iCIMS Enters The Talent Marketplace War

Now that companies are having such a hard time hiring, there is a massive trend toward the internal Talent Marketplace. As I described in my HR Technology 2022 speech last week, this is a bold new market, one which eventually become a standard part of every company’s infrastructure.

We can now welcome iCIMS to this market.

For those of you who don’t know the company, iCIMS is one of the most successful talent acquisition software companies in the world. The company generates more than $285 Million per year in recurring revenue (2020), has more than 4,000 customers, and is used by more than 40% of the Fortune 1500. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, UPS, GSK, FedEx, Uber, and many others rely on the system and they chose iCIMS because of the company’s scalable end-to-end recruiting platform.

Since Vista Equity’s investment in 2018, iCIMS has been focused on building out its “Talent Intelligence” capability and today is introducing its Talent Marketplace (called iCIMS Opportunity Marketplace). And unlike vendors like Gloat, Fuel50, Hitch, and many of the focused players, iCIMS Opportunity Marketplace is 100% integrated into its recruiting platform. This means that iCIMS customers can essentially “turn it on” and take advantage of features like internal job search, intelligent job and gig recommendations, and career planning inside the company.

This new market, the market for Talent Intelligence software, is one of the big new priorities in HR Technology. iCIMS Talent Cloud (the new name for its platform) includes applicant tracking, candidate relationship management, recruiting analytics, and now internal mobility and career portals. And in one of the more unique features I’ve seen, the iCims Opportunity Marketplace lets the company create communication and events for internal employee groups, just like companies do for job candidates.

Consider a big company in retail, distribution, or even pharmaceuticals. The recruiting team may have lots of jobs open in logistics, sales, research, and other functional areas. These talent acquisition teams have clearly defined job roles and candidate profiles they’re looking for. Using iCIMS the company can target people who fit these criteria internally and create campaigns, events, and promotions to reach them, just like the company does for external candidates.

Last week I talked with one of the largest healthcare providers in the world and they found that employees who receive internal career coaching and advice are more than 6-times less likely to leave the company in the next year. So if this system lets the HR and hiring managers “reach out” to internal candidates and promote internal positions well, a company’s entire culture could change.

iCIMS also includes features like employee testimonial videos, candidate assessment, offer management, onboarding, and other recruiting features that help internal mobility as well. All these are important for a robust internal mobility strategy, and iCIMS will make this easy.

This remains a highly competitive market, and vendors like Eightfold, PhenomPeople, Workday, and others will likely compete aggressively. But it’s now clear that iCIMS is headed in the direction of Talent Intelligence systems, and this new offering clearly positions the company in this rapidly growing market.

Additional Resources

HR Technology 2021: The Definitive Guide

Talent Marketplace Platforms Explode Into View

Fixing Your Job Architecture: A New Business Imperative

Understanding SkillsTech, One Of The Biggest Markets In Business

Employee Experience: The Definitive Guide