HCM Talent Technology Roundup September 10, 2021

Recruiting platform Wedge launched an add-on application within the isolved Integration Marketplace. With it, Wedge brings video interviewing functionality to isolved People Cloud. Designed to support hiring at scale, Wedge and isolved, deliver fast, flexible experiences to “supercharge” the recruiting process.

Forty-one percent of American organizations plan on budgeting more money for salary in 2022 than they did in this year, says Salary.com’s Annual U.S. National Salary Budget Survey. That represents the first significant shift in merit increases in the last 10 years. For perspective, last year just under 10% of organizations planned a higher salary budget increase than the previous year. For 2022, 12% of organizations intend to give 4-5% increases, versus just 7-8% percent of organizations in 2021.

Bravely, which connects users to on-demand professional coaching and development services, announced a $15 million funding round led by Telescope Partners. The money will help Bravely expand its global reach and develop new data capabilities, allowing for an improved understanding of diverse individual employee needs. In addition to new automation and personalization, this capital will also power research informing Bravely’s use of data.

YouCruit raised $11.5 million to grow Lanefinder, its labor marketplace for the U.S. trucking industry. Lanefinder provides a job search and matching platform tailored to the wants and needs of truck drivers who have historically had to rely on word of mouth referrals and general job sites to find work.

QJumpers, a sourcing and recruitment software provider, announced a new product, AI Talent Sourcing. The tool searches publicly available information and uses AI to find, rank and engage passive job candidates who were tough to find through traditional sourcing and advertising methods.

U.S. workers and employers receive clear benefits from upskilling programs, according to research by Gallup. For workers, upskilling is associated with an additional 8.6% in annual income, higher job satisfaction and an increased standard of living. Thirty percent of workers said they were able to move into higher-paying jobs after gaining new skills, while 39% said they advanced in their current job. Seventy-one percent of workers who upskilled said it led to greater job satisfaction. Sixty-five percent said the opportunity to participate in an upskilling program was “extremely” or “very” important in deciding whether to take a new job.

By Mark Feffer

Mark Feffer is executive editor of RecruitingDaily and the HCM Technology Report. He’s written for TechTarget, HR Magazine, SHRM, Dice Insights, TLNT.com and TalentCulture, as well as Dow Jones, Bloomberg and Staffing Industry Analysts. He likes schnauzers, sailing and Kentucky-distilled beverages.