The results from our first Talent Acquisition System Customer Satisfaction survey are in and the message is loud and clear. Customers are demanding more Web2.0 capabilities and social networking integration from their talent acquisition providers. Social media has dominated talent acquisition discussions over the past few years- more so than in any other area of talent acquisition. While most solution providers have avoided this topic like the plague, they are beginning to recognize a strong demand from their customers to provide more support and features that enable interactivity and connectivity such as video, social networking, and RSS feeds. According to our research, 41% of companies indicated that Web 2.0 is a “must-have” when considering advanced features they would like included in their talent acquisition system. Only 1% of respondents indicated that Web 2.0 is not even a consideration (see Figure 1). So, bottom line…it matters.

Figure 1: Web 2.0 Capabilities

For many organizations, integration with social networking is even more critical. Companies want the option to source not only job boards but also free sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. Not surprising, as many providers have been slow to respond to this demand, most organizations are not satisfied with the current level of integration (see Figure 2). Why? Seems like a no brainer given today’s economy. Integrating talent acquisition systems with social networking sites can provide new possibilities for companies to reach both active and passive job seekers. Integration can allow companies to post jobs and search for jobs on these sites as they would on the major job boards. No wonder providers such as Jobvite are growing in popularity- a talent acquisition system provider that fully integrates with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter using one sign-on and in just one click.

Figure 2: Satisfaction with Social Networking Integration

 Is social networking a fad or a trend in the world of recruting? Judging by the level of demand and the level of success experienced by companies such as Tivo, nGenera and Sodexo…it is clearly here to stay. This topic will be a focus in this year’s talent acquisition system industry study to be published in June, Talent Acquisition Systems 2009: Facts, Practice Analysis, Trends and Provider Profiles. For the meantime, some solution providers that continue to make this trend a priority include Authoria, HRsmart, iCIMS, Kenexa, Peopleclick, SilkRoad technologies, Smartsearch, SonicRecruit, and Taleo.

 We are excited to launch Bersin & Associates' first Talent Acquisition Newsletter this month! You can sign up here to learn about our latest research findings and receive complimentary reports. http://marketing.bersin.com/TalentAcquisitionAndRetentionAnnouncement.html