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PeopleAdmin: Redefining Talent Management in K-20 Education
Kermit S. Randa, CEO Redefining talent management in education today not only requires new technology, techniques and processes, but also new strategies that look at better aligning employees with an institution’s goals and mission. Kermit S. Randa, CEO at PeopleAdmin, knows this well. In many ways, Randa believes successful talent management begins with his own company: “My job is to provide a fun, creative place where people are inspired to build value for our customers,” he says. “Our employees are smart, energetic and ready to help schools unlock resources so they can find and deliver top teacher talent to lift their learners.”Randa’s focus on solving complex problems by embracing technology, collaboration and partnership is key to PeopleAdmin’s mission to help human resources professionals move from a transactional role to a transformative role when it comes to talent management. Randa draws his natural strength as a gifted problem-solver from his parents—both of whom were associated with education and service work and instilled in him a desire to inspire, educate, and lead. “Every day at PeopleAdmin, we believe in leveraging technology to help our customers find the right people for the right jobs for a better future,” Randa says.
Today, PeopleAdmin offers cloud-based talent management software and tools for education and government, helping organizations improve operational efficiencies, minimize risk, and manage the entire talent management lifecycle.
Reframing Challenges
“For any organization, a business challenge can be a catalyst for innovation,” Randa states. Randa feels that the ability of a proven process to keep pace with evolving technologies is the key challenge. “In this fast-paced, innovation-driven world, organizations need to apply creative and effective digital solutions to their talent management problems, introducing data-driven processes to hire for diversity, manage, engage, and support their people,” he explains. A research report published by the Harvard Business School reveals that 80 percent of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions. Further validating the findings, the Society of Human Resource Management reports that each of those bad hires could cost companies up to five times a bad hire’s annual salary.
PeopleAdmin’s software and services solve the key challenges of HR departments, while at the same time are completely focused on providing an “amazing” customer experience, Randa says. “In the education sector, we combine years of expertise in education with innovative technology solutions to help institutions of all sizes—spanning from kindergarten to colleges and universities,” Randa states. But, PeopleAdmin’s involvement doesn’t end there. They go a step further by helping organizations deliver a system of training that allows new employees to thrive, and in turn, improve workflows and processes that help ensure the success of the institution’s mission. “The HR industry is not new, but how we look at it is. We are building efficient tools to comb through vast pools of human resources data to pair the best candidate with the best job.
In essence, we are taking the challenge of big data and turning it into an opportunity for schools across the country. Many look at HR as a transactional process; we view it as a transformative one,” Randa adds.
Apart from the broader challenge of providing efficient talent management, there is always a need for secure and seamless solutions in the market. “Schools are not immune to deep spending cuts, which hinder the ability to invest in talent management. In addition, security is also a big concern. They often look for technology solutions that keep sensitive data safe and secure,” Randa says. For instance, the rise of cyber attacks has led to greater security demands from talent management systems. Randa also points out that CIOs often look for technologies that can seamlessly integrate with existing platforms. PeopleAdmin handles the issues by providing a cost-effective, easy-to-deploy and secure platform—allowing for a smoother transition for staff and administrators. “Whether the user is a four-year university in Florida or a middle school in Montana, PeopleAdmin has what it takes to deliver best-in-class software every time,” Randa says.
Finding Talent
PeopleAdmin believes in making talent management more efficient and effective through its automated solutions and simpler application and hiring processes, making it easier for school systems to comply with hiring regulations and attract higher quality candidates. “Whether in K-12 or higher education, you need to be able to easily find the people with the right competencies, behaviors, and attitudes to achieve the institution’s mission and goals,” Randa asserts. PeopleAdmin offers an easy-to use cloud-based delivery portal, enabling their customers to attract, recruit, hire, manage, and retain top education talent.
To broaden its education solutions and better serve its customers, PeopleAdmin acquired earlier this year Netchemia, a provider of K-12 talent management solutions, which further enabled its customers to access TalentEd—a unified, cloud-based, strategic talent management suite that offers flexible and configurable tools designed to simplify the talent management process. It can be easily incorporated into schools’ existing ecosystems without disrupting workflows or inducing heavy transition costs, thereby improving productivity without breaking budgets. “In fact, more than 2,500 educational organizations use TalentEd, including public school districts, charter school districts, and private institutions in both sub¬urban and urban centers,” Randa states. In addition, the tool also provides support for candidate identification and recruiting, applicant tracking and hiring, teacher and staff evaluations, and personal process management and record keeping— all delivered on-demand via the cloud.
Recently, PeopleAdmin sealed an acquisition deal with Search Soft Solutions—a technology that can standardize and simplify hiring practices as well as increase organizational efficiency by automating the process. The transaction added about 1,700 school districts across 32 states to its customer base. “Our solution can be configured to meet the various needs of institutions and users, and introduces flexibility that increases productivity and makes the tool intuitive and easy to use,” elaborates Randa.
Customer-Focused
Randa also points out three key factors—industry expertise, easy-to-use solutions, and deep customer engagement—as key to the company’s success.
“No one else in the industry offers PeopleAdmin’s focus on the customer experience with the ultimate goal of making education better,” Randa says. He can cite many examples where the company’s solutions greatly helped institutions find the best faculty as efficiently as possible. For example, the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Missouri, decided to adopt TalentEd Records to digitize their entire HR process—eliminating hours of staff overtime and paper use. “By automating processes like contract distribution and retrieval, the district—in the first day—saw a 30 percent increase in the overall completion rate, and within the first eight hours, they received over 45 percent of the contracts back, signed,” he states.
Looking ahead, PeopleAdmin will continue to focus on people, efficiency, and data. “We also expect to see deeper investment in R&D, stronger integration with other systems, easier upgrades, improved product quality, and more efficient internal processes,” explains Randa. In the next few years, the company will also apply different technologies and insights to other areas such as teaching hospitals and graduate schools. “At PeopleAdmin, we believe education is more than business—it’s a catalyst for transforming society,” Randa says
Another interesting example involves the Livingston Parish Public Schools in Louisiana, which was struggling with traditional evaluation methods. Turning to TalentEd helped them develop a state compliant evaluation system, allowing the district to focus more on student outcomes. “Teachers and administrators now spend less time on the evaluation process and more time focused on quality education,” he adds. Other institutions that have gained from PeopleAdmin’s expertise include the University of Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Gonzaga University. “We have continuously evolved our software to meet new demands, while allowing customers to adopt our refined offerings without incurring significant transition costs or disruptions to business,” Randa says.
Innovations Ahead
With its transition to mobile, PeopleAdmin now enables more relevant, timely, and meaningful interaction between jobseekers and employers. The company is also looking forward to releasing its new analytics suite for Select Suite soon. Further elaborating on the tool, Randa reveals “it will give users a more granular look at their talent management landscape. It’s our way of helping schools cut through the noise of big data. By making data-driven, strategic decisions, organizations can amplify their HR efforts, reduce costs, and increase efficiency at every level.”
Every day at PeopleAdmin, we believe in leveraging technology to help our customers find the right people for the right jobs for a better future
Looking ahead, PeopleAdmin will continue to focus on people, efficiency, and data. “We also expect to see deeper investment in R&D, stronger integration with other systems, easier upgrades, improved product quality, and more efficient internal processes,” explains Randa. In the next few years, the company will also apply different technologies and insights to other areas such as teaching hospitals and graduate schools. “At PeopleAdmin, we believe education is more than business—it’s a catalyst for transforming society,” Randa says
December 02, 2015
