Ultimate Kronos Group Releases First Post-Merger Results, ServiceNow Integrates With Facebook and More HR Tech News
November 25, 2020
Digital Workplace
In its first earnings release since Ultimate Software and Kronos International completed their merger, HR technology platform provider UKG said total revenue increased by 9% during fiscal 2020, reaching nearly $3 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 10%, to almost $770 million.
Chairman and CEO Aron Ain was pleased. “The story of UKG has only just begun, and what an extraordinary first chapter we’ve written,” he said.
Over the past five years, Ultimate Software, based in Weston, Fla., and Kronos, headquartered in Lowell, Mass., spent a combined $2 billion in research and development, including some $500 million in fiscal 2020. The company said those investments allowed it to quickly evolve solutions to meet changing market demands, including those sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
UKG also introduced new analytics capabilities for its UKG Pro and UKG Ready products, the first major enhancements unveiled since the company rolled out its post-merger brand in October.
UKG Pro, known as UltiPro before the merger, will add a Workforce Continuity tool that helps HR focus on employee well being, gather workforce data and keep operations running during a crisis. The feature includes a mobile-first employee check-in for use in emergency situations — like, say, a pandemic. It can be deployed to specific workers as necessary and gathers information about assistance they might need, their ability to work and whether unaffected employees can help them out.
At the same time, UKG incorporated sentiment analysis into UKG Ready, previously known as Kronos Workforce Ready. The feature is designed to provide better insights into the effects of workplace initiatives by helping organizations “read between the lines to create more meaningful work experiences,” said Jess Griffin, UKG Ready’s vice president of global product management.
Initially, sentiment analysis will be incorporated into Ready’s recruiting module. The idea is to help HR and hiring managers understand the characteristics of strong candidates, the company said. Down the road, sentiment analysis will be applied to a wider variety of surveys covering areas such as engagement and performance.
UKG also announced the formation of UKG Global Delivery Services, made up of 2,000 service professionals positioned around the world. They’ll work closely with the company’s customer success and executive relationship management teams to support customers throughout their time working with UKG products.
The new capabilities enhance an existing integration between ServiceNow Virtual Agent and Workplace from Facebook, headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. It allows employees to request support, receive status reports and connect with customer service agents without leaving the Workplace environment.
The new capabilities include tools to distribute content through Workplace and other channels, and an IntegrationHub Spoke that helps customers create new Workplace integrations to meet specific needs.
ServiceNow and Workplace have a number of joint customers including Sun Life Financial, Telenor Group and Petco.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Hired boasts a high response rate from candidates on its platform, which it maintains by vetting users before letting them in. Vettery, which was acquired by Zurich-based Adecco Group in 2018, uses algorithms and analytics to match employers and candidates.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Vettery CEO Josh Brenner, who will lead the new organization, said the companies mostly complement each other, with just 5% customer overlap. And while Hired’s tools focus on software and engineering positions, Vettery’s offer more breadth. Eventually, the new company will offer products under one brand, Brenner said.
Recruiters can access instant messaging from within Dice’s TalentSearch and its application results. Candidates can use it to connect with recruiters in addition to using Dice’s Recruiter Profiles.
In a blog post, the Centennial, Colo., company said its priority with instant messaging was to “develop a service that would allow logged-in candidates to communicate with recruiters in an easy, frictionless way.” Because it’s integrated with Dice’s email platform, users can receive notification of new messages when they’re not logged into the site.
In its announcement, Dice called instant messaging “an important next step” toward its goal of becoming a comprehensive platform for hiring-related searching, matching and communicating in real time. During the third-quarter earnings call for parent company DHI Group, CEO Art Zeile called the feature “the second critical ingredient for full marketplace capability.”
The first ingredient was Recruiter Profiles, which Zeile described as “the first major release in Dice’s transformation from a job board to a full-scale career marketplace.” Zeile said Dice wants to provide a “trusted environment” where candidates and recruiters can research each other and safely communicate.
Modern Hire released Text-Based Assessments, a new feature that embeds the company’s technology into the hiring process to help predict turnover. The Delafield, Wisc., company’s new tool is offered as a brief assessment integrated into the company’s On-Demand Text interaction stage.
Professional employer organization TriNet released a new version of its mobile app that includes more flexible benefits management and improved account security. It also provides access to real-time information on paycheck history, benefits, time-off requests and flexible spending accounts.
Eightfold.ai’s Talent Intelligence Platform launched into Oracle Cloud Marketplace and can now be integrated into Oracle Cloud’s infrastructure.
Dutch recruitment marketing platform VONQ will acquire IGB, a provider of job distribution, programmatic advertising and recruitment analytics. The company said IGB will benefit by adding media purchasing to its offerings, while VONQ Job Marketing Platform will leverage programmatic technology.
Recruiting and assessment software provider PeopleFactors launched a pre-hire assessment and screening tool. The tool creates reports and recommendations based on objective data to help companies identify and hire candidates with leadership potential.
Craig Fisher became CEO of technology job platform Knack.io. The founder of TalentNet Media, he most recently led the RPO Allegis Global Solutions. (Knack.io)
Outplacement firm CMP hired John Hernandez to be senior vice president of client strategies. Most recently he was CEO of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He also worked at JP Morgan Chase. (PR Newswire)
Chairman and CEO Aron Ain was pleased. “The story of UKG has only just begun, and what an extraordinary first chapter we’ve written,” he said.
Over the past five years, Ultimate Software, based in Weston, Fla., and Kronos, headquartered in Lowell, Mass., spent a combined $2 billion in research and development, including some $500 million in fiscal 2020. The company said those investments allowed it to quickly evolve solutions to meet changing market demands, including those sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
UKG also introduced new analytics capabilities for its UKG Pro and UKG Ready products, the first major enhancements unveiled since the company rolled out its post-merger brand in October.
UKG Pro, known as UltiPro before the merger, will add a Workforce Continuity tool that helps HR focus on employee well being, gather workforce data and keep operations running during a crisis. The feature includes a mobile-first employee check-in for use in emergency situations — like, say, a pandemic. It can be deployed to specific workers as necessary and gathers information about assistance they might need, their ability to work and whether unaffected employees can help them out.
At the same time, UKG incorporated sentiment analysis into UKG Ready, previously known as Kronos Workforce Ready. The feature is designed to provide better insights into the effects of workplace initiatives by helping organizations “read between the lines to create more meaningful work experiences,” said Jess Griffin, UKG Ready’s vice president of global product management.
Initially, sentiment analysis will be incorporated into Ready’s recruiting module. The idea is to help HR and hiring managers understand the characteristics of strong candidates, the company said. Down the road, sentiment analysis will be applied to a wider variety of surveys covering areas such as engagement and performance.
UKG also announced the formation of UKG Global Delivery Services, made up of 2,000 service professionals positioned around the world. They’ll work closely with the company’s customer success and executive relationship management teams to support customers throughout their time working with UKG products.
ServiceNow Upgrades Integration With Facebook
Santa Clara, Calif.-based HR services delivery provider ServiceNow updated its integrations with Workplace from Facebook with an eye toward improving communications between employers and their distributed workforce. Specifically, its new features are designed to streamline communications through the organization in a bid to improve employee experience.The new capabilities enhance an existing integration between ServiceNow Virtual Agent and Workplace from Facebook, headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. It allows employees to request support, receive status reports and connect with customer service agents without leaving the Workplace environment.
The new capabilities include tools to distribute content through Workplace and other channels, and an IntegrationHub Spoke that helps customers create new Workplace integrations to meet specific needs.
ServiceNow and Workplace have a number of joint customers including Sun Life Financial, Telenor Group and Petco.
Hired.com Will Combine With Vettery After Acquisition
New York job-matching platform Vettery acquired Hired, a job board focused on technology talent. The companies plan to combine their solutions and position the resulting product as a comprehensive talent marketplace for technology, marketing, sales and finance roles.Headquartered in San Francisco, Hired boasts a high response rate from candidates on its platform, which it maintains by vetting users before letting them in. Vettery, which was acquired by Zurich-based Adecco Group in 2018, uses algorithms and analytics to match employers and candidates.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Vettery CEO Josh Brenner, who will lead the new organization, said the companies mostly complement each other, with just 5% customer overlap. And while Hired’s tools focus on software and engineering positions, Vettery’s offer more breadth. Eventually, the new company will offer products under one brand, Brenner said.
Dice Adds Instant Messaging
Dice adding an instant messaging service, providing candidates and employers with another option to communicate directly from within its platform. The launch follows April’s introduction of Dice’s anonymous email feature, which allows users to keep their identity private until they’re comfortable enough with another party to reveal their identity.Recruiters can access instant messaging from within Dice’s TalentSearch and its application results. Candidates can use it to connect with recruiters in addition to using Dice’s Recruiter Profiles.
In a blog post, the Centennial, Colo., company said its priority with instant messaging was to “develop a service that would allow logged-in candidates to communicate with recruiters in an easy, frictionless way.” Because it’s integrated with Dice’s email platform, users can receive notification of new messages when they’re not logged into the site.
In its announcement, Dice called instant messaging “an important next step” toward its goal of becoming a comprehensive platform for hiring-related searching, matching and communicating in real time. During the third-quarter earnings call for parent company DHI Group, CEO Art Zeile called the feature “the second critical ingredient for full marketplace capability.”
The first ingredient was Recruiter Profiles, which Zeile described as “the first major release in Dice’s transformation from a job board to a full-scale career marketplace.” Zeile said Dice wants to provide a “trusted environment” where candidates and recruiters can research each other and safely communicate.
News Briefs
Recruiting technology platform provider iCIMS and Vancouver people analytics firm Visier finalized a partnership to incorporate analytics into customers’ talent strategies. The integration allows users of iCIMS Talent Cloud to anticipate workforce trends and needs while they’re planning, and also predict and measure their recruiting strategies’ performance, as well as how they align with business objectives.Modern Hire released Text-Based Assessments, a new feature that embeds the company’s technology into the hiring process to help predict turnover. The Delafield, Wisc., company’s new tool is offered as a brief assessment integrated into the company’s On-Demand Text interaction stage.
Professional employer organization TriNet released a new version of its mobile app that includes more flexible benefits management and improved account security. It also provides access to real-time information on paycheck history, benefits, time-off requests and flexible spending accounts.
Eightfold.ai’s Talent Intelligence Platform launched into Oracle Cloud Marketplace and can now be integrated into Oracle Cloud’s infrastructure.
Dutch recruitment marketing platform VONQ will acquire IGB, a provider of job distribution, programmatic advertising and recruitment analytics. The company said IGB will benefit by adding media purchasing to its offerings, while VONQ Job Marketing Platform will leverage programmatic technology.
Recruiting and assessment software provider PeopleFactors launched a pre-hire assessment and screening tool. The tool creates reports and recommendations based on objective data to help companies identify and hire candidates with leadership potential.
People on the Move
Cappfinity appointed Stephen Mueller to its U.S. leadership team as head of consulting. He’ll take the lead on designing and delivering hiring solutions in America and will contribute to the company’s global growth efforts. (Cappfinity)Craig Fisher became CEO of technology job platform Knack.io. The founder of TalentNet Media, he most recently led the RPO Allegis Global Solutions. (Knack.io)
Outplacement firm CMP hired John Hernandez to be senior vice president of client strategies. Most recently he was CEO of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He also worked at JP Morgan Chase. (PR Newswire)
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About the Author
Mark Feffer is executive editor of RecruitingDaily and the HCM Technology Report and an award winning journalist. He has been writing about Human Resources and technology since 2011 for outlets including TechTarget, HR Magazine, SHRM, Dice Insights, TLNT.com and TalentCulture, as well as Dow Jones, Bloomberg and Staffing Industry Analysts. He likes schnauzers, sailing and Kentucky-distilled beverages.
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