HR/HCM Job Market Observations

 

IHRIM Eye Guest Blogger:  Paul L. Belliveau, HRIP, SPHR  

 

I thought I’d share some of my research and personal observations of the current HR/HCM job market, as a consequence of my own career search campaign.

 

I've been closely monitoring the job market for Human Resources/Human Capital Management for the past several months as part of my own career migration plan.  Now into the second quarter of the year, the market is continuing on a healthy upward trajectory, and appears it will be accelerating at a moderate pace for at least the next year.  Evidence of this trend can be seen in the 2013 Source of Hire Survey recently released by Gerry Crispin of CareerXroads.  Survey results show an increase in 2013 US hiring by 17.5%, as compared with 2012. Crispin said “This is the biggest upswing I’ve seen in 10 years”[i].

More than half of the opportunities I’m seeing out there are coming from contingency placement for short- to mid-term projects – most are for durations of 3-9 mos.  A recent report from The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) bears this out, showing increases in job openings filled by the professional temporary market of 4% and placement increases of 8%[ii]. However, I’m also uncovering quite a number of direct openings for fulltime employee placement, most at the 5-10 year experience levels.  In the 15-20+ year category, I’m not seeing as much demand, but still a respectable amount.  Even though, according to the 2011 SHRM Customized Benchmarking Service report, the average time to fill job vacancies is 34 days[iii], the time to fill these more senior openings is considerably longer than in the past.  Decisions are often delayed, put on hold or sometimes cancelled altogether.  Despite a 73% increase in virtual/telework/remote work environments between 2005 and 2011[iv], with many HR/HCM positions at this senior level, there is still a significant requirement for onsite presence involving daily/frequent commuting to physical work locations[v].

Within the Human Resources/Human Capital Management and supportive technology solutions arena, the current market uptick is triggered by pent-up demand and an increased focus on Workforce Planning, Talent Management and Workforce Analytics to better support the business[vi].  For a variety of reasons, it is also fueled by a rapidly growing interest in migrating to Cloud-based HR and alternative service delivery solutions, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)[vii].   As was found by Lexy Martin’s (et. al.) most recent CedarCrestone Annual Survey, the benefits of a SaaS HRMS include:

1) Requires substantially less HR and Information technology staff to implement, maintain and support;

2) Significantly faster time to implement, and half the time to reap value from deployments;

3) More intuitive and much  improved user experience; and
4) Increased adoption rate and higher overall customer satisfaction[viii]. 

No wonder why SaaS is resonating with more strategic, agile, and less tethered organizations.
 
In my own career search campaign, I’ve become acutely aware of the drivers and dynamics involved in the HR/HCM labor market.  Leveraging social media and various networking venues provide me with vehicles for promoting personal brand.  While I‘m still very actively focused on pursuing direct practitioner-based HR/HCM advisory and/or leadership roles within a corporate setting, as an interim measure to accommodate current short term projects, I’ve temporarily pulled my consultancy, Avancé HCM (established in 1991), out of mothballs for the time being.  Hopefully this will be short-lived, as my targeted direct job should be coming around shortly. 

Paul L. Belliveau, HRIP, SPHR (paulbelliveau@comcast.net)

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[i] Companies Open Up to Outsiders

[ii] Marketing and media sector suffering talent shortage; and Temp Jobs Becoming More Popular

[iii] SHRM: Strategic HR Agenda - Streamline Hiring

[iv] Telework Research Network

[v] From a panel discussion by Pauline Holman during IHRIM Webinar: Out of Site, but Not Out of Mind - 4-17-13

[vi] CedarCrestone 2012–2013 HR Systems Survey

[vii] SilkRoad report: The State of Talent Management 2013

[viii] CedarCrestone 2012–2013 HR Systems Survey

“Going Global” at the IHRIM 2013 Conference

IHRIM Eye Guest Blogger - Lexy Martin, CedarCrestone

The IHRIM 2013 HRMS Strategies Conference will be in Orlando this year from June 2-5 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The kid in me loves going to Orlando and experiencing Disney’s Magic Kingdom. I grew up in Southern California and spent a lot of time in my teens at Disneyland. But the Florida Magic Kingdom is Disneyland on steroids. So much so, that I decided to take my grandkids to the park once the conference is over!

But I’m very much looking forward to the conference. I end up going to a number of conferences each year as a speaker and over the years I’ve come to appreciate the IHRIM Conference for the substantive sessions. I hear very little marketing fluff and lots of actionable advice for practitioners. The speakers have truly “been there, done that.” Now, I’m not a practitioner, so maybe I shouldn’t make that judgment, but as I listen at sessions, I see a lot of heads nodding and a lot of audience engagement, so something is going right at IHRIM!

My role in our community is that I manage the CedarCrestone HR Systems Survey, now going into the 16th year. And while the major trends we cover are cloud, analytics, social, and mobile, there’s another trend we see that is specific to organizations that operate in multiple countries. I call this trend, “Going Global.” What I see is an increase in the percentage of organizations that operate globally to consolidate systems across the globe, whether that is an HRMS or a payroll system or even talent management solutions.

So, I’m going to be attending several sessions that speak to that experience and to the advice of those that have succeeded as they “go global.”

1. Pre-Conference Course 7: Understanding Global Companies, HR and Systems – A Practical Workshop. On June 2nd, one of the pre-conference sessions will be done by Cathy Veinbach, Wipro and John Hinojos, HRchitect. This eight hour session will help attendees understand the nuances of working with a global team and system such as variations of language and dialects, social network, corporate structures, pay practices, and work habits from various multi-cultural groups along with governmental regulations that can make an action legal in one country and illegal in another.

2. Session #144: Going Global with Your SaaS HCM. In this session, Jim Pettit and Janae Johnson from CareFusion will share the lessons they have learned from their global deployment of a SaaS HCM which converted employees and contingent workers from local legacy systems in 28 countries onto the corporate SaaS HCM. This will be about best practices and avoiding potholes during a SaaS HCM deployment. They will talk about data conversion while in production, manager and employee adoption across numerous time zones, cultures and languages, and managing a diverse global project team.

3. Session #168: Untangling Metrics – How Citrix Used Design Thinking to Create an Exciting Metrics Environment. There’s an intriguing series, called “Design Thinking Comes to HRIS” that actually starts on Sunday but then is held throughout the conference. During the series, you can learn what Design Thinking is and why it’s important in HRIS and how it can benefit both IT and HR. You will also learn interviewing techniques to get to the root cause needed to create requirements, synthesize feedback, and develop a point of view. So, it’s a methodology that you can later apply. But the session that intrigues me is the one in the series on metrics. It’s because Rich Berger, one of the speakers is the Senior Director, Global HRIS and Metrics. He’s spoken before and I think he’s taken a really good approach to metrics and analytics at Citrix. For this session, he will be using the Design Thinking approach to explain how at Citrix, he and Keith Erickson, also at Citrix, turned the metrics experience 180 degrees and got great acceptance from HR and managers across the global enterprise.

4. Session #197: Inspect What You Expect: Building a Global Framework for Business Success. As I’ve had the fortune to collaborate with Karen Beaman, one of the speakers for this session, I think she’s likely the most knowledgeable consultant in the world helping organizations “go global.” In this session she does with her colleague, Felipe Carneiro also from Jeitosa Group International, they will provide a model to help organizations evaluate different levels of software globalization and how to evaluate if a vendor is truly global. They will share various strategies to global systems deployment from pilots, to phases, to big bang and provide a leading practice approach to supporting HCM in a production environment, ensuring all country legislative and regulatory requirements are met.

Now, there are lots of other great sessions that you can see in the program, available here: http://bit.ly/IHRIM2013_EducationSessions but the above ones are the ones I plan to attend.

There is one other part of the conference that I’ve enjoyed over the years. It’s the HRIM Foundation party, this year called “Party for a Purpose.” The proceeds from the event benefit the programs and educational initiatives supported by the HRIM Foundation. These parties blend good food, wine, and really fun discussions among the attendees. This year it will be at the Porte-Cochere with views of the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom that start at 10:00 pm. Definitely will awe the kid in all of us!

So, I’m looking forward to the conference, these sessions, the party and reconnecting with exhibitors and attendees on the Expo floor. And, then I’m going to go be a kid with my grandkids!

The IHRIM 2013 Conference and Technology Expo will be held June 2-5 at Disney's Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida.  For more information, go to http://bit.ly/IHRIM2013.

What's In a Name

After my first post, someone suggested I come up with a name for the new Blog. Personally, IHRIM Blog seemed adequate – simple, to the point. But, I will admit, not too catchy.

I researched the internet, looking to see what other blog names are out there and read tips for naming your blog. One site warned me that choosing a name for your blog is like choosing a name for a child, so I guess no “Aloysius”, “Poindexter” or “Rainbow Bright”. Another said to be descriptive. That prompted “Crazy HR Tech Lady Who Likes Cats, Cruises, and Computers” (not necessarily in that order). But not sure that is the image I want to convey - never mind that you would never remember it (another tip).  A final important point - the name cannot be taken. So, "Tech Terminator" – Hasta La Vista, Baby!

I finally came up with a name that is original, descriptive, easy to remember and easy to spell: “IHRIM Eye”. In addition to the alliteration, it plays off the “I” that IHRIM is known for – Information. But more important, this blog will be your eye on the industry as well as the Association.

So, welcome to the IHRIM Eye!


I'll be back! 

Taking the Plunge

Welcome to the IHRIM Blog. I know we are a little late coming to the party, but due to a combination of time and priorities, starting the IHRIM blog kept getting put on the back burner.

But we are now ready to dive into the blogging water.

For those who are not familiar with us, we are the International Association for Human Resource Information Management – better known as IHRIM. We are a professional membership association – focusing on HR technology and HR information management. IHRIM is a community made up of HR systems and information management professionals – or anyone who wants to learn more about technology solutions supporting HR – to share knowledge, ideas and solutions. We promote professional development via our webinars, Forums, courses and professional certification program, the Human Resource Information Professional (HRIP); enable networking both face to face and through our member generated online community, CORE; and offer a variety of content and resources through our publications, educational events and CORE.

Our feature event is our preeminent annual conference and technology exposition which garners high praises throughout the industry. This year’s event will be held on June 2 to 5 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Check it out at http://bit.ly/IHRIM2013 and make plans to join us! (You will be hearing more about the conference in the blog in the weeks ahead where we will profile presenters and sessions as well as share other conference highlights).

As President and CEO of IHRIM, you will see my postings on a regular basis. But I plan to bring to this blog the thoughts and musings of IHRIM members and other industry leaders, or others who have something to share with you. For now, let me introduce myself. I am IHRIM’s chief executive officer, with 30 years experience in human resources, primarily in HR systems and strategic management. Before I joined IHRIM as a staff member, I worked in various HRIS and HR roles at a large financial institution in Boston. And I was an IHRIM volunteer, serving in a variety of leadership positions including Chairman of the Board. I hold an MBA from Suffolk University, an MLIS from Rutgers University (my first career was as a corporate librarian) and a BA from Farleigh Dickinson University. I have a passion for both IHRIM and the HR information management profession and I hope that I convey that in my blog writings.

This blog will not replace the Industry News section or the IHRIM Wire, but rather supplement the information and content we already provide our members and visitors to the website and on CORE. In this blog, we will cover both industry news and IHRIM updates, topics that which we feel are of interest to our readership.

With this blog, we won’t be treading water: we will be in the swim!

Regards - Lynne Mealy, HRIP