Peoplefluent On-boarding Software Review

An HR Software Vendor Solution Brief for Peoplefluent's On-boarding Software

Peoplefluent Company Overview

Peoplefluent is the 2011 rebranding of the merged Peopleclick Authoria. Both companies were founded in 1997, with Peopleclick primarily specializing in recruitment and Authoria in benefit, policy and life event information. With a number of HR Technology Conference and HRE Magazine awards along the way, the two HR software companies broadened their offerings and were in turn brought together by Bedford Funding (a private equity fund founded in 2006 providing long-term capital to growth businesses focusing on Human Capital Management).

Described by Josh Bersin of Bersin & Associates as, "one of the largest providers of talent management software", Peoplefluent has 650 employees and is jointly headquartered in Waltham, MA and Raleigh, NC; with offices in Texas, California, India and the U.K. Aside from the size of the company though, Peoplefluent is highly regarded for their software innovation; including the first integrated SaaS talent management software suite, and more recently, the first mobile talent software for the iPad. These advances have made Peoplefluent an industry darling and continue to catapult the company towards accolades for both their HR software products and services. Namely:

• 2010 – Stevie Award finalist in the "New Product or Service of the Year" category
• 2010 – finalist in the Cloud Computing/Software-as-a-Service Category in the Eighth Annual American Technology Awards
• 2010 – winner of the HR-technology industry's Integrated Talent Management Shootout at the 13th Annual HR Technology Conference & Exposition

Peoplefluent's On-boarding Application

Peoplefluent On-boarding software is a component within the company's Recruitment Management System and is designed to automate the necessary processes of forms and task management, and immediately immerse a new hire into the corporate culture. The key elements are as follows:

Welcome

• Customizable new hire on-boarding portal provides access to key information
• Early socialization of new hires into corporate culture

Automated Forms and New Hire Tasks

• Forms management enables new hires to complete required forms prior to starting
• Task management handles the logistics of an employee's first-day experience, coordinating with internal teams including HR, IT and Facilities

Electronic Confirmation

• Secure confirmation that necessary documentation has been signed off and materials reviewed
• Peoplefluent Partners Guardian and TALX provide I-9 and E-Verify functionality, keeping up to date with the changing regulatory landscape

Engagement Management

• With easy to access information and 'paperwork', plus a clear and welcoming structured process, new hires are engaged from the start with their new employer
• Ramping up time is reduced and productivity achieved earlier

Manager access to on-boarding tasks and other on-boarding support is also available through the Mobile Talent Management tablet application for the iPad, launched in July 2011.

Peoplefluent's Customer Target Market

Peoplefluent supports more than 5,000 organizations ranging in size from large, global corporations to small and medium-sized businesses. In 2009, Gartner assessed both Peopleclick and Authoria separately as mainly confined to the U.S. market but aiming to 'go global'. Now in 2012, Peoplefluent is used by more than 5 million employees in 214 countries and territories around the world (including nearly 80% of the Fortune 100—that leverage at least one Peoplefluent solution). Marquis customers for the brand include McDonalds, Wakemed, Carquest, Citrix, Nationwide, Lloyd's Register and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

Peoplefluent's Perfect Prospect Profile (PPP)

Peoplefluent's on-boarding software may be particularly well suited to multi-site (and multinational) organizations with a need to onboard staff in complex, decentralized environments. Organizations that are cautious about Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) deployment in general and wish to engage with an experienced HR SaaS provider with a reputation for both experience and innovation should consider Peoplefluent.

Peoplefluent's Technical Specs

All of Peoplefluent's products are offered via SaaS deployment built on a web services-based, multitenant architecture, allowing configuration of the application to support flexible business needs; while still sharing common elements and receiving regular upgrades. The company states that it is planning ahead for the next phase of web evolution (referred to as "Web 3.0.) in which business software will become less of a singular initiative and instead HR software solutions will work together in unison, indicating possible further integration options for the suite.

Peoplefluent's Primary Onboarding Competitors

Potential HR software competitors in the integrated on-boarding software market include iCIMS's e-recruitment solution, SilkRoad's RedCarpet and Enwisen's AnswerSource software. Of note, both SilkRoad and Enwisen also offer both on-boarding and broader event/off-boarding features.

Strengths of Peoplefluent's On-boarding System
 

• Customizable, accessible and easy-to-use new hire portal.
• A truly global reach (including a non-U.S. data center and 150 staff in India and the U.K.)
• A strong, innovative mobile application for the whole talent management software suite. Indeed, Josh Bersin's response to the launch was, "A new world of talent management has begun…"

Weaknesses of Peoplefluent's On-boarding System
 

• The software solution covers on-boarding only with no apparent dedicated functionality for off-boarding (or other employee transition events).
• The mobile application is for the iPad only. While this custom-built nature means it is well suited for this form factor; given the rapid expansion of mobile technologies, this limitation has the potential to cause headaches down the line for the company and customers.
• Although according to 2011 research from Forrester that indicates a learning management system is being considered, currently Peoplefluent does not offer this functionality. While this is not necessarily a direct on-boarding problem, it is a significant gap in an otherwise complete talent management suite into which on-boarding software normally integrates.

Bottom-line for Peoplefluent's On-boarding Software

The Peoplefluent software solution is comprehensive enough for effective on-boarding and benefits greatly from its association with recruitment and the wider talent management software market. Although other HR competitors may be able to provide broader offerings for the prospect that is looking for added functionality; nevertheless the company has a strong and solid solution—further enhanced by Peoplefluent's continued appetite for innovation. As for the next phase in the company's evolution, it's helpful to look at both industry consolidation trends and Peoplefluent's own aspirations for additional "Web 3.0" development. In fact, writing in December 2011 on the emerging trend for acquisitions of niche SaaS vendors, Josh Bersin warned of Peoplefluent's potential as an acquisition target—a prediction not altogether out of the question.

  Categories: Onboarding Software

  Tags: Onboarding

  Permalink: www.hrlab.com/peoplefluent-review.php

 Author: Dave Foxall

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