Workday Rising Orlando 2022: What’s hot in hiring

After an extended and COVID-enforced hiatus, it was fantastic to attend Workday Rising in Orlando. This was the first large-scale face-to-face event I’ve been to in 2 years and the energy of the Workday teams, clients, and partners that I engaged with was palpable. What really came through at the event was the need for Workday and partners to collaborate and deliver solutions for a rapidly-changing world.

During the CHRO vision keynote, “Office of HR: the Power to Adapt Through the Evolution of Work”, John Boudreau, professor emeritus and senior research scientist at University of Southern California, said, “Work is perpetually obsolete, and perpetually upgraded, just like every device we hold in our hands.”.

With that mindset shift, HR leaders need to be better-equipped and supported when they have to adapt to the evolving nature of work and the demands of the applicant base that they need to hire.

If you were unable to attend the event, or need a recap, below are the main themes from the speakers, exhibitors, and conversations I had at Workday Rising Orlando 2022:

1. Reducing suppliers and integrations—doing more with less

Companies are trying to simplify their TA tech stack, with fewer point solutions and a move towards a single (or at least reduced) number of strategic partners. 

Fewer point solutions means investing in more innovative tools that can easily adapt to a rapidly-changing world and labor market. This makes it even more critical to select technologies and partners that can demonstrate improved ROI through measurable indicators, helping you get the most out of your assets.

Choosing technologies that can handle more than your current needs is also key, this means you can solve problems for today while also planning for what tomorrow may bring. This will also help to eliminate any overlap of duplication of effort in the future. 

2. Integration pedigree is a must

Integration experience and pedigree are a must for HRIT to eliminate risk. Selecting suppliers that are reputable and also quick to deliver will enable you to achieve the optimum balance of innovation underpinned by experience. 

There are several key characteristics that you should look for when searching for hiring technology to enhance your Workday Recruiting instance. If you don’t select the right partner, then integrations can take up unnecessary time and resources and leave you with a process that is a hindrance rather than a help.

• Technology: Minimise risk and delays by selecting a proven vendor that has experience within your industry and is able to reference the solutions they have provided in similar projects. A standardised integration that is supported by Workday will be faster to set up and easier to maintain.
• Team: You want an experienced project team that is open to looking beyond the product roadmap with you and who proactively pushes you to optimise each step in your process. A project team consisting of the Professional Services Team on the vendor’s side, combined with both HR and IT on the client’s side, will ensure that you have a diverse project team and a successful integration…. It's all about collaboration!
• Workday Partner: Aside from the vendor solving your pain points and their project teams delivering outstanding service, make sure the technology you integrate is fully-certified and partnering with Workday to ensure a truly customer-centric investment.

High Tech with a Human Touch

Today’s candidates are the "digital natives." They accept, and often value, a level of automation if it allows them to be efficient with their time. However, this doesn’t diminish the importance of human interaction to help nurture, progress, and close a candidate.

Companies are trying to find a balance between full automation for high volume hires and more of a recruiter white glove service for professional or niche hires. Candidates applying for high volume roles expect a speedy, technology-driven process—allowing both them and the hiring manager to get to a decision faster, often in a matter of days. Experienced professionals expect a frictionless hiring process, driven by technology but with more human touch points along the way.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to this. When candidates want to ask about your culture, its people, and policies—you may want a recruiter to have a conversation—or you might want to automate this step using conversational AI. It’s a case of what’s right for your team, the role, and the candidate.

But there are often low value and repetitive tasks that are ripe for automation, whether it's scheduling a video interview, an assessment, or consolidating your data, removing these tasks will free-up strategic brainpower for high-value activities and critical candidate touchpoints.

Ultimately, if used correctly, technology applied to the right areas can create a more human experience, because recruiters are freed-up to have the conversations that matter.

Selecting the right partner often means added benefits. Certified partners collaborate together to bring best-in-class solutions and deliver greater ROI to Workday customers. I can’t wait to see what Workday Rising Stockholm brings in November.

For full information on the HireVue for Workday integration, and to speak with a Solution Consultant about enhancing your Workday Recruitment capability, please visit us here.