Despite demand, few job ads cite flexible work options
Flexible work options are desirable, but not advertised. Hired has acquired Py, a platform used by employers to assess a candidate's technical skill level in hiring. The HR outsourcing market is set to grow.
Flexible work options top the list of employment wants for nearly a third of LinkedIn members, according to the firm. But when we asked LinkedIn what percentage of job ads on its platform mention flexibility, the results turned out to be low.
"Just under 5% of our current jobs on the platform have terms related to flexible work included in the description," a LinkedIn spokeswoman said in an email.
In other HR news, Hired has acquired Py, a coding skills and assessment platform.
Hired focuses on delivering qualified, preassessed candidates to its clients. A goal of the online recruiting platform is to find candidates who are most likely to be hired, thereby reducing the time employers spend on candidate interviews, said Mehul Patel, CEO of Hired, based in San Francisco. Acquiring Py helps the firm along this path.
"What we're trying to do is minimize the number of candidates they see and maximize the number of hires," Patel said.
What we're trying to do is minimize the number of candidates they see and maximize the number of hires.
Mehul PatelCEO of Hired
Py is a startup platform that can operate as a third-party tool. It is used by firms to assess technical skill levels, and it has a variety of online coding tests and challenges that can be completed in a browser.
Derek Lo, who founded Py, said the platform offers "a way of administering technical assessments that companies can use to identify whether a candidate is a good skill fit for a particular job opportunity."
Under its agreement with Hired, Lo is now the director of product at Hired, and Py is being rebranded as Hired Assessments. It will also continue as a stand-alone product that companies can use to assess their candidates.
Along with assessment tools, the platform offers people a way to learn how to code at their own speed, Lo said. It has about 500,000 people who are using the platform this way via its app. The approach is somewhat similar to foreign language platform Duolingo.
HR outsourcing is growing
Everest Group, an outsourcing consultancy and research firm, is expecting 6% to 8% growth in HR outsourcing over the next three years. The total global market in what is called multiprocess human resource outsourcing (MPHRO) will be $5 billion by 2020.
MPHRO refers to the outsourcing of multiple functions, such as payroll, recruiting, learning and benefit administration.
HR organizations often seek help in a number of areas, including analytics.
"Despite the growing adoption of basic analytics solutions, advanced analytics penetration within HR still remains relatively low," Everest reported.
Users are also turning to outsourcers for help on automation, as well as to move services to the cloud, Everest said.
Mehul Patel
