One of the positive aspects of 2020 was how the HR industry was forced to rely on HR Analytic tools and data to help clients make better business decisions. The COVID chaos fast-tracked the data journey most HR professionals began in 2019, taking it from a “nice to have” function to a “mission critical” tool. HR Analytic platforms have been in the spotlight and two of my favorite tools just joined forces. Here are my thoughts on why Visier and Emsi will make a powerful team in the market.
First, Visier is a data nerd’s dream platform. You have all of the data you need in a platform that displays this information in a way that data-adverse colleagues can understand. While most analytic platforms focus on the typical HR trends like turnover, pay equity, diverse and the like, Visier recognized a gap and built talent acquisition platforms to plug into your ATS to help analyze your hiring sources. The Visier Talent Acquisition Model helps me learn more about where our talent acquisition team finds the best talent so we can scale the efforts on that channel and stop wasting time on the others that provide little to no value.
Now let’s talk about Emsi. The firm has curated a list of nearly 30,000 skills from hundreds of job postings, resumes and professional profiles, according to its own website. It is an open-access skills database that provides an up-to-date collection of the real-world skills that people have and employers value. The skill library is updated every two weeks based on live postings and profiles, as well as suggestions from the community submitted through the Emsi Skills website.
Emsi combines three data points to create its powerful profile insights:
- Government Data: Emsi gathers 18 billion data points from dozens of government data sources that is updated quarterly. Sure, we have access to the same information but who has the time to go and pull the information and determine what is or is not relevant?
- Job Postings: The platform reviews hundreds of millions of online job postings and adds them to the data sets. It also provides filters by company, job title, skills, keywords, and more. This is a game changer, providing a wealth of insight into what employers are looking for in their hiring process.
- Online Social Profiles: To complete the view, Emsi pulls in individuals’ employment and education profiles from social media by company, job title, industry, alma mater, and skill sets. (This was the first firm I had seen bring in government data with the social profiles.)
- Compensation Data: This information is sourced from government data sources.
Combined, these four sources provide users a 360 view of critical data points for anyone in Talent Acquisition. Emsi can deliver this robust data set through its online platform, API plugins, and they also have a consulting arm of economists who will tailor the information for your organization.

What this partnership means
Combined, Visier and Emsi are ready to rumble! According to the press release:
This partnership brings external labor market analytics together with internal people analytics with the goal of creating more standardized and simple job classifications and insight on skills, demand, and compensation to help human resources professionals better manage a company’s most important asset – people.
https://www.economicmodeling.com/2020/10/27/visier-emsi-partnership/
Visier clients will not only be able to have real time data about their workforce but also be able to tap into Emsi’s incredible labor market database. This will allow companies to normalize more than 10 Million employee records and create a more realistic job hierarchy for HR Professionals. I’ve noted in previous posts that any firm that could bring some peace to the chaos associated with job descriptions, families and structure, would be a formidable competitor in the HR analytic industry. Well, Visier and Emsi just brought the heat.
“The combination of Visier and EMSI has tremendous potential. This partnership will allow us to compare ourselves using a standard job structure and skills nomenclature,” said Todd Horton, System Vice President, CommonSpirit Health. “The game changer will be how it better helps us not only understand our people, but the roles they perform and the skills that they bring to the organization.”
http://www.prnewswire.com
I am excited to see how this duo transforms the HR analytics industry. I think we’re not done with potential partnerships in 2021. It’s going to be an exciting year for those data nerds like me!
About me
and Sprint Recruiting

Trent Cotton is a highly accomplished leader and strategist with extensive experience in organizational development, talent management, and business operations. With a strong background in HR leadership, he has a proven track record of designing and implementing innovative HR programs that drive employee engagement, retention, and business performance.
As an experienced executive, Trent has worked with some of the world’s leading companies, where he has led and supported HR initiatives across a broad range of functions, including talent acquisition, workforce planning, diversity and inclusion, performance management, and employee relations. He is also highly skilled in HR technology implementation, data analytics, and HR process improvement, helping organizations to optimize their HR operations and drive business results.
If you follow his blog http://www.sprintrecruiting.com or have read his book, Sprint Recruiting, you would experience his raw communication style, his ability to build and lead high-performing teams, and his strategic mindset. He is passionate about creating workplaces where employees can thrive and grow, and he is committed to helping organizations leverage the power of their people to achieve their business objectives.
In addition to his professional experience, Trent is actively involved in his community and has served on several boards and committees supporting education, workforce development, and diversity initiatives.
In his free time, Trent has written two books: “The 7 Deadly Sins of HR” and most recently, “Sprint Recruiting”. He will be releasing “The High Performing Recruiting Team” in the fall of 2023 and “FutHRist” in 2024.
He’s an active participant in the HR Industry and is asked to participate in roundtables or provide keynotes for many organizations. His blog Sprintrecruiting.com reaches thousands of readers and provides unique insights on a range of recruiting topics.
Connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter for more.
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