In the last few months there have been a number of vendors who have relly taken the idea of integrated TM to the next level. Recruitmax, Kenexa, HRSmart to name a few. But there are new entrants that we've been exposed to as well. Silk Road is a good example. Honestly, until last year I had never heard of them. But, at a recent trade show we introduced ourselves and found a great story and will now keep our eyes on their development.

This is but one example of the way the market will shift in coming months and years. It will also impact the way we work here at HR.com. Today Aileen MacMillan and I just conducted a webcast together. Aileen is our performance management analyst here at HR.com. She's very knowledgable and works hard to stay on top of what's happening in her vertical.

In preperation for this webcast we were forced to work together and learn a little about each others verticals as the presentation was all about the integration of TM and PM and how it contributes to effective Quality of Hire metrics.

Needless to say it was a learning experience and certainly opened my eyes to the evolution of the use of competencies in the hiring process. It also speaks to the need to rethink the ideas that we have about talent management. It is changing and to ingore the simple facts is to leave yourself in the past and miss out on excceptional opportunities to develop a consistent approach to hiring and arm yourself with the knowledge and skills it takes to be an effective contributor to your organizations future.