iTalent at the HR Demo Show will feature seven startups that are bringing HR people closer to their audience through innovative use of technology. These emerging companies are disrupting various facets of HR and the early results are inviting. Here are three of the startups that will take the stage on May 25th.

Wednesdays
The folks at Wednesdays have a huge goal. Can you imagine a world without silos? They can. Wednesdays take the effort out of breaking down silos between teams. It’s as simple as lunch, but as most know, it’s not necessarily easy to make lunches happen. As Wednesdays was testing their product, they discovered that new hires had a lot of great things to say about it. So they developed a targeted onboarding product that companies are using to integrate new hires quickly, with little effort. You’ll see how it works at iTalent at the HR Demo Show.

BranchOut
Some people freak out about sharing information on Facebook. Others realize the enormous potential for Facebook to become a recruiting playground. BranchOut is tackling professional networking on the giant social network and experiencing tremendous growth. They imagine a world were networking has context and meaning and members and employers can connect in a more meaningful, data enriched way. See if BranchOut can empower your hiring efforts at iTalent at the HR Demo Show.

SmartRecruiters
What do you have to do to make recruiting easy? That’s the question SmartRecruiters is asking in a serious way. They are taking the emphasis off process and putting it on people with a totally free applicant tracking system. They have a big dreams, too. Make hiring easy and provide unlimited access to talent so the labor market functions more effectively, the economy operates at its full potential and unemployment is eradicated. SmartRecruiters launched the #ZeroUE movement and you can get on board at iTalent at the HR Demo Show.

More to follow shortly. Which of these disruptions gets you most excited?

Learn more about iTalent at the HR Demo Show.

If you haven’t heard, iTalent, the startup demo showcase by HR & Tech SF, will be joining forces with the HR Demo Show to add a touch of startup flair to this major industry event.

If you want to know what’s next, what’s hot, what’s new, this is the session for you. iTalent showcases six up-and-coming web services that are shaking up the way we attract and support those that make our businesses excel.

This time around, iTalent will feature:

• InternMatch
• SmartRecruiters
• Vivecoach
• Wednesdays
• Work4Labs

Returning from iTalent 1, BranchOut will also demo their rapidly growing service that adds a professional advantage to networking on Facebook.

Recently, Kevin Grossman, iTalent judge and Human Capital Management analyst, talked about the need for “humanizing the transaction” when it comes to HR technology. What’s interesting to see is that each of the iTalent startups is working on just that.

In fact, when selecting companies for iTalent, we look for emerging startups that are dedicated to disrupting something big. Looking at the line up for iTalent at the HR Demo Show, one underlying pattern beams brightly. These companies are all applying technology to break down barriers between HR objectives and people.

What’s so great about discovering what startups are up to is that you get a feel for the next wave of technology and ideas to hit the mainstream. Startup success is hard to come by and it’s fair to say, many will miss the mark. That said, a few will stumble on something great and bring new ways of working, thinking and interacting to our lives. iTalent gives you a chance to interact with these movers and shakers and weigh in on how much value you perceive in their services.

Kevin will be joined by two other expert judges to ask tough questions and bestow recognition on the best of the best. We’ll also be counting on you, the audience, to tell us which company you appreciate the most.

Please join us at the HR Demo Show and of course, for the iTalent session, on May 24 – 25th in Las Vegas. Tickets and info right here.

If you can’t join in person, we’ll have a live stream for you to follow.

From sourcing to recruiting to performance management and more, startups are changing the way we manage human capital… for the better.

iTalent is the demo competition that puts this emerging talent technology on stage. For the second edition, we’re heading to Las Vegas where iTalent 2 will happen in partnership with the HR Demo Show, May 24 – 25th.

For the first time, HR leaders and executives will get a chance to see how startups are moving and shaking things up with new technology, new processes and new business models at the Show. They may be small, but this group is sure to disrupt the way you think about HR technology.

The HR Demo Show, hosted in conjunction with the HRO Today Forum, is the largest gathering of buyers of HR and recruitment services and technology. It’s where decision makers go to test drive the latest talent management technologies.

A select group of talent-focused startups will demo in front of HR executives, analysts and the established players. Our expert panel will share their impressions, good and bad. And the audience will discover technology that just may be the norm tomorrow. It’s going to be a rock ‘n’ rollin good time!

If you’re disrupting HR technology and want to be a part of iTalent 2, send an email to italent@hrandtech.com. Please include: 1) a link to your site 2) a short description of the problem/pain point you are addressing, your solution and your target customer 3) confirmation that you can get yourself to Las Vegas and cover your travel/hotel costs.

… who are building products for HR and why we decided to organize a panel on investing in them.

Venture Capital firms love to invest in startups that can scale quickly and evolve into something big, usually because they solve real problems with new technologies and killer design. Yet scaling quickly requires a large pool of early adopters or group of people who just can’t live without the product. Startups that want funding need to be in the fast lane, car pooling with their users.

Problem is, the people who work in Human Resources are on the shoulder, watching traffic fly by and enjoying every minute of it. They have no exploratory budgets and shrinking allocated budgets. Not to mention, the workforce landscape is shifting rapidly to a contingent and distributed place… Which leads us to the question, why on Earth would a VC invest in anything related to HR?

Sequoia Capital makes the case against investing in startups building products for HR very clear in their “Elements of Sustainable Companies” manifesto: startups must have “Rich Customers: Target customers who will move fast and pay a premium for a unique offering.” HR departments don’t move fast, don’t pay premiums, and wouldn’t recognize a unique offering even if Steve Jobs showed up in-person waving a mind-reading iPhone 16 in front of their eyes.

HR needs a higher business purpose, but entrepreneurs must also find business models that fit this space or shift budgets from current line items. And the catapult responsible for the shift can only be technology.

The outlook is grim. In a recent rap up of #TChat, Kevin W. Grossman noted that many organizations are still using spreadsheets as the primary decision-making tool for workforce analytics. Or just back in December, at GigaOm’s Net:Work conference, fascinating presentations and dialogues flushed out exciting advances in collaboration and new ways of working. Yet, when the conversation turned towards recruiting/HR, the problems being solved where still basic issues like moving away from paper trails. When we hit HR/recruiting, the conversation dropped to 1.0!

Yet, late last year, HR & Tech SF held it’s first demo night, showcasing startups fixing talent related problems. At first, we weren’t even sure we could find enough startups. Turns out, we could. And we sold out. And we’re going to do it again… stay tuned for exciting news about iTalent 2. These startups are looking for VC funding to build products and scale. Some of those at iTalent 1 did just that. So the question is, what scales these days in recruiting and HR that makes some VC feel a bit of love for this deserted market?

Steven Hunt provided an interesting historical perspective of HR technology last week on TLNT. He sees the rise in cloud computing as a driving force behind the transformation of the HR function to a business execution role. Like in other fields, cloud computing is freeing data to be used to make vital workforce productivity decisions. Hunt posits that HR is entering its own data/cloud revolution. Any by the looks of the startup landscape, he might be right.

A few of the ongoing debates in this space. How do you find the right people? How do you determine who the right people even are in the first place? Which technologies are going to die? Job boards are usually attacked first, but could Facebook take down LinkedIn? How about performance measurement? Especially as companies transition to meritocracies.

What technology is turning into a commodity and where is the value from HR technology coming from? Most importantly, is there money to be made here for startups and VC? Are there huge exists ahead of us in this space? Will LinkedIn’s upcoming IPO change the perception about this space?

Here in San Francisco, we definitely see a host of talent focused startups grappling with these questions. Which is why we decided to talk about investing in them next week at our panel discussion with special guests Saad Khan, Partner at CMEA, Jeff Stump, Partner at Andreesen Horowitz and Jerôme Ternynck, who sold Mr. Ted to Stepstone in August 2010 and now heads SmartRecruiters.

The event is sold out. But we will provide the highlights and analysis here afterwards.

The world of work is evolving and so are our needs as employers and professionals. Grappling with these changes, a host of emerging startups with talent solutions hit the market over the last year and more are certainly on their way.

Hear from three of the best minds in this ecosystem talk about the unmet needs of the recruiting and HR departments, new business models, and opportunities for startups in the talent space.

Will Facebook challenge LinkedIn? How to scale when recruiting manpower and budgets are lower than ever? Do investments in this space pay off? For answers and banter, join us to hear from this top notch panel:

Saad Khan, Partner, CMEA
Saad invests in extraordinary people. Period. He sits on the board of Jobvite, Blekko, Evolution Robotics, Inc. (Observer), Pixazza, Inc.

Jeff Stump, Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
Jeff builds relationships with the most talented people in the world.

Jerome Ternynck, Founder & CEO, SmartRecruiters
Jerome is an entrepreneur, recruiter, openSaaS evangelist who thrives on making the recruiting world a better place.

David Spark of Spark Media Solutions will ask the tough questions and keep everyone in line!

This is a rare opportunity for those who are investing time, money and other resources in hiring, managing and nurturing talent. Any talent.

RSVP required, details here.

iTalent was a huge success and confirms the need for events and exchange at the intersection of HR and technology in SF. Seven startups with talent-focused solutions presented to a sold-out crowd at the first-ever iTalent demo showcase. Andy Mowat (Elance), John Sumser (HR Examiner) and William Uranga (Tivo, Inc.) imparted their expertise to our young demoers. The exchange was lively and the crowd was enthused!

As a group, startups in the HR and talent space lack visibility in the technology landscape compared to their counterparts in other sectors. HR & Tech SF aims to tease out innovation and trends in this field, while collectively raising the profile of these young companies.

When we set out to create iTalent, we weren’t even sure there were enough companies around to make the event work… Now, we can surely say that iTalent 2 is most definitely in the cards! No date set yet, but contact us if you’re interested.

And on to the winners…

Emerging as stars, WorkerExpress took the top slot at iTalent. The judges found their business model sturdy and their market untapped. Indeed, WorkerExpress is bringing innovation to the construction staffing business and making an impact in a $7 billion market. Follow them as they continue to grow their business.

Corporate Catapult sprung straight to the hearts of the audience – taking away the People’s Choice award. Matt Cameron, CEO, honored iTalent by unveiling his career acceleration tool for the first time to the public. The tools, not to mention incredible user experience, help individuals set and achieve goals inside their corporations. Brand spanking new, you can sign up for Alpha here.

The other five startups didn’t walk away with a prize, but they’re certainly worth mentioning.

BranchOut: BranchOut is bringing career networking to Facebook. These tools help you identify contacts in your target companies and get a direct referral.

ClearGears: Performance reviews are not usually the most exciting time of the year, for all involved… ClearGears allows managers to continually poll team members on their job satisfaction and performance.

CodeEval: Automating candidate evaluations, CodeEval can be used by techies and non-techies alike to streamline the hiring of programmers. They are also looking at expanding to other types of evaluation. To be watched!

MentorNet: After 13 years as a non-profit matching mentors and mentorees, MentorNet is rolling out a new site to help employers build lasting relationships with students.

TopProspect: A social recruiting site that lets you recommend your friends for jobs. Best part, if they get hired, you get a slice of the referral bonus! Give it a whirl here.

Special thanks to Elance, Hansen’s Soda, HRExaminer and Tivo, Inc., as well as, DoYouBuzz and SayHired.

Stay tuned for more information on the 2011 HR & Tech SF line up. We’re going boldly where no one has gone before!

Register for our mailing list here.

Can Facebook take on the Monster? Well these two startups are transforming Facebook into a dream tool for job seekers and recruiters. On 12/14, BranchOut and Work4Labs will be sharing their products at iTalent – startup demos for the talent market.

Register for iTalent now!

Here’s a sneak peak at what they’re up to…

BranchOut is the “Professional Profile on Facebook”. A BranchOut profile displays a member’s work history and education but no personal information or photos. Through BranchOut, members can transform their existing friend network into a powerful resource. BranchOut displays over 3 million jobs and internships and shows your inside connections through your extended professional network.

Users can turn their 500 Facebook friends into a network of 50,000 professionals at over 100,000 companies. Members can search for their dream job and BranchOut displays both the jobs and their inside connections through their extended Facebook friend graph. BranchOut could completely transform how people find jobs in the future.

Founded this year, Work4 Labs has developed an easy-to-use interface and flexible backend have allowed thousands of large and small companies to benefit immensely from open job management on Facebook. Work4Us is now used by Accenture, PwC, L’Oréal, American Apparel, and State Street.

The most revolutionary aspect is the data-driven, adaptive advertising component, “Work4 Ads.” It uses keywords from each posting to create highly targeted job ads that are pushed to Facebook users based on their education, interests, and location. The ad engine uses rigorous A/B tests, user edits, and click-through data to enhance its targeting in real time.

BranchOut and Work4Labs will be joined by 6 other startups at iTalent. To add some spice to the night, our industry expert judges will put their ideas to the test and announce the all-around winner at the end of the night.

Join us for some festive networking and entertainment!

Our first startup showcase is coming up quickly (get your ticket here). Giving the stage to innovative startups in the talent field, iTalent is a great opportunity to see how the world of recruiting and human capital management is being rethought and reshape by young companies with a fresh perspective.

On 12/14, we will be joined by an all-star, industry expert panel that will put these talent-focused startups to the test. Our judges draw on rich and varied experiences in the HR sector. In different ways, they all sit at the intersection of HR and technology. Their insight is sure to stimulate an exciting night of talent-focused demos! Please meet,

Jeff Hunter, Vice President of HR Solutions at Dolby
Jeff Hunter is an accomplished innovation strategist, technologist, author, speaker and entrepreneur focused on the areas of talent, learning and technology. His articles and expertise have been published in Fortune’s Business Innovation Insider, Wall Street Journal, ERE, the CRL Journal, Recruiting.com, and WetFeet. Jeff has most recently spoke at OECD’s Innovation Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark entitled “Creating an Innovation Ecosystem” and “Innovating for Innovators.” He has also applied for two patent in the areas of search and online community.

Andy Mowat, Sr. Director Sales and Business Development at Elance
Andy Mowat has experience in the HR services sector as both an investor and operator.  In previous roles, Andy has built the HR management systems for growing companies and led investments in HR services and technology companies.  Andy recently joined Elance to help the company leverage its platform to change the way companies work.  Andy has degrees from Princeton University and Stanford Business School.

John Sumser, Editor: HRExaminer at Two Color Hat
John Sumser is the founder, principal author and editor-in-chief of the HRExaminer Online Magazine. John explores the people, technology, ideas and careers of senior leaders in Human Resources and Human Capital. John is the also principal of Two Color Hat where he routinely advises Human Resources, Recruiting Departments and Talent Management teams with product analysis, market segmentation, positioning, strategy and branding guidance. John understands the inner workings of employment and recruiting. He is able to see and articulate how and why people work.

William Uranga, Senior Director, Talent Acquisition, TiVo Inc.
Leading the recruiting team at TiVo, William Uranga loves what he does: using the best aspects of an organization’s culture to inspire individuals to do great things. To keep his thinking from becoming stale, he loves to learn from other disciplines, co-leads the Recruiting Leadership Forum and teaches in the HR Management Certificate program at UC Santa Cruz Extension in Silicon Valley. William satisfies his inner geek with tech gadgets and building with Legos along with his kids. When he can, he trades in his electronic leashes for a backpack and hits the trail. His favorite show (a favorite TiVo question) is FX’s Damages.

More info

RSVP on Meetup

HR & Tech SF continues to explore the quickly merging realms of social media and recruiting.

Sourcing candidates online has been status quo for the last 15 years. Recruiters and companies post jobs, search databases, and find candidates—pretty simple. But social networking has changed the rules of the game.
We’ve entered an age when our personal and professional lives intersect. So what challenges does that present to recruiters? How do we interact with candidates where they live?

Join us as Mike McTaggart from Dice delves into some of the emerging ways to attract the socially connected technology professional. Mike will present insightful data about candidate behavior online and what it means for employers and recruiters.

On the menu: ideas, exchange, drinks and light snacks.
This event is free, but space is limited. RSVP please.

Meet Mike McTaggart
Mike McTaggart has over 25 years of recruiting experience, entrepreneurial success and industry leadership. Mike spent time on the front lines in Silicon Valley in the 1990s working with top employers as the online recruiting space was developing and defining itself. He joined Dice seven years ago. In his role as a senior sales person at Dice, he works with a wide variety of companies and helps them implement their recruiting strategies. Mike helps guide these organizations through the wide variety of Internet offerings and at the same time he is on the front lines of what may be the single most exciting change in sourcing tech candidates since the inception of job boards – the Dice Talent Network.