As layoffs rise, Oracle HCM releases mass hiring tool

At a moment when mass layoffs are becoming more common, Oracle is introducing a new set of recruiting tools, including features that will help employers who run hiring events to fill large numbers of jobs faster.

And the timing, paradoxically, might be good for Oracle.

Large and small technology companies are retrenching. This week, Microsoft is reportedly laying off about 1,000, and Oracle itself recently had a notable layoff in its customer experience division.

Unveiled this week at Oracle CloudWorld 2022, Oracle HCM's new recruiting feature -- with a vaccine-themed name, Recruiting Booster -- includes tools to help employers run hiring events or campaigns. These events can involve high-volume interviewing on college campuses or filling retail jobs, or they can involve specialized, lower-volume hiring such as for executive roles. Events such as these are typically outsourced to third-party providers. If businesses cut back in HCM spending because of the economy, they might reduce reliance on vendors that now provide competing hiring event services.

These event hiring tools are "typically the domain of an add-on service," said Jane Veader, principal product strategist at Oracle Cloud HCM.

Recruiting Booster is an add-on feature for Oracle Recruiting users and one of a series of product improvements across its platform unveiled during Oracle CloudWorld 2022.

Evelyn McMullen, analyst at Nucleus Research, described the talent acquisition events market as a niche space crowded with small providers. She said that the market grew during the COVID-19 pandemic as customers turned to a different way to hire workers.

You are looking at the consolidation of the talent acquisition market over the next year as organizations are trying to cut costs.

But with a possible recession ahead, McMullen said, "You are looking at the consolidation of the talent acquisition market over the next year as organizations are trying to cut costs."

Businesses "are now being more discerning of where their money is going," she said.

Oracle hopes its HCM customers will see the integration value of moving to its events management system, away from third-party providers. The idea of running HCM "in one suite is what drove a lot of our customers to buy Oracle Recruiting in the first place," Oracle's Veader said.

For job seekers, the integration of Recruiting Booster means they can learn about events, apply for a job and interact with a recruiter from the same platform. It's the same consistent experience, said Nagaraj Nadendla, senior vice president of product development at Oracle Cloud HCM.

Oracle's event feature is going to be a challenge for third-party recruiting vendors, according to Rebecca Wettemann, analyst at Valoir, a technology analyst firm. She said Recruiting Booster will reduce the number of applications recruiters have to manage.

Other new features include two-way messaging functions to text and email candidates directly through Oracle Recruiting. Previously, recruiters could send messages to candidates but not receive them in the recruiting system.

Wettemann said this messaging capability is important because it will improve automation and free up recruiting time.

The added features also improve interview management, creating a centralized source for recruiting teams to view candidates and interview information. It adds to support for "candidate conversations" with expanded digital assistant capabilities.

Patrick Thibodeau covers HCM and ERP technologies for TechTarget Editorial. He's worked for more than two decades as an enterprise IT reporter.