Several interesting pieces of research were published this week. They included a preview of research by Kantata from a survey by Atomik Research that discovered how much time professional services leaders are spending on hiring to recover from the Great Resignation. Other reports were published by Analytic Partners, Bullhorn, Oracle NetSuite, Teradata, UKG and Zendesk.
Analytic Partners
Analytic Partners, the leader in commercial mix analytics, has released its latest ROI Genome Intelligence Report, which shows the dangers of cutting marketing spending in a recession and the opportunities for bold marketers who maintain or increase advertising.
“How to Maintain Advertising Effectiveness in Challenging Times” found that 60% of brands that increased their media investment during the last recession saw ROI improvements, according to analyses of hundreds of billions in marketing spend. Brands that increased paid advertising also saw a 17% rise in incremental sales, while those who slashed spending risked losing 15% of their business to competitors who boosted theirs.
Mike Menkes, SVP at Analytic Partners, commented: “The best way to get through a possible recession and prosper on the other side of it is to think long term by investing in your brand and your relationships with customers. Short-term thinking might make some shareholders happy at the next earnings report, but it undermines growth and therefore margins and true shareholder value over both the short and long term. A strong advertising strategy will lead to continued brand success that is stable and here to stay.”
Bullhorn
Bullhorn has estimated from data collected that those firms embracing automation are unsurprisingly seeing advantages. Based on data collected, recruitment and staffing, firms are seeing the following benefits:
- Redeploy 20% more of their talent when an assignment ends
- 64% higher fill rate
- Submit 33% more candidates per recruiter
- 55% more likely to report major revenue gains in 2021
Jason Heilman, SVP, Automation and AI at Bullhorn, says: “One billion automations is a huge milestone for the recruitment industry, Bullhorn, and the companies that leverage automation to drive their business. We are thrilled to have given recruiters so much more time to focus on building relationships and connecting people with opportunities.
“The adoption of automation has accelerated in tandem with some of the most turbulent market conditions in recent memory. During the pandemic, digital transformation presented much-needed opportunities for recruitment businesses as circumstances forced them to cut costs and operate as efficiently as possible.
“Today, automation can take on an incredible range of tasks, and we are constantly working on finding more ways it can further enhance the recruiter and talent experience. It already represents a way of overcoming common pain points, from poor communication to time-consuming scheduling and regulatory compliance, and the data clearly shows that firms that embrace it have a competitive edge.”
The report further investigates the benefits and ways firms can leverage automation.
Oracle NetSuite
In its quarterly CFO survey of 500 executives and managers, NetSuite identified that 90% of CFOs will leverage automation, AI and Fintech by 2024. Key findings include:
- 71% of C-level execs say company growth prospects are better now than they were six months ago.
- 36% of managers say inflation has prompted leadership to ask them to improve their teams’ efficiency.
- 41% of the C-suite is confident that their company will adopt technology as soon as it’s advantageous. Only 18% of VPs and directors say the same.
The report also looks at the current and future uses of customer-facing technology and mobile devices. Despite the issues with supply chains, inflation and talent challenges, the respondents remain optimistic about 2022. 22% say profits will rise, and only 5% believe they will be lower. However, investment has halved, only 5% indicating they are likely to increase spending compared to better economic times where they spend 10%.
Teradata
Teradata released its 2021 ESG report. Over the last year, the firm has reduced its emissions by 43% from its baseline of 2018. That is ahead of its targeted 37% by 2033, and it is looking to determine when it can reach net-zero emissions. Surprisingly, it is not committing to achieving it by 2050 like many peers.
Steve McMillan, CEO at Teradata, commented: “At Teradata, we believe that data can change the world for the better, and with our leading Vantage data and analytics platform, we are helping our customers achieve their ESG ambitions at scale. But it’s not just our customers that have lofty ESG goals.
“We also take corporate social responsibility seriously and understand its significant impact on our long-term business prospects. The people of Teradata show their commitment to ESG every day – working together to create a future that is environmentally sustainable, nurturing a culture and work environment where everyone can thrive, operating ethically in all business dealings, and creating positive social change in our communities.”
The report covers its progress on DEI, including launching a DEI advisory board and creating the Teradata Pledge to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for all employees. It did not reveal the diversity across the whole company, instead focusing on the board and leadership, using different metrics for both. Over the year, the company has also improved its governance, creating a Corporate Citizenship Council and adding a Corporate Citizenship Council
UKG
The UKG Workforce Activity Report for July highlighted that job growth in July fell slightly with 0.6% fewer shifts worked. Services and distribution dropped the most, -1.9%, and Manufacturing strengthened by 1.3%. The index fell to its lowest point in 2022, 99.5, relative to a year ago. This could be the early signs of a recession, with indicators such as inflation starting to have an impact.
Dave Gilbertson, vice president, UKG, commented: “UKG’s high-frequency data highlights very slight declines in workforce activity over four of the past five months and suggests we’ll see fewer new jobs created in July’s employment report, compared with June. While there’s no indication yet of broad-based layoffs outside of specific sectors, like finance and technology, we are seeing businesses begin to pull back on new hiring.
“Although the labor market remains tight, this gradual decline in job creation would indicate that efforts to slow the job market are starting to work. This positions most industries — with the notable exception of healthcare — on a path to achieve a soft landing in the labor market, though the situation remains very dynamic.”
Zendesk
Zendesk published its State of Sales report, subtitled “Wrangling the Disconnected Sales Org”. It is based on a survey of more than 3,000 CRM decision-makers and influencers and looks at attitudes towards investments in sales tools. Key findings include:
- 72% of CRM leaders say their teams need to integrate sales tools to avoid losing business and that sales teams must be cross-functional to beat their competition.
- Sales teams use an average of about 5 different sales tools, and 46% plan to add more tools over the next year. Yet 32% of sales reps feel overwhelmed by them all.
- Nine out of ten teams with integrated solutions said it has positively impacted their business. However, only 35% of CRM leaders said they integrate customer support with sales operations data.
- Three-quarters of the CRM leaders we surveyed agreed that sales teams must be prepared to engage in personalized sales conversations in digital channels. However, only 27% have conversational sales capabilities in their CRM today, with even less planning to invest in this area in the next 12 months.
