By Peter Weddle, Founder & CEO TAtech

Several thought leaders in the TA space have recently called out what they see as a lack of imagination in the development of talent technology. In their view, today’s products are basically improvements at the margin – riffs on current capabilities – not true advancements in the state-of-the-art.

There are others, of course, who disagree with that point of view. These individuals, most of whom are in the business of developing and selling talent technology, think this generation of products gives recruiters new capabilities that are both real and meaningful, enabling them to upgrade their performance, efficiency or both on-the-job.

My perspective is a bit more nuanced. I believe that, whether it represents improvements at the margin or a giant step forward, today’s talent technology is a lot less than it could be. There are several factors driving this suboptimization, but the most important is not a failure of imagination among technology developers. It is, instead, a failure of vision among investors and users.

Two of my recent posts address these failures:

Why VCs Have It All Wrong With Talent Technology

The End-to-End TA Organization

Yes, we in the business of developing talent technology can always be more creative in what we bring to market. And yes, we should try coloring outside the lines more. But doing those things depends upon a hospitable environment – including both funding and a receptive customer base – and unfortunately, that’s beyond our control.

Does not mean there will never be imaginative products in the market? Absolutely not. It simply recognizes that there is now and will be in the future lots of good talent technology products, but only a few that are truly exceptional … until we see some imagination on the part of investors and users.

Food for Thought,
Peter

Peter Weddle has authored or edited over two dozen books and been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He is the founder and CEO of TAtech: The Association for Talent Acquisition Solutions.

P.S. The TAtech Leadership Summit on Recruitment Marketing is designed for HR/TA leaders and senior professionals at enterprise employers and their counterparts among TA solution providers. To be held at the newly renovated Le Méridien Tampa, The Courthouse, the conference opens with a welcome reception on the evening of February 26 and then runs all day February 27. The agenda is still in development, but the focus will be on showcasing the latest technology and most innovative practices for moving to full-funnel recruitment marketing. Seating is limited at the conference venue, so register today to make sure you have a spot.

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