Staffing Platforms as a Service with SIA's Kevin O'Neill
What is a "Staffing Platform as a Service" and what can it do for your company? Kevin O'Neill will tell you what they are and what features to look out for in today's episode!
[transcribed from the episode above]
Brad Owens
Oh I got a treat for you. Welcome everyone to the transform recruiting podcast. We have our very first ever returning guest. Mr. Kevin O'neill is here with us again. Kevin welcome back man yet again another.
00:06.44
Kevin O_Neill
I got a treat for you. Welcome everyone to the transform recruiting podcast. We have our very first ever returning guest. Mr. Evan O'neill is here with us again. Kevin welcome back man. Yeah morning brad thanks! Really good to really good to be back. Nice to beatten. Sorry, nice to be the nice to be the first returning guest see they must be must be an important reason and that reason is we have the whole tagline that it's the people ideas in tech that are transforming the recruiting industry and the guy that does technology research for the Sia.
00:25.80
Brad Owens
Go ahead, see there. You go must be ah, must be an important reason and that reason is we have the whole tagline that it's the people ideas in tech that are transforming the recruiting industry and the guy that does technology research for the Sia. I I mean that's kind of a good person for us to know here. So we appreciate you coming back. We knew who I knew I guess that you had just released a new research paper I wanted to come on have you come on. Give some people some insight into what it's all about why they may want to go read it how it's shaping things.
00:46.37
Kevin O_Neill
Here. So we appreciate you coming back. We knew who I knew I guess that you had just released a new research paper I wanted to come on have you come on. Give some people some insight into what it's all about why they may want to go read it How it's shaping things.
01:03.74
Brad Owens
Um, and yeah, just kind of get your overall thoughts on what you found so ah, straight off let me give everyone the title here so staffing platforms as a service, the global landscape for 2023 so what in the world is a staffing platform as a service.
01:07.71
Kevin O_Neill
So straight off let me give everyone the title here so staffing platform.
01:14.86
Kevin O_Neill
Landscape for 2023 so what in the world is stopping platform. Um, well like I guess um I could tell you a little bit about where the term came from. Um. Ah, Sia um, has been looking at the temporary staffing platforms themselves for for a number of years Brian Wallins 1 of my colleagues has been putting out research papers on on that topic which covers the kind of full gamut of um, ah platforms that are used in the staffing industry and in.
01:48.30
Kevin O_Neill
The um I guess I to put it with with buyers as well. So you know, leaving out staffing companies. But these platforms he coined the phrase staffing platforms as a service and these are out of the box solutions provided by vendors that staffing companies can use to. Create I Guess so Marketplaces Um, between the talent the buyers and the staffing company. Um and they can automate processes so that there is very little um, human intervention if required and um.
02:23.12
Kevin O_Neill
You know the the candidates are that the talent can can self-serve and it's an on-demand platform got it. So if someone who is searching for a job shows up at one of these that they had that this organization the staff an organization This recruiting organization has purchased. They may be able to both find.
02:27.60
Brad Owens
Got it. So if someone who is searching for a job shows up at one of these that they had that this organization this staffing organization this recruiting organization has purchased. They may be able to both find qualify themselves for and then accept.
02:42.62
Kevin O_Neill
Qualify themselves for and then.
02:45.18
Brad Owens
Ah, New job is that what we're anticipating here.
02:46.27
Kevin O_Neill
Were correct. They might be able to go through the end to end process or or or portions of it without um without the intervention of the recruiter or or where there may be parts of the process that require the recruiter to be involved Sir It is always.
03:00.40
Brad Owens
Sure I mean there's always those compliance things that we know and love around here. So from a organization perspective from you know our customer some client that we're going after that may have staffing needs. Do they interact with this kind of platform.
03:04.50
Kevin O_Neill
Compliance things that we know and love correct. Ah so from a organ.
03:16.17
Kevin O_Neill
Interact with this kind of platform. Yeah, they can do so um often ah they would have a portal that or or an app that the that the um, the the buyer or the or the company. The client uses so they wouldn interact with it as well. So.
03:30.72
Brad Owens
Got it So at the really large enterprise level of folks that you know we've actually had come on this show and talk some of the differentiators that they are setting themselves up with are these types of these platforms that ability to.
03:33.96
Kevin O_Neill
The really large enterprise level of folks that we've actually had come on this show and talk but some of the differentiators that they are setting themselves up with are these types of these platforms that ability to take almost that.
03:49.57
Brad Owens
Take almost that recruiterless future that we've all been hoping that wouldn't happen. They've been taking bits and pieces of this trying to implement this into their business. The ones that we're talking about now are things that would be potentially available completely out of the box. So someone would purchase this program or this.
03:53.75
Kevin O_Neill
Hoping it wouldn't happen. They've been taking bits and pieces of this trying to implement this into their business. The ones that we're talking about now are things that would be potentially available completely out of the box. So someone would purchase this program or this software.
04:09.21
Brad Owens
Software and all of a sudden two days from now. They'd be up and rolling is that what we're hoping sure.
04:10.67
Kevin O_Neill
All of a sudden two days from now. They'd be up and rolling is that what we're hoping um probably a little bit longer than 2 days I think some of these processes are fairly fairly complicated to automate but effectively yeah, they should be able to to procure either as part of their. Current front and back office tech stack or as a completely new product that clicks in and and and then by by extension create that sort of functionality for their the various players in that marketplace. That's really interesting. Okay so you.
04:41.37
Brad Owens
This is really interesting. Okay, so you mentioned that there were quite a number of ones that you ended up looking at what was the total landscape.
04:46.63
Kevin O_Neill
Mentioned that there were quite a number of ones that you ended up looking at what was the total landscape I think we find ah around about 33 vendors that provided sspass solutions and we've got about 17 ah, that are participated in the report and to participate they provide a survey and a demo so that we we get quite a lot of detail on the products that comprehensive still I mean that's 50 isio or 58%. Yeah, the large sample size. So what kind of.
05:10.19
Brad Owens
Ah, that's comprehensive still I mean that's 50 ish over fifty ish percent. That's it's quite a large sample size. So what kind of ah large takeaways. Do you feel like you had without giving away the the whole article.
05:20.40
Kevin O_Neill
Large takeaways. Do you feel like you have without giving away the board. Well,, there's quite a lot of detail in the report. Um, which you know drills down into the functionality of the of the applications themselves but just at ah you know, just at a high level. We've got um. You know front and back office vendors. Um, that are extending that Ah, ah that have new products that can extend their stack into the um espass Area. You've got tech players that you know have created. Ah, solutions coming from the you know directly into the spass platform and and and they well may well be extending some of their functionality but deeper into the into the stack. Um, and then you've got a vms um player who then is bringing an spass solution. So's There's a fair mixture of. Types of solutions. There. A lot of them have um you know a workforce workforce planning capability. Um, a lot of them will have um, ah you know quite well-developed apps particularly for the talent side. So quite ah, quite a mixture of solutions. It's not. I Guess that the the key takeaway is it's not a homogenous market where everything's the same.. There is lots of fit for purpose solutions and lots of bespoke solutions that might be suitable in different Circumstances. You know I like that.
06:42.24
Brad Owens
You know I like that I like how these types of Technologies I mean when they start they normally are very niche focused. There's not someone that really knows enough to have a across the board this will work for everyone I mean maybe eventually we'll get to something like that.
06:46.10
Kevin O_Neill
Types of technologies when they start they normally are very niche focused. There's not someone that really knows enough to have. Across the board this will work for everyone maybe eventually we'll get to something like that. But it's really nice that in the early days of these types of technologies. We normally have something that each individual organization themselves can go out and select what's right.
07:00.57
Brad Owens
Ah, but it's really nice that in the early days of these types of technologies. We normally have something that each individual organization themselves can go out and select what's right for them rather than everyone using the same kind of thing.
07:15.17
Kevin O_Neill
Yeah, that's correct. You know there's there's um, you know solutions for companies that only want to automate part of the process. There's solutions that for companies that um, want to still have a heavy recruiter um involvement in the process. There are solutions for companies in the in the cells that have already got salesforce well embedded in their in their um front and back office so you know it's really, um, quite ah, quite ah, quite a broad playing field. But you know, really. Really interesting and clever solutions that have been that have been put in place and that are available to staffing companies again. Very interesting. You know I've always one of the very first episodes here.
07:51.48
Brad Owens
Oh I get that's very interesting. You know I've always one of the very first episodes here I was talking with people about my thoughts about where the market's going to go and where you know staffing and recruiting is going to go in general and I always use the same metaphor and it feels like it applies here. It's.
08:05.35
Kevin O_Neill
Staffing and recruiting's going to go in general and I always use the same metaphor and it feels like it applies here. It's right now. All of our recruiters are typically acting like flight attendants on a flight they sit there and they ask the same question over and over again and they're going along the rows.
08:11.17
Brad Owens
Right now. All of our recruiters are typically acting like flight attendants on a flight they sit there and they ask the same question over and over again and they're going along the roads. It just gets quite repetitive. But if we were to think of our recruiters or sources or whatever it might might be.
08:21.49
Kevin O_Neill
Quite repetitive. But if we were to think of our recruiters or source control party as more air traffic controllers where there can be all of this activity going on on something like a staffing platform service and then they get involved when they need to when they have that.
08:27.42
Brad Owens
As more air traffic controllers where there could be all of this activity going on on something like a staffing platform as a service and then they get involved when they need to when they have that part of the process. This seems like the type of technology that would start to enable that for organizations that don't have that.
08:40.19
Kevin O_Neill
This seems like the type of technology that would start to enable that for organizations that don't have that.
08:47.80
Brad Owens
That software expertise that Development expertise.
08:50.25
Kevin O_Neill
The development expertise. Yeah that's a really good analogy Brad I hadn't actually thought of that. But you know some of the consoles that you see as part of these sspass solutions actually probably bring that in mind you know you've got you've got you know workforce planning screens. Um, you've got um. You know, reporting information coming in and and lots of stuff happening in real-time so jobs being being filled jobs coming in um with the recruiter having to intervene whenever that requires um you know some some some more depth of knowledge or whether they've got to solve a problem or something like that. So yeah, it's probably a pretty good ah good analogy yeah that air traffic air traffic controlling recruiters. That's probably about it. You know.
09:32.85
Brad Owens
There you go and I like that it's starting to turn more using best practices from other areas of business. You know I'm starting to see that hey anything that you need to handle issues at scale.
09:38.28
Kevin O_Neill
For using best practices from Other. Areas of business. Yeah I'm starting to see that hey anything that you need to handle issues at scale customer service.
09:50.60
Brad Owens
Customer service has been doing this for years anything you need to get out there at scale or advertise to people or whatever marketing has been doing that for years. So it's nice to take a page out of the best practice playbooks around self-service and customer service and start applying that to our.
09:52.54
Kevin O_Neill
Years anything you need to get out there at scale or advertise to be.
09:59.13
Kevin O_Neill
4 years so it's nice to take a page out of the best practice playbooks around.
10:05.52
Kevin O_Neill
And customer service and start applying that to our types of businesses. It's really.
10:09.36
Brad Owens
Ah, types of businesses. It's really nice to see them start to create these changes and changes for the better for themselves I like it.
10:13.23
Kevin O_Neill
Start to create these changes and changes. Yeah, yeah, Absolutely you know there's been some of these espass solutions have been around in one form and another for quite some time and you know they've had multiple iterations of feedback. So They've certainly picked up a lot of that best practice. Ah, that comes from some of those ah other industries others are quite. You know, quite new So They're benefiting From. Um I Guess the the more um, contemporary technology in order to put their their systems in place So you've got um a mixture of you know both of those the the experience and the um, ah. And and and the newer technology coupled with the best practices from other industries.
10:53.45
Brad Owens
I like it One of the things that I'm really curious about and I'm curious to see what you saw from a customization aspect one of the holdouts that I've been talking to that you know.
10:58.61
Kevin O_Neill
Really curious about him I'm curious to see what you saw from a customization aspect.
11:09.46
Brad Owens
Wants to set something like this up but doesn't think a bespoke technology is for them. What are organizations able to do from a differentiation aspect because if they're all using the same technology. What's their competitive advantage.
11:11.30
Kevin O_Neill
Ah, but doesn't think a bespoke technologies for them. What are organizations able to do from a different.
11:22.20
Kevin O_Neill
They're all ability. What's their but ah well it's it's ah it's a really good question. Um, you know you can you can customize the workflows in the um in in these applications and you can bring the recruiter in that. Different parts of the of the process wherever you you feel that the recruiter is going to make um more ah more impact but you know the the differentiation I guess is is been able to have the the right sort of Jobs. Recruit the talent quickly so they they get a really good mobile experience. Um and be able to fill roles quickly that um, the the talent is is looking for in the areas that they're looking for. You know those are the kind of differentiators and whether those are are. Only part of the technology or whether those are also part of the way that the recruitment company interacts with their their talent and their clients and the sort of clients that they have is is probably yeah, it's probably a mixture of both of those So you're you know you're differentiating. Um, things in in probably a different way I mean a good mobile app is a good mobile app but there are still levels of good. You know amongst that so you know looking at how um that functionality and it can be quite Complex. Functionality is brought in and delivered to the end user is is still.
12:46.39
Kevin O_Neill
Really quite important and still a differentiator in this market I Think sure if door dash wanted to white label their technology and I can present for Candidatedis the exact same way I don't care if it's door dashes. They're not I'm using it. Yeah be amazing. So that's really good. Okay, where can everyone.
12:48.15
Brad Owens
Sure if door dash wanted to white label their technology and I can present candidates the exact same way I don't care if it's door dashes or not I'm using that would be amazing. So that's really good. Okay, where can everyone find this piece of.
13:04.48
Kevin O_Neill
Find this piece of amazing research that you so the the the reporters on the um is on the Sia site staffing platforms as a service global landscape 2023 it was published about.
13:06.53
Brad Owens
Amazing research that you put together.
13:18.30
Kevin O_Neill
Ah, two weeks ago so if you remember you can go to that site and have a look at that that report and and other background reports on temporary staffing platforms as well. Perfect staffingindustry.com I think the publishing data scene here is April Twenty Fifth Twenty Twenty correct perfect
13:26.54
Brad Owens
Perfect staffing industry dot com I think the publishing date I'm seeing here is April Twenty Fifth of 2023 perfect all right? Well any parting thoughts of wisdom that you want people to know and and reasons to go read this.
13:36.49
Kevin O_Neill
Well, any parting thoughts of wisdom that you want people to know and reasons to go read this no look. It's it's ah it's a really interesting and it's ah a fast developing area and it will be really be really interesting in the future to see how. Ah. Staffing firms kind of deal with this whole combination of technology. You know they need an omney channel approach. So all that bringing all the different channels together. How ai then plays into it how staffing platforms as a service develop and how um and how staffing platforms then start to incorporate Ai into their um into their offerings. So. it's um yeah it's it's fast movinging and I expect the next time we do the report in twelve months time um you know there'll be more of these platforms and they'll be doing a lot more. So yeah, it's it's it's it's it's a good time to be in recruitment a very interesting time I think yeah.
14:24.34
Brad Owens
Yeah, and on that it ai doesn't work unless it has something to learn from so now that we have more of these platforms creating more of these transactions that we can then build models on top of I Just think this is going to accelerate way faster than we think is possible. So.
14:27.94
Kevin O_Neill
Ads ai doesn't work unless it has something to learn from so now that we have more of these platforms creating more of these transactions that we can then build models on top of I just think this is going to accelerate. Faster than we think is possible. So I'm excited about it. I appreciate you coming on and telling us a little bit about what's in the report I will send everyone the link here in the show notes you can find those at transformerrecruiting.com will point you straight towards staffingindustry dot com to this article so you can see it Kevin I really appreciate you coming on.
14:42.70
Brad Owens
I'm excited about it. I appreciate you coming on and telling us a little bit about what's in the report I will send everyone the link here in the show notes you can find those at transformrecruiting.com will point you straight towards staffingindustry dot com to this article so you can go see it. Kevin I really appreciate you coming on. Given us more of your knowledge. We appreciate it and we'll see you when the next one comes out. Thank you so much. Thanks you' so if you want to see more episodes like this. It's transform recruiting dot com send me an email hello at Brad Owens Dot Com and I'll catch you on the next one
15:00.20
Kevin O_Neill
Giving us more of your knowledge. We appreciate it and we'll see you when the next one comes out. Thank you so much and thanks Brad for the opportunity. Thank you? So so if you want to see more episodes like this. It's transformrecruiting dot com send me email hello at bradowns.com and