Talent Acquisition News

 

With only a few weeks to go before we close the book on 2019, it appears there are still miles to go when it comes to recruiting and HR technology. While many vendors are starting to quiet down heading into the holiday season, others are making one last push to get their news out there, be it company-related or otherwise. We’re seeing plenty of capital raised, a few notable acquisitions, product features, and a slew of research. Here’s a look at the latest:   

Indeed recently confirmed to HCM Technology Report that they are, in fact, considering a product geared towards the gig economy. But beyond the subdomain, gigs.indeed.com, which appears to have been live since the June timeframe, that’s about all we know right now. A spokesperson made light of this, telling Mark Feffer that the company frequently experiments with new products to “improve the overall experience for job seekers and to make the process of hiring better overall,” and that “Indeed Gigs is a product that we are testing to see if it provides value for our job seekers and employers who use Indeed to hire.” Watch this space. 

Workday shared its intent to acquire Scout RFP, a cloud-based platform for strategic sourcing and supplier engagement, for $540 Million. With Scout RFP, Workday aims to “transform the office of procurement” and accelerate the delivery of a “comprehensive source-to-pay solution with a best-in-class sourcing offering.” The goal being to reduce spend, improve policy compliance, and maximize engagement across stakeholders. The transaction will close on January 31, 2020, with more than 160 Scout RFP employees set to join the Workday team.  

KPMG released its Future of HR 2020 global survey of more than 1,3000 HR executives across 55 countries, posing the question “Which path are you taking?” in an effort to determine how organizations are shaping the workforce and HR for the future. The key finding being, 3 in 5 percent of HR leaders believe that if the function doesn’t modernize its approach, it will become irrelevant. That could be why 95 percent of respondents are prioritizing the employee experience as a focus area. At the same time, 56 percent agree that preparing the workforce for AI and other technologies will be the biggest challenge HR faces in the coming months. 

Capital Investments, Mergers, & Acquisitions

Headstart, a London-based tech startup using AI to remove bias from the recruitment process, raised $7 M in seed funding. The company, a graduate of Y Combinator, was founded in 2015 by Nicholas Shekerdemian and is now under the leadership of CEO and HR industry expert, Gareth Jones

Also out of London, MyKindaFuture, a recruitment program, and platform provider connecting businesses and students across secondary and higher education, brought in $3.5 M. The company intends to use the funds to grow its existing reach and strategy and improve U.K. workplace diversity. 

Moving over to Singapore, end-to-end staffing platform Workmate (formerly known as Helpster) closed out a $5.2 M Series A round. The funding will go towards increased investment in sales, expanding the technology team, and building out the company’s presence in new cities. Workmate’s current locations include its headquarters in Singapore, as well as offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Bali. 

Jobiak, the creator of an AI-based recruitment optimization technology for search and social media platforms, announced $2.3 M in seed funding, and the preparation for its full commercial launch. During its beta phase, the company processed more than half a million jobs. 

On the M&A side, global executive search firm, ZRG, acquired the Toft Group, which specializes in the placement of Life Science and Biotech leadership. As a result, the business will now operate as a ZRG company and continue to focus on client needs for senior life science professionals. 

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Authors
Noel Cocca

CEO/Founder RecruitingDaily and avid skier, coach and avid father of two trying to keep up with my altruistic wife. Producing at the sweet spot talent acquisition to create great content for the living breathing human beings in recruiting and hiring. I try to ease the biggest to smallest problems from start-ups to enterprise. Founder of RecruitingDaily and our merry band of rabble-rousers.