The Opportunity
Matlen Silver, an IT staffing firm headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, is a company with its finger on the pulse of the staffing industry and a business process centered around one key thing: data.
Even before the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020, the firm was deep in a data initiative. “The problem wasn’t a lack of data. The problem was how do we get it in front of recruiting, sales, clients, and consultants?” said Amanda Marciniak, Director of Talent Acquisition & Training at Matlen Silver. Having a leadership team invested in industry news, trends, and market technology spurred the firm to look inward. With so much data, couldn’t they predict these trends themselves and utilize that information to grow their business? “There was a tipping point when our focus shifted to expanding and growing the business differently,” Marciniak said. “We looked in the mirror and asked, ‘what can we do better to be more strategic and become a better partner for our clients and consultants?’”
The firm’s focus quickly shifted to using data to acquire new business, and they knew that transformative technology would be the solution.
The Vision
Matlen Silver embarked on its digital transformation journey with a clear vision in mind; build out a tech stack that supports accurate, up-to-date data in order to become a true, consultative partner. “This data initiative means we can supply our clients with our areas of expertise,” Marciniak said. “We can express our specialties to clients without a doubt because the data is sitting right there in front of them.” But no technology that operates in a silo is effective, and the key to this journey was creating a fully-integrated offering.
Digital Transformation
With Bullhorn’s ATS and CRM at the center of their business, Matlen Silver built out a robust combination of integrated partners to support their growth and data integrity goals. Christina Vinson, Director of Marketing at Matlen Silver explained, “Our tech stack centers around Bullhorn. It’s essential that any new platforms we introduce integrate with and enhance Bullhorn.” But the firm didn’t come by this tech stack easily, nor did their digital transformation happen overnight. “I’ve been doing one or two demos of new technology each week for three or four years,” Marciniak said. “Even technology I’ve already seen is worth revisiting—they grow and change so much in a matter of months, and just because they’re not solving a problem for me now doesn’t mean they won’t solve a problem for me in the future.”
As part of their digital transformation journey, Matlen Silver invested in several key products. Idibu, a multi-posting platform, automates job postings to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Indeed. The automation of these once-manual processes saves recruiters the effort of manual, duplicative work. “Idibu makes our recruiters’ lives so much easier,” Marciniak explained. “They just click and post, and they can manage everything themselves which gives them a lot of autonomy.”
Taking Your Digital Transformation Initiative to the Next Level: Advice from Matlen Silver:
Get Buy-In
A large-scale digital transformation project is a massive undertaking, and it cannot succeed without buy-in from all tiers of business leadership. In the early days of Matlen Silver’s digital transformation journey, high-level leadership was bought in, but middle management wasn’t. As Marciniak put it, “That was a gaping problem.” She continued, “You can train as much as you want, you can scream how great a tool is from the mountaintops, but if you can’t get the people that are managing the actual production teams to see the value, it’s a lost cause.”
Play the Long Game
Want change to happen? Lead by example by beta testing with champions and open-minded team members. A promise of ROI years in the future can be a tough pill to swallow, but Marciniak advises anyone embarking on a digital transformation journey to ensure you’re implementing technology with an understanding of how you’ll report on ROI in the future.
Leverage the Technology that Addresses Your Needs
The shiniest new toy isn’t necessarily the best one for your firm and your needs. “Everyone wants the latest and greatest, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for your world. If you can’t measure something at the end of the day, how will you know if it’s truly a good fit?”
As the team continues its digital transformation journey, one thing is certain; Matlen Silver has become the true, consultative partner they set out to be and will only continue on that path as they grow and adopt new technologies.