A New Year. A New Commitment.

Welcome to Aptitude Research.

2018 was an exciting year in HR Technology. Recruit Holdings acquired Glassdoor. LinkedIn acquired Glint and launched an ATS. SAP acquired Qualtrics. And Google demonstrated its staying power in talent acquisition. Some providers raised money. Others lost money (and market share). And startups continued to emerge creating new opportunities in a crowded market. Overall, 2018 brought change.

And we changed too.

I am thrilled to share a new website, new branding, new survey results, and a new commitment to research and advisory services. I have spent most of my career as an analyst trying to stay ahead of trends and provide some insight into a very complex industry. I have learned a lot and I know I can do better…as an analyst, researcher, and consultant.

I am starting off 2019 with a new outlook on research and advisory and I am making a commitment to the following:

More Customer-Driven Research

Too often, research is driven by vendors. I’ve been guilty. But, research needs to be influenced by practitioners, the people that actually select and implement solutions. Last year, we partnered with Talent Function and invited ten enterprise companies to join us for a two-day discussion in Boston to help shape or research agenda for 2019. We are spending more time this year talking to companies to learn about what really matters to them.

More Market News

The technology landscape changes every week and we are committed to helping companies stay informed and stay ahead. We will be posting weekly reports on the news and market announcements that are the most relevant. Stay tuned for an announcement on our latest newsletter.

More Research and Content

We have already launched two surveys this year and will be publishing those results later this week. We are committed to sharing more of this research and publishing more content in the next year.

More Conversations

Our content and services improve through conversations. And this year, we want to have more conversations with companies, consultants, and vendors. If your organizations is going through change or if you are looking for new research coverage, please reach out. We would love to hear from you.

I am excited for everything that we have planned for this year and would love any feedback on research topics that you would like covered or areas that we should explore.

Happy New Year!

Author

  • Madeline Laurano

    Madeline Laurano is the founder and chief analyst of Aptitude Research. For over 18 years, Madeline’s primary focus has been on the HCM market, specializing in talent acquisition and employee experience. Her work helps companies both validate and re-evaluate their strategies and understand the role technology can play in driving business outcomes. She has watched HCM transform from a back-office function to a strategic company initiative with a focus on partnerships, experience and efficiency. Before founding Aptitude Research, Madeline held research roles at Aberdeen, Bersin by Deloitte, ERE Media and Brandon Hall Group. She is the co-author of Best Practices in Leading a Global Workforce and is often quoted in leading business publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Yahoo News, The New York Times and The Financial Times. She is a frequent presenter at industry conferences including the HR Technology Conference and Exposition, SHRM, IHRIM, HCI’s Strategic Talent Acquisition Conference, Unleash, GDS International’s HCM Summit, and HRO Today. In her spare time, she is a runner, an avid sports fan and juggles a house full of boys (where a spontaneous indoor hockey game is not unheard of!).