We recently spoke to Matt Miller, CTO at CyberCoders (a division of On Assignment – a leading global provider of in-demand, skilled professionals) about his role leading an in-house software development team, as well as his thoughts on the biggest keys to driving tech adoption, the newest trends in tech for staffing and recruiting in 2016, what really makes a third-party vendor rise above the others – and more.
CareerBuilder: As a CTO, how would you advise others to implement new technology within their company?
Matt Miller: If you are fortunate enough to be CTO and have a software development team in-house, you can build solutions that cater to your company’s unique needs. The other option is a third party that can layer into your organization’s software needs. I prefer an in-house team to cater to the unique needs of CyberCoders. Over time our team is able to expand and optimize our products based on the needs of our company.
If you are looking to save time and outsource, a lot of third-party technologies allow you to integrate some of the unique features or needs of your business. The bottom line is to maximize internal resources for your core competency and leverage third parties for the outer layers of your business operations. Keep in mind, a third-party vendor could be a long-term investment, so it’s important to ensure it can grow with your organization.
Our best third-party vendors are the ones that can integrate with our ATS – those who cannot are not always the best partners.
CB: What would you say are the keys to driving new technology adoption within a company?
MM: Fluid integration with current technologies is vital, as is the ability to grow and change with the company. Big changes take time. Build a core group of evangelists who will support the integration – as well as a pilot group within an organization (to conduct a pilot test of your new tech) to determine if it should roll out to your organization as a whole.
CB: What are the key characteristics of a good software vendor?
MM: Integration is important – but so is someone who understands your business and suggests things to help move your business forward and fit your unique needs, versus pitching random software that’s ultimately not right for you. Smart advice and relevance is key; in other words, understanding your pain points and having solutions for them. The longevity of the company and their history/reputation definitely also plays a factor in our selection process.
CB: What are some of the new technologies for staffing and recruiting you foresee for this next year (2016)?
MM: Here are a few of my top predictions: More intelligent search on job boards/websites. Predictive analytics around what activities people do online that reveal how likely they are to start looking for a job. Improved semantic search, and an increase in mobile and social integration.
CB: What do you think staffing and recruiting has to be moving forward?
MM: Tech-enabled, for starters. Those in the industry must also be agile and able to move with the candidate economy – both in pulse and culture. Staffers and recruiters must have a pulse on what’s new, different and relevant.
Lastly, having a deeper understanding of the changing workforce and how to adapt to fit candidates’ evolving needs is crucial – and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
