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Use this essential index to understand terms that are most commonly used in talent acquisition and management
Accounting and finance are related fields that deal with the management of financial information and resources. Accounting is primarily concerned with the recording, classification and reporting of financial transactions, while finance focuses on the management of money, investments, and other financial assets.
Administration and support services refer to a wide range of activities that are critical to the smooth operation of an organization. These services are often provided by administrative staff, who may work in various departments such as human resources, finance, IT and facilities management.
App and website development refer to the process of creating software applications and websites for use on various devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers.
An Application Programming Interface ( API) is a set of protocols and tools used for building software applications. APIs provide a way for different software systems to interact with each other, allowing developers to integrate functionality and data from one system into another.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as understanding natural language, recognizing images, making decisions, and learning from experience. AI technologies use algorithms and statistical models to analyze data, make predictions, and take actions based on their findings.
Applicant Tracking Systems ( ATS) is the backbone of most recruitment technologies. It is through these systems that corporations track and manage their multiple job requisitions and candidates.
Business and life coaching are two distinct areas of coaching that are focused on helping individuals and organizations achieve their goals and improve their performance. Business coaching is aimed at helping business owners and leaders develop strategies to grow their businesses, while life coaching is focused on helping individuals achieve personal goals and make positive changes in their lives.
Behavioural and skills assessments are techniques used by employers to evaluate the suitability of job candidates based on their personality traits, skills, and competencies.
Background and reference checks are an important part of the hiring process that helps employers verify a candidate’s qualifications, experience and character. These checks are typically conducted after an offer of employment has been made, but before the candidate starts work.
Behavioural Wellbeing refers to technology that focuses on improving employee mental health and resilience. Most of the larger players in this space are working towards mental health becoming a medical benefit, so we foresee this category eventually combining with Benefit Portals. The primary method of engagement for these tools is through an app that employees download and access on demand, Slack bot or website portal. With the rise in mental health issues stemming from extended pandemic-related lockdowns, many new players have come on to the scene, and companies have received accelerated funding and adoption.
This sub-vertical includes all the incoming technology utilized to improve employee access and understanding of employee benefits, often involving a directory of preferred medical and other benefits providers, ease in billing and mobile reimbursements. Innovations in this space primarily lie around ease of access for employees, providing a “Netflix”-like experience including recommendations for benefits employees may be missing out on.
Refers to the early stages of a person’s professional life, typically after completing their education or training. It is a period of time when individuals are in entry-level positions and are working to gain experience, build skills and establish themselves in their chosen field.
A subset of candidate relationship management (CRM), these focus on one aspect of automated candidate engagement such as texting but do not support drip campaigns or sophisticated talent pooling.
Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) refers to the process of building and maintaining relationships with job candidates over time. It involves using technology and communication strategies to engage with candidates, keep them informed about job opportunities and build a pipeline of potential candidates for future hiring needs.
Chatbots are computer programs that simulate conversation with users through text, voice or video interfaces. They use artificial intelligence and natural language processing (NLP) to understand user queries and respond with relevant information or actions.
Content Management Systems (CMS) are software applications used to create, manage and publish digital content, such as web pages, blogs, and multimedia. CMS platforms allow users to create, edit and publish content on websites without needing specialized technical skills or knowledge.
Career advice and coaching involve supporting individuals in their professional development and helping them achieve their career goals. Career advice and coaching can be provided by a variety of professionals, including career counselors, coaches, mentors, and consultants. These professionals may work in educational institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations, or private practice. The goal of career advice and coaching is to help individuals achieve their professional goals and find fulfillment and satisfaction in their careers.
These companies provide solutions for individuals looking for new job opportunities.
Career transition refers to the process of changing one’s career path, often as a result of changes in personal or professional circumstances. Career transitions can be voluntary or involuntary and may involve changing industries, roles or organizations.
Corporate finance is the area of finance that deals with the financial decisions made by corporations and the methods and tools used to make those decisions. The goal of corporate finance is to maximize shareholder value by making decisions that increase profitability and reduce risk.
Counseling and therapy are two related forms of mental health support that involve working with a trained professional to address personal, emotional and psychological issues.
These platforms are used to crowdsource talent for project-based work where employers may post a problem or project and receive one-time contract bids for the project.
CV (Curriculum Vitae) and resume writing are the processes of creating a professional document that highlights an individual’s skills, experience, and education to showcase their qualifications for a job.
Succession and career planning is the process of identifying, nurturing, developing, and training new leaders for future requirements or replacement of the existing leaders to continue the trend of dependable leadership in the organization
Career coaching is when a coach and an employee work one-on-one to help reach career goals and full potential. Career coaches help with career planning, career changes, career advice, and other career decisions
A career path is a list of steps to take in your professional life for progressing into different or more advanced roles at work. It’s a series of jobs and experiences that help employees reach their ultimate career objectives and future goals
Compensation and benefits refer to the compensation/salary and other monetary and non-monetary benefits passed on by a firm to its employees
Data analytics refers to the process of collecting, processing and analyzing data to extract insights and inform decision-making. It involves using statistical models, machine learning algorithms, and data visualization tools to identify patterns, trends and correlations in large datasets.
These platforms are the marriage of operations, finance tools, and AI to provide insights on talent gaps and proactive decision making. Demand and Workforce Planning tools exist as a platform, and are usually priced at per seat or company size. Often, these tools will also provide data on labour market trends as well.
A category of software developed by third-party vendors that mimic the features and functionalities of Online Staffing firms, often offering the software as a white-labelled “app.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion refers to organizational frameworks which seek to promote “the fair treatment and full participation of all people”, particularly groups “who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination” on the basis of identity or disability
Employee Listening platforms utilize surveys, data integrations, and other tools to provide team managers and employees with a transparent view of their work and progress, along a channel for feedback. The core of such offerings is typically a “pulse survey” administered at some pre-determined frequency which asks employees a variety of questions about their work experience, and an analytics module that eagles HR leaders and managers to gauge the current state of their employee engagement across the organization with the goal of leading to actionable insights and decisions that can improve it (and thus also improve employee retention). Trends in this area include providing executive/leadership coaching, and non-survey methods of data collection (analyzing calendars, emails, Slack, etc.).
These tools are designed to track and measure employee performance. Managers can configure goals, assign scores, and leave employee feedback in the form of notes or numerical scores. This software is typically used in promotion-related decisions. We are starting to see more dynamic performance measures be accounted for in such tools, such as projects completed (when integrated with an Internal Talent Marketplace) or new skills attained via self-directed training (when integrated with an LMS), providing managers with a more holistic view of employee performance and enabling better decisions overall.
These tools take an employee centric approach to performance management, and are designed to enable employees to take ownership of their job and career development. They typically gamify the process and highlight ways in which employees can more effectively complete tasks and do their work. Similar to fitness apps that encourage additional exercise and users to exceed their goals, these tools encourage increased performance and productivity.
A segment within the Employer Branding Vertical and includes companies that focus on either managing a company’s online reputation separately from the corporate careers site or enabling the company to engage with talent in a branded 3rd party environment.
Employer branding refers to the process of establishing and promoting an organization’s reputation as an employer of choice. The goal of employer branding is to attract top talent and retain current employees by showcasing the company’ s values, culture and unique selling points.
Employer ratings and reviews are feedback from current or former employees that rate and review their employer on various aspects of the workplace, such as compensation, benefits, work- life balance, management and culture. These ratings and reviews are typically posted on employer review websites, such as Glassdoor, Indeed, and LinkedIn.
E-Staffing technologies create a platform for employers and candidates to connect, and provide a balance of human and machine inputs to automate hiring recommendations.
Events, marketing and PR are important areas of business that involve promoting an organization or product to a target audience through various channels and initiatives.
Executive search and recruitment are critical processes for organizations to identify and attract top talent for key positions. Understanding concepts such as job analysis, job description, candidate sourcing, screening, interviewing, selection, onboarding and employer branding is essential for developing effective executive search and recruitment strategies.
Employee relations refers to an organization’s efforts to create and maintain a positive relationship with its employees.
Financial Wellbeing technology consists of applications that assist employees with all aspects of their financial health, from budgeting tools to finance calculators to full on financial planning. Some innovation in this space includes the ability to provide on-demand payments for hourly or gig workers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck.
Freelance Management Systems are web- or cloud-based talent exchanges and online work platforms which enable companies to search, sign, and engage directly with non-employee talent.
Global mobility, or employee relocation, is an HR function that enables companies to transfer employees across borders from one location to another
Human resources are critical for managing and developing an organization’s workforce. Understanding concepts such as recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, employee relations, compliance, HR analytics, talent management, succession planning and DEI is essential for developing effective HR strategies and practices.
In-house talent acquisition is the process of finding, attracting, and selecting the best candidates for job positions within an organization using internal resources such as recruiters, HR personnel, and hiring managers. In- house talent acquisition is an important function for organizations seeking to fill job positions with top talent.
Insurance is a contract between an individual or organization (the insured) and an insurance company (the insurer), where the insurer agrees to compensate the insured for financial losses resulting from covered events or risks.
This subvertical includes technology that provides centralized access to all institutional knowledge across the organization, as well as a bird’s eye view of all organizational ongoings. Up and coming technology includes mobile-friendly intranets modelled after common social media sites that enable real time communication and collaboration across business units and also enable virtual town halls. Indicative of this trend, the world’s largest social network, Facebook, launched its own workplace focused social network for organizations, called Workplace by Facebook. These tools have grown in popularity and use over the course of the pandemic, as companies and their employees leveraged them to replace the in person “water cooler” experience in a virtual, remote environment.
Internal Talent Marketplaces are technology platforms that enable internal employees to find and complete short-term opportunities internally (and sometimes externally). The technology enables companies to find and leverage internal talent to complete project-based work, decreasing external costs and potentially increasing employee retention and engagement. On the hiring manager side, these tools help managers post opportunities for open positions, temporary assignments, and short- to long-term assignments. On the employee side, employees can search for and apply to work on any such assignment posted organization-wide. Similar to other two-sided marketplaces, some firms leverage AI to help facilitate the match between both sides, using candidate skills and job requirements as the determining criteria.
Interview Management tools enable key operational efficiencies within the interview processes for companies. Marketed as calendar scheduling tools, the value proposition for recruiters is that they can more easily coordinate interviews and shorten time to fill at volume with these streamlined productivity tools as compared to teams without automation.
Industry Insight is an industry targeted insight solution that empowers your campaigns with industry-level intelligence. It uncovers the trends and forces that are driving your target global industry forward
Job aggregators pull job postings from multiple sites including company career sites and job boards and allow job seekers to search for all open jobs in one place.
Job distribution companies enable jobs that are published from a career site to be delivered to specific job boards and/or aggregators of the employer’s choosing.
A segment within the Employer Branding Vertical. These companies provide solutions to improve either a company’s career page or their job descriptions, both of which are focused on creating a branded experience for talent.
Job Search Organizers help individuals track, manage, and take action on their various job search activities.
Job boards are companies which have a consumer-facing digital property through which job seekers can search for jobs, and companies in need of talent can identify potential candidates.
Job management is a systematic approach to business operations that encompasses all activities within the job or work cycle
Firms in this sub-vertical provide benchmarking data on the workforce, including (but not limited to) employment levels and trends, pay rates and compensation data, geographic trends, and skills demand. Some companies also go beyond mere data and offer predictive analytics around these areas (e.g., what a specific person should be paid based on their experience and location).
Lead generation is the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business’s products or services.
Leadership development and mentoring are two related processes involved in developing the skills, knowledge, and abilities of leaders within an organization.
An arguably more evolved form of Learning Management System, the LXP is distinguished by the fact that these platforms typically take a “bottom’s up” approach to learning, putting learning roadmaps in the hands of individual employees. These tools integrate with a wide variety of external learning content providers and can be thought of as learning content aggregators, and often map specific trainings to skills and related jobs or roles. Some tools leverage AI to proactively recommend courses and content to users based on their learning history, current role, or desired roles, similar to how consumer marketplaces recommend additional products based on purchase history.
The LMS sub-vertical includes platforms designed primarily to host, disseminate, and in some cases create prepared Corporate content for employees and track its consumption. Historically, LMS tools have been driven by compliance for things like sexual harassment or diversity training, which are often mandatory in many jurisdictions. These tools can integrate with Internal Talent Marketplaces or the HRIS or in some cases Performance Management software to help provide a more holistic (and verifiable) view of the skills and capabilities employees’ possess.
Legal refers to matters related to law and regulations.
Learning and development (L&D) is a function within an organization that is responsible for empowering employees’ growth and developing their knowledge, skills, and capabilities to drive better business performance
Compliance/legal compliance, then, can be defined as a set of processes and procedures within a specific program to ensure adherence to government regulation and laws
Matching Systems companies provide matching services based on a variety of inputs, including semantic-based matching, assessment outputs, and preference “signals” (e.g., observable data about what types of talent companies are interested in and what jobs candidates are interested in).
Media refers to various channels of communication that are used to disseminate information, news, and entertainment to a wide audience. In today’s digital age, there are many types of media available, including blogs, news websites, podcasts, and vlogs.
Networks, membership, and professional organizations are groups or associations of individuals who share common interests, goals, or professions. These organizations offer opportunities for individuals to network, collaborate, learn, and share knowledge and experiences.
Market guidance & insight is the discovery of a relevant, actionable and previously unrealized reality about a target market as the result of deep, subjective data analysis.
Mental & physical wellness is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Nutrition and personal fitness are two related concepts that are essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Historically, onboarding technology was built from the HR practitioner’s perspective and to meet their needs, and was designed primarily to help automate common onboarding tasks and associated document management and workflows. A new breed of onboarding tools is coming to market designed primarily to improve the employee’s experience before joining the company, enabling firms to share information about company culture, insights into the role in which a candidate will be working, or to emulate the “first few days” in the office and ensure the new employee is prepared for success. Inclusive of background checks, emergency contact directories, Onboarding Tools are typically website or platform-based, with integrations into payroll, HRIS, and LMS.
Organization development (OD) is an effort that focuses on improving an organization’s capability through the alignment of strategy, structure, people, rewards, metrics, and management processes
Vendors in this category focus on minimizing the red tape between finance, HR and respective teams as they manage pay equity, commissions, and options for employees. Many platforms are highly catered to sales teams for commission management, with integrations into payroll and HRIS, and CRMs. A few are specialized around pay equity, which is the ability to identify systemic pay gaps in different workforce segments and is potentially disruptive to existing consulting contracts in place at large organizations. Some firms are using AI to predict a “safe” pay band for new employees to proactively ensure compliance. Other new platforms have specialized around managing stock compensation for fast growing technology companies, offering an intuitive and easy interface for managers and employees related to stock and options management (a large component of total compensation for many such firms).
Perks Marketplaces are similar to benefits portals (except for accessing employee discounts at partner organizations as opposed to health benefits). These tools aggregate all the discount contracts negotiated by firms on behalf of their employees, including discounts and freebies offered by retail partners. These solutions usually exist as a branded website or app. Increasingly, companies are insisting that all vendors they do business with offer perks to employees as part of the negotiation.
Personal branding and identity are related concepts that are important for individuals to establish and communicate their unique value proposition and differentiate themselves from others in the marketplace.
Physical Wellbeing technology is dominated by health-focused applications that assist with things like sleep, eating and drinking habits, and exercise patterns. There tends to be an aspect of gamification or competition involved for employees, associated with rewards or perks. These tools are typically apps.
Programmatic Advertising technologies allow companies to advertise open roles at their company to specific audiences and demographics. They provide real-time bidding capabilities to advertise job opportunities in a manner similar to how broader media buying companies target buyers.
Performance management is an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor and an employee that occurs throughout the year, in support of accomplishing the strategic objectives of the organization
Rec2 Rec, short for Recruitment to Recruitment, is a specialized industry that focuses on recruiting recruitment professionals. Rec2 Rec agencies work with recruitment firms to identify, attract and place talented individuals into recruitment roles. Rec2 Rec agencies often work with recruitment firms to help them fill hard-to-fill positions, expand their talent pool, and provide expert advice on market trends, candidate expectations, and industry best practices.
Recommendation and Reference solutions are digitally-enabled reference aggregators, background check tools, and onboarding solutions.
Recruitment business consulting is a specialized service that helps recruitment firms improve their performance, increase their profitability, and grow their business. Recruitment business consultants work with recruitment firms to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement, and develop customized strategies and solutions to address their specific needs.
Recruitment Marketing Software is a type of software that helps businesses attract and engage with job candidates by creating and managing recruitment marketing campaigns. It combines marketing automation, applicant tracking, and analytics tools to help companies build a strong employer brand, attract qualified candidates and streamline the recruitment process.
Recruitment marketplaces are online platforms that connect employers and job seekers. These platforms typically provide a range of tools and services to help employers find and hire qualified candidates, and to help job seekers find employment opportunities that match their skills and experience.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a business model in which an organization outsources some or all of its recruitment processes to a third-party provider. RPO providers are typically recruitment firms or agencies that specialize in providing end-to-end recruitment services to their clients.
Referral tools are software solutions that help businesses leverage their existing network of employees, customers, and partners to find and recruit new talent. These tools automate the referral process and make it easier for businesses to reach a wider pool of qualified candidates.
Research and sourcing for recruitment are critical functions in the recruitment process. Recruitment research involves identifying potential candidates, while sourcing involves actively reaching out to those candidates to gauge their interest in a particular role.
A resume (CV) database is a collection of resumes or CVs that have been submitted by job seekers to a job board, recruiting website, or recruiting agency. Resume Parsing Software companies provide multilingual tools to dissect resume content and apply semantic-based searches to extract relevant information. The core value proposition for companies lies in the speed and accuracy of parsing tools which result in a reduction of data entry and verification costs, activities which were historically people-driven.
Platforms that managers and team members can utilize to reward or recognize subordinates or colleagues on an ongoing or ad-hoc basis. These rewards can come in many forms: vacation days, gift cards, cash, or discounts. These platforms usually have integrations into payroll or HRIS systems, and in some cases have a tax compliance component to the offering. Vendors are increasingly gamifying the rewards experience, seeking optimal methods to dole out rewards in a way that maximizes impact and encourages productivity.
An emerging category of companies that specialize in updating systems’ information and connecting different systems of record that corporations leverage in the recruiting process. The vendors in this sub-vertical support high-volume, repeatable tasks previously performed by humans. The approach is ‘outside-in’ where the software is easily installed and integrated while existing IT systems remain unchanged.
Sales and marketing are two business functions within an organization. They both impact lead generation and revenue
Self-directed learning solutions include a wide plethora of bespoke learning content creators, from websites that crowdsource learning content from a community of creators to Massively Open Online Courses (otherwise known as “MOOCs”, courses offered by universities to a wide audience at a significantly discounted price) and everything in between. There’s been massive upheaval in how learning is created and distributed, which is still underway and has big implications for how employers curate and offer access to such solutions to their employees.
Self-care and wellness are related concepts that are important for maintaining physical, emotional, and mental health.
Shared talent networks are collaborative talent pools or talent marketplaces where multiple companies and organizations can source, recruit and share candidates. These networks can be a powerful tool for companies that are looking to fill vacancies with high-quality talent while reducing their recruitment costs and time-to-hire.
By using a social CV and resume builder, job seekers can create professional and compelling resumes and social media profiles that effectively market their skills and experience to potential employers. This can help them to stand out from other job seekers and increase their chances of landing a job that matches their career goals.
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to promote a product, service, or brand to a target audience. Social media marketing can be an effective way for businesses to connect with their target audience and increase brand awareness.
Social search is the practice of using social media platforms to find information, products, or services through social interactions and recommendations. It relies on the power of social networks and user-generated content to help users discover relevant information and make informed decisions.
Teaching and training are related concepts that involve imparting knowledge and skills to others in a structured and organized manner.
Technology sales and support refer to the process of selling and providing technical support for technology products and services. This includes hardware, software, cloud-based solutions, and other technology-related products. Telecoms sales and support refer to the process of selling and providing technical support for telecommunications products and services, including internet, phone, and cable services.
Temporary labour marketplaces are online platforms that connect businesses and organizations with temporary workers, such as freelancers, independent contractors, and gig workers. These platforms provide a range of services and tools to help businesses find and hire temporary workers for specific projects or short – term assignments.
Total Back Office Solutions (TBOS) is a company that provides back-office support services for recruitment agencies. In essence, TBOS offers a suite of administrative services, such as payroll processing, invoicing, credit control, management reporting, compliance, and business planning, that are designed to help recruitment agencies run their businesses more efficiently and effectively. care of the administrative tasks. The aim is to help recruitment agencies save time and money, while also providing clients with a high level of service.
Vendor Management Systems (VMS)offer software solutions to corporations to enable the comprehensive management of their contingent workforces. This may include any or all of the extended labor spend categories, including temporary staff, professional contractors, service workers, consultants, project-based workers, independent contractors (freelancers), and alumni.
Video interviewing tools enable more effective and efficient interview processes for companies. The Video Interview technologies that are more mature have developed strong predictive capabilities as well as broader interview process management tools for employers.
Virtual Administration & Support Services refers to administrative or technical support that is provided remotely, usually online or through other electronic means, such as email, phone, or messaging apps.
Virtual events are online events that allow participants to engage and interact in a virtual environment, rather than in-person. These events can take many forms, including webinars, virtual conferences, trade shows, networking events and job fairs.
Voice over Internet Protocol ( VoIP) is a technology that enables voice communication over the internet by converting analog audio signals into digital data packets that can be transmitted over the internet.
Tools in this subvertical focus on analyzing large amounts of data to provide actionable insights for metrics such as diversity and retention. Most vendors in this space deal with big data as they aggregate both external market trends and internal data from various HR systems.
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