43: Staffing Technology in 2020: Code Work's Predictions

Barry Asin made some interesting forecasts in his keynote presentation at the 2010 Exec Forum around technology. Staffing technology is the center of my professional universe and the keynote left me wanting more detail around the next decade in staffing technology. As an analyst of the staffing space, my forecast is a combination of business needs peppered with few of my wishes.

By 2020...

1. We will have staffing applications that are easy to learn and use, visually appealing and easy to configure
2. We will have fewer front office vendors and more best-of-breed back office vendors
3. We will have Salesforce.com-like client relationship management functionality
4. The back office will be paperless
5. Onboarding will be paperless
   
6. No more "swivel chair integrations" between internal systems, with client systems (e.g. VMS) or with third-party technology enabled services (e.g. background checking firms, skill testing firms)
   
7. Our industry will have embraced management by metrics; real-time measurements and reporting will drive sales and recruiting performance
   
8. We will have mastered our ability to leverage inexpensive technology to proactively market to and manage our candidates with the result of greater candidate loyalty
   
9. Our mobile devices and VoIP interfaces will be seamlessly integrated with our staffing systems, they will be easy to use with compelling functionality that allows us to capture high quality data closer to the interaction not requiring we get back to our desk
10. We will have cheaper tools to help quickly and accurately identify the best candidates within our database, and beyond
11. Candidate availability will be up-to-date in our system
12. Front and back office technology will elegantly support a variety of staffing business models