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Appian CTO Talks to FederalNewsRadio about Recruiting and New Technologies

Ben Farrell
June 1, 2011

In May, Appian co-founder and CTO Michael Beckley spoke with Francis Rose of FederalNewsRadio for an in-depth look at challenges and success factors for hiring in the federal sector.

Agency challenges in hiring, Beckley explained, have to do with connecting people and systems, and dealing with obsolete or outmoded architecture. HR (like acquisition/procurement) is an area of low priority when it comes to new IT financing and budget support. But it does warrant serious attention, because the federal government is facing a huge challenge in finding and identifying employment candidates.

By some estimates, the government will have to hire some 600,000 people in the next four years. That means having an efficient way to link contract officers with HR officials. HR officials have to effectively track how they place jobs, through conventional sites as well as social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and others.

This will lead to better referrals, Beckley said. These networks are changing the way people communicate, and the expectation of candidates on what a cutting-edge agency looks and acts like. The federal government suffers enough in competition because it does not have the same kind of "cool factor" as private companies. By engaging with candidates through social network technology or mobile technology, federal agencies will be better-able to position themselves to top candidates as a compelling place to work .

-Ben Farrell, Director, Corporate Communications