ServiceNow Adding Hitch to Provide More Skills Data

Blue Data Center

ServiceNow is acquiring Hitch Works in a deal that’s expected to close in Q2 2022. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Hitch uses AI tools to map peoples’ skills to projects. With the acquisition, Hitch’s features will be made available across the ServiceNow platform.

.@ServiceNow users will soon be able to take advantage of Hitch experience tools. #HR #HRTTech Click To Tweet

These days, how companies treat their employees (aka, the employee experience) is much more of a focal point than it has been in the past. According to IDC, CEOs in North America believe that managing the talent-skills gap presents the biggest risk impacting business in 2022. Faced with the challenges of the Great Resignation, employers are making greater efforts to attract, train and retain a workforce that can pivot with their evolving needs. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, managers can ascertain which employees are best suited for projects based on their overall aptitudes and interests.

“If skills are the new currency for business, insight into these skills is critical to driving talent retention and adapting to evolving business needs,” said Gretchen Alarcon, vice president and general manager of HR Service Delivery at ServiceNow. “But skills management has historically been siloed, with numerous point solutions and fragmented processes that don’t work together.” The point of adding Hitch, she said, was to allow ServiceNow to streamline skills intelligence on a single platform to help organizations match employees with meaningful work.

In addition, ServiceNow understands that it can secure larger deals with customers if it can deliver rapid returns. In a recent interview with diginomica, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott made clear that boosting productivity for customers is key to the company’s approach.

AI as a Foundation

Hitch was started by HR-industry veteran Kelley Steven-Waiss, previously the CHRO and CIO of HERE Technologies. The company is led by CEO Heather Jerrehian, one of the founders of venture capital firm How Women Invest. Both women are expected to stay on with ServiceNow once the acquisition is completed.

“AI‑powered skills intelligence is the foundation for the future of work,” Jerrhian said. “Joining forces with ServiceNow allows us to scale our skills and talent mobility solutions across a global ecosystem of business leaders, managers and employees.”

ServiceNow will build Hitch’s capabilities into its Now Platform, starting with Employee Workflow solutions, then growing into IT, developer and customer service workflows.

“As we emerge from the pandemic and face the challenges of the Great Resignation, employee experience is the key differentiator to winning 21st century talent,” said Steven‑Waiss.  ServiceNow, she said, will help Hitch advance its work to create new workforce and skills solutions.

Image: iStock

Previous articleSmartRecruiters Aims to Redefine Onboarding With New Solution
Next articlePodcast: Simply’s James Cooper-Jones on Recruiting, Process and Covid