?

In today’s volatile talent world, TA teams are having to quickly find ways to cut costs. One of these is through technology optimization and consolidation.

The explosion of AI technology and its game-changing potential means TA leaders must review their tech now to make sure they have the right platforms in place for growth and automation, and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their processes. Those who either over invested without a robust adoption plan or have gone too long without optimization will quickly discover their technology stack is not fit for purpose. 
 

How tech optimization reduces costs

Upgrading does not necessarily mean you need to buy new technology; organizations can make significant gains by optimizing their technology and business processes to drive improvements in two key areas:

1. One is transparency, visibility and data. Optimizing your tech and business processes will deliver better data and reporting which will enable you to see the bigger picture and make better decisions.
2. Another is operational efficiency. Optimizing your technology to take better advantage of its features and functionality reduces labor-intensive processes and speeds up delivery.

Both of these help businesses increase profits by removing waste and powering efficiency. It also provides you with a stronger foundation to continually enhance your tech stack with other enabling tools and innovation such as AI.
 

Three steps to tech-optimization success

Making the transition to a more tech-focused organization doesn't need to be daunting. These steps will help your organization get on the right path. 

Step 1 – Clarify your business objectives

Before you make any changes to your technology, understand what you want to achieve with it. What are your business objectives and what needs to change to ensure progress? 

A common mistake many organizations make is overspending in areas that aren’t critical to success. This leads to wasted investment, which is why it’s vital to understand the objectives and what you are solving for first.

It’s also important to understand any gaps in your technology that are stopping your organization from tracking, receiving or fetching clear information about business processes. Where are your blind spots? 

Step 2 – Map the road ahead

With your objectives set, you can lay out your route to achieving them. 

Plan this in line with your budget and company priorities, focusing on the key things you need to optimize and drive forward. You can then structure resources around what’s needed and ensure you're spending in the right places. 

Creating a map and maintaining it sets out your timeframes and planned activities that take you towards your objectives. It puts a stop to wasted time and effort on things that don’t align to you goals and reduces the risk of spend on software licenses don't yield results.

Step 3 – Build better relationships 

Strong relationships with everyone involved in your tech-optimization program are crucial to ensure continued pace and innovation in line with your business’ needs. 

First, it’s important to build pre-emptive relationships with stakeholders like recruiters, sourcers and hiring managers. Making sure they use the tech effectively is the only way you'll receive the insights and data that'll set your organization apart, and the best way to ensure this happens is to get them involved in adoption early. 

Second, nurture your relationship with the technology vendor. The strategic core platforms you invest in will need continued commitment from technology partners. Plus, with everyone clear about what’s coming up, you can plan and evolve your roadmap to make sure it delivers the incremental changes you need.
 

Key measurement and objectives

Whatever technology your organization invests in, it’s critical to measure its effectiveness. Your KPIs should always relate to the goals you identified at the start of the journey. 

One KPI could be recruitment timeliness, for example: time-to-offer or time-to-hire. Has there been a reduction in either since your technology was introduced, and by how much? Another could be time-to-answer important strategic and operational questions. How quickly are you getting responses to strategic questions leveraging real time data and insight as opposed to previously? 

These insights will tell you whether your technology is delivering and highlight areas within your technology and operations that could be improved. And this type of evaluation isn’t just for after implementation; you need to do it before you introduce new tech so that you can correlate the two enabling you to demonstrate ROI to stakeholders.
 

Choosing the right team

Organizations often neglect to consider who is going to own their new technology solution and be accountable for its ROI and effectiveness. IT, Talent Acquisition, HR, or will it be a collaboration between parties?  More often, we are seeing HR and IT functions implementing a business partnering role to work closely with TA to ensure that technology continues to be optimized and delivering value for the organization and its end users. 

It's important not to see this as extra spend you can do without, as this can prove more costly in the long run as adoption statistics drop and your tech stack becomes dated. Investing in the right capabilities in your team to drive your plans forward is important. 

For example, having someone in place to ensure your tech stack is maintained will avoid underinvestment or missed adoption opportunities. If you're implementing AI, having someone accountable to drive the adoption and make sure the wider business understands the benefits really matters. A cost-benefit analysis up front will support this process.  
 

Partnering with a technology expert

Every business is different, and each will need a unique approach. 

Some organizations will require end-to-end support to understand what’s working and what’s not, and to create a plan for the future. Others will know what’s needed but require someone to help evaluate their software and provide data points to aid decision making when it comes to making the most impactful investments and to ensure a successful roll-out and adoption strategy. 

Working with an expert talent partner can help. They have extensive experience implementing and optimizing talent tech, helping businesses to save money and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their TA processes. 

Need help optimizing your tech stack? Find out how AMS can put your business on the right road to saving costs and improving efficiency. Get in touch today.