Dive Brief:
- HR tech vendors increasingly are developing new products as native applications for smartphones before moving them to laptops and personal computers, according to new research from Bersin by Deloitte.
- This trend looks to offer immediate and 24/7 access to a wide range of HR, talent and learning applications: The the study found that 93% of the 45 human capital management (HCM) solution providers surveyed now support HR and talent applications on smartphones, and many of these develop for mobile devices first.
- The research also shows that providers are focusing on mobile applications for managerial approvals (64%), performance management (56%) and employee self-service (49%).Talent acquisition functions in particular emerged as a key focus area.
Dive Insight:
"Talent acquisition applications have been among the most desired mobile function sought by end-users and vendors are responding to that demand," said Katherine Jones, vice president, HCM Technology research, at Bersin by Deloitte. Such talent acquisition applications might include submitting job applications, uploading supporting information such as a resume and requesting hiring manager approval.
In the future, Jones says, HR professionals are likely to find increasingly sophisticated mobile applications covering all aspects of HR that are now confined to "tethered" platforms, such as desktop computers.
"As the market becomes inundated with smaller, different devices, such as smartwatches and other wearables," she says, "smartphone use for human capital management is likely to be just the first step to more portable, accessible and lower-cost workforce management."
The rise of the smartphone continues. According to Pew Research Center's October 2014 Mobile Technology Fact Sheet, 64% of all American adults have a smartphone.
