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Why iCIMS’ Acquisition of TextRecruit is a Big Deal

When you think about iCIMS, “risk taker” might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But the NJ-based provider has demonstrated its ability to push the envelope and drive change more than many of its Silicon Valley peers. And its recent acquisition of TextRecruit, the mobile recruiting platform, is no exception. Colin Day, CEO, has taken significant risks over the past 10 years, including turning down investors and potential acquisitions in favor of organic and consistent growth. iCIMS has taken risks with its messaging, marketplace, and products – including moving away from an integrated Talent Management suite in 2012 to refocus on strategic talent acquisition.

iCIMS understands that Talent Acquisition is complex enough to deserve its own suite of solutions and its own conversation. Its acquisition of TextRecruit continues this commitment to helping companies attract and recruit talent.

If you are unfamiliar with TextRecruit and wondering what this means for Talent Acquisition…here are a few reasons why we think this is a big deal:

  • Product Leadership: iCIMS is much more than just an ATS. By announcing that TextRecruit will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, servicing and integrating with other systems based on their clients’ needs. It is expanding its customer base and leadership in Talent Acquisition.
  • Enterprise Market: iCIMS, like many other next generation Talent Acquisition systems, has been making a play to move up market. TextRecruit, with over 400 enterprise customers (including several existing iCIMS clients) gives iCIMS more credibility in the enterprise market.
  • Candidate Communication: According to research Aptitude Research Partners conducted in 2016, 47% of employees are not even opening their emails from HR departments. Companies need to find new ways to communicate with candidates via text, AI, and chat. TextRecruit will give iCIMS’ customers that option.
  • Market Consolidation: Consolidation is inevitable for Talent Acquisition. Companies are using too many providers to do too much of the same thing. iCIMS is the first provider to make a significant acquisition and setting the stage for end-to-end Talent Acquisition.

iCIMS’ strength is in its deep expertise in Talent Acquisition and its exceptional customer service. As it continues to move up market and expand with this new acquisition, maintaining strong customer satisfaction and high customer retention will be challenging but critical to its continued success. 2018 is already proving to be an interesting year in Talent Acquisition technology.

 

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Your Employees are Financially Stressed. So, What are You Going to Do About It?

According to research by the American Psychological Association, 72% of Americans are financially stressed. It goes without saying that financial stress takes a serious toll on an individual’s health, happiness, and overall well-being. But it also has a ripple effect on our workforce. When employees are stressed, productivity, performance, and engagement all plummet. So, what are we doing to help employees manage stress? Not much. New research from Aptitude reveals that 70% of companies have no formal process to manage employee stress. Given the impact of stress on our personal and professional lives, can’t we do better? Can’t we provide employees with the right resources and support to manage their personal finances and pay off debt?

Fortunately, some organizations are committed to doing more. Companies are being more strategic when they think about financial stress and investing in solutions that impact the bottom line. In our latest research, we found that 1 in 4 companies have financial wellness solutions. While it is exciting that companies are embracing financial wellness, many of these solutions do little to help employees manage the stress. Instead, they simply provide information and data without an action plan to help employees as they move forward. Financial wellness is an area that is still emerging and organizations must make better decisions around the providers they consider.

One of the financial wellness providers I have been most impressed with this year is Best Money Moves. Their solution helps organizations tackle the real issues impacting our workforce in a way that maintains employee privacy and empowerment. It is a mobile-first employee benefit solution that helps employees understand and take control of their finances. It also offers “money coaches” to help employees make better decisions about their finances moving forward.

Most companies understand that financial stress has become a crisis and that this is the time to address it. Yet, finding the right solutions can be tricky. Here are a few recommendations to think about as you begin tackling financial stress in your organization:

  • Measure It: Find solutions that do more than just make assumptions or generalize financial stress. Instead, consider solutions that truly measure individual stress levels and provide an action plan to help employees take control of their finances.
  • Keep It Simple: Finances are scary. The worst thing an employer can do is invest in solutions that overcomplicate financial wellness and make it intimidating. Companies should look for solutions that keep it simple and easy for employees to understand what they need to do.
  • Establish Trust: Privacy is a critical consideration in financial wellness. Employees need a solution that they can trust will maintain their privacy and provide the right advice.

We are excited to be providing more research on financial wellness this year and would love to hear what solutions you are using and what challenges you are facing.

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New Year, New Priorities, and New Data

We are ready for a new year. We have been busy planning ahead and we are setting new goals and priorities. It is an exciting time to be in HCM and we are looking forward to the next twelve months.

Here are a few of the things you can expect to see from Aptitude in 2018:

  • New Data: Mollie launched her Impact Survey and she is in the process of analyzing the key findings that include payroll, compensation, and total rewards data. Later this month we are launching our Talent Acquisition and Engagement Survey and will look at investment, integration, and analytics. We will be sharing our findings in early February.
  • New Website: We are all about simplicity this year, and our new website will reflect this commitment. We want to make it as easy as possible for our community to find our research, connect with analysts, and discover our latest thoughts and insights. We will be launching a new website in early Q2.
  • New Content: We are becoming more consistent with the content we publish – not only reports, but also blogs (every Tuesday and Wednesday) and Aptitude Fast Facts; data points we will share on our website and twitter every Monday.
  • New Conversations: Connecting with HR and Talent Acquisition leaders and practitioners is a big part of what we do. We plan to make this an even bigger commitment in 2018 through research advisory councils and new relationships and conversations.
  • New Index Reports: We are updating our Payroll, ATS, and Recruitment Marketing Index Reports. Also, we are tackling RPO and recognition this year. We will share more information on our Index Reports in the next few weeks.

We are excited for everything “new” this year and would love any feedback on our surveys, content, website…anything. Let us know what research you are hoping to see this year!

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Five Talent Acquisition Predictions for 2018

The past year in talent acquisition has been characterized by new trends, new providers, and new investments. While this is an exciting time to be in talent acquisition, all of this change can feel overwhelming.

At Aptitude Research Partners, we are thinking a lot about the future and what 2018 will bring. As companies make more strategic decisions around their technology providers, we have a few predictions.

The Gap in the SMB: With every solution moving up market, we will see a gap in solutions targeting the SMB. Many best-of-breed providers are itching to move upmarket as the growth that many of these providers experienced in the SMB and mid-markets no longer seems to be enough. These providers are flexing their muscles by creating new partnerships, establishing a European presence, and demonstrating security and scalability that enterprise clients require. This mad rush upmarket is leaving a gap that needs to be filled in the SMB.

The Inevitable Acquisition: Market consolidation in talent acquisition technology is inevitable with too many providers doing too many different things. Aptitude’s 2017 research found that over 50% of companies are investing in 3 or more ATS systems and 3 or more primary sourcing tools. As 70% of companies invest in recruitment marketing solutions, ATS providers have an opportunity to make the technology landscape simpler for their customers, and we can expect some acquisitions in this area.

The Rise of Assessments:  While the assessment market is certainly not an emerging category of HR technology, it has evolved quite rapidly in the past year. Yet, at the same time, it is also a market that has sparked some controversy. Many traditional assessment providers are criticized for their high costs and negative experience for both employers and candidates. Too often, they remain a luxury of enterprise organizations recruiting for senior positions. Many new providers, on the other hand, face backlash as companies question the validity and fairness of these solutions and their effectiveness at attracting quality talent. Successful assessments today must balance sophisticated grounding in data science with a simplicity of user experience for both the candidate and the hiring manager.

The Need for Simplicity: We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again. Companies need simpler solutions in talent acquisition. Recruiters have one major problem. They need an easier way to attract, recruit, and hire talent. If a technology provider is not solving that problem, they do not have a viable solution.  According to Aptitude’s 2016 Hire, Engage, Retain survey, only 3% of companies are using the full functionality of their ATS systems. Companies either don’t know the functionality is there or they don’t understand how to use it. Again, many of these solutions are too complicated. If you want to give recruiters and candidates what they need, technology providers need to make it simple.

The Role of the Big Guys: Several big providers made bold moves in talent acquisition this year. Google Hire turned many heads with its launch earlier this year. Workday acquired new customers, making many of the ATS providers nervous. And Microsoft seems committed to its LinkedIn acquisition. All eyes are on the big providers in 2018 and it will be interesting to see what they do.

The next year is likely to present some major changes in the talent acquisition technology market and we are excited to cover it and help provide clarity around the uncertainty.

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HCM Startups: Asking the Tough Questions

It is a good time to be a startup in HCM technology. With new investment, new priorities, and a new focus on the experience, this market presents some exciting opportunities. In fact, according to CB Insights, the amount of investment in this industry has increased from $400 million in 2012 to just under $2 billion last year. The investment and opportunity seems so promising that entrepreneurs from all walks of life are entering this market with new solutions that promise to change talent and workforce management. Sounds great. Yet “new” is not always better in the world of HCM and companies need to be cautious when investing in startups.

Below are a few questions to consider:

  • Financial Viability: Some startups have every intention of becoming a leading provider in the market with staying power. They are passionate about the work they are doing and the value they provide to your company. Other providers are just hoping to get acquired. They have an exit strategy, and it doesn’t include helping you achieve your goals. When considering startups, you want a provider that is going to be around in the next few years and will partner with you around your unique needs.
  • Integration: Startups don’t always understand the complex HCM ecosystem and how important integration is to corporations. You should consider providers that integrate with more than your HRMS and have a willingness to learn and connect with many partners.
  • Deep Domain Expertise: Startups don’t have to be experts in everything HCM but they should have a strong understanding of their market. They should partner with clients to build out their expertise and be flexible to new challenges that come up. According to Aptitude Research Partners, 56% of companies are investing in providers that can demonstrate deep domain expertise in talent acquisition.
  • Budget: It is easy to get excited by something that is new, but you need to make sure that the startups you are considering align with your HCM budget. Is this something you will need to get buy-in for, or can it replace some of your existing technology?

Investing in a startup can be a positive thing for your company. It can help you reimagine the way you are attracting talent, engaging talent, or even providing benefits. Startups can take your HCM strategy to the next level – but you still need to be judicious about the providers you are considering. You need to ask the tough questions. Sometimes “new” is nothing more than new. Solutions should provide greater efficiency, a strong experience, and a willingness to partner with you as you face challenges.

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New Research on the Employee Experience

In this economy, the employee experience is everything. It is the experience that gives companies a competitive edge even when their products fall short. It creates loyalty and a powerful commitment to a certain company or brand.

Yet, when it comes to creating, maintaining and measuring a positive employee experience, most companies fall short. According to Gallup, 70% of the US workforce is actively disengaged and US companies are losing north of $500 billion in profits each year due to loss of productivity. According to Harvard Business Review, organizations with low engagement report up to a 65% increase in turnover. Clearly, something needs to change.

I am excited about new research that we worked on with our friends George LaRocque (Founder, #HRWins) and Ben Eubanks (Principal Analyst, Lighthouse Research and Advisory) for Talmetrix that talks about the strategies for improving the employee experience.

Here are a few highlights from the research:

  1. Define Culture: Culture is the foundation and the most critical step in creating a positive employee experience. It includes the set of beliefs and behaviors that shape a team and all of their interactions. Studies show that companies with performance-enhancing cultures far out-perform those without it in terms of revenue growth, stock price growth, and net income growth.
  2. Measure the Experience: Don’t expect to make changes and improvements without a strategy for measuring the employee experience. Aptitude’s 2016 Hire, Engage and Retain Survey found that 81% of top-performing companies measure the experience of candidates, employees, managers, and leaders.
  3. Strengthen Employee Communication and Collaboration: Communication received by an employee during all interactions with the employer affects their feeling of engagement and leads to particular behaviors. Communication is most effective when it is personal and shouldn’t be done through email alone. Companies need to find what type of communication works for engaging employees.
  4. Use Data to Drive Decisions: While an increasing number of companies are recognizing the need for better analytics and insights, the majority are still utilizing ad-hoc approaches to collecting data, pulling reports, and analyzing. Data needs to drive decisions around how to engage with talent and provide a more meaningful relationship between companies and employees.

As you start planning for how to improve the employee experience in 2018, check out the research and let us know what you think.

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New Research: Talent Acquisition Systems 2017

It has been over a year since we published our first ATS Index report and what a year it has been. Over the past year, providers have enhanced interview management capabilities, dabbled with Artificial Intelligence (AI), provided more options for employee referrals, and improved analytics and dashboards. It has been a busy time.

The biggest shift in the past year is the realization that the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) as a stand-alone product is not enough. In order to be efficient and provide a positive candidate experience, organizations need capabilities that engage talent both before they apply for a job and after they accept an offer. The providers we included in this year report offer much more than an ATS and several offer end-to-end talent acquisition solutions. The list of this year’s providers includes: ADP, Cornerstone OnDemand, gr8 People, Greenhouse, IBM, iCIMS, Jobvite, Lever, Newton SoftwareOracle, PeopleFluent, SAP, SmartRecruiters, Symphony Talent, and Workday.

We have made some significant improvements to this year’s report including

  • Integration: As more providers are offering ecosystems and marketplaces, we included more information on how providers are integrating with third-party providers and what their platforms offer for integration and support.
  • Security: Few providers in this report can truly support a global enterprise client. As companies look to expand globally, we believe that security is an important differentiator.
  • Advanced Capabilities: We evaluated providers based on some of the advanced capabilities we are seeing in the market, including events management, internal mobility, employee referrals, and CRM capabilities.
  • SWOT Analysis: We replaced the customer journey section of the report with a SWOT analysis to show where providers have strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • Investment: Many of the providers in this report have received a considerable amount of investment. We called this out in the beginning of each profile, as financial viability is a key differentiator.
  • More Analyst Insight: We included more insight into what impressed us about each provider and what companies should consider when evaluating these solutions.
  • New Providers: This year gr8 People and Symphony Talent were both included in this report.

We are excited for all of the change in the market and we would love to hear any feedback on the report.

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HR Technology Conference 2017: The Beginning of a New Conversation

The HR Technology Conference is a time to reflect on the past while looking toward the future. More importantly, it gives us a pulse on what matters in the market.  And this year, ‘what matters’ feels different. It feels more thoughtful and more meaningful. What matters is less about competing for market share or trying to outshine and outsell our peers. What matters is not how big our booth is or how many times we are on the agenda. This year, what matters is a community coming together to support our Bay Area friends impacted by the Sonoma fires, the importance of women in tech, and the recent tragedy in Las Vegas.

Priorities have shifted. Conversations and discussions moved beyond products and capabilities and focused on the bigger issues. Providers are no longer just talking transforming HR, they are providing solutions and expertise to actually do it. It’s about time. Some of the themes that resonated with us this week included diversity and inclusion, the employee experience, compensation, and enabling better decisions.

Here is my 2017 HR Technology Conference review:

Diversity and Inclusion

In research Aptitude Research Partners conducted earlier this year, diversity and inclusion initiatives were a top three priority for organizations in 2017. This is an area that has been underserved in the past, and today, it seems to be a critical part of most roadmaps. Many of the providers we met with are focused on diversity hiring and offering capabilities such as anonymous screening, job description checkers, and bias detection.

Talent Sonar: Talent Sonar empowers clients to look at the qualities that predict success. Its 5 Best Hiring Practices support diversity and inclusion efforts by prioritizing job skill sets, creating inclusive job descriptions, enabling a blind resume review, and providing data-driven hiring. Oh, and they just acquired Talent Function with industry rock star, Elaine Orler, joining the team.

Textio: Textio uses a rich data set based on 300 million job applications and provides “augmented writing” to help recruiters improve job posts and attract a more diverse talent pool. Textio doesn’t currently partner with ATS providers but I am guessing that will change in the future.

Yello: Yello is no doubt the sleeper of 2017. This provider has raised more money in the past six months than most of its competitors combined (including a $31 Million round of Series C led by JMI Equity). It has an aggressive product roadmap and has made diversity and inclusion a priority through capabilities and specific use cases. It provides companies with insight into their candidate pipeline to see the effectiveness of their diversity and inclusion efforts.

WCN: Of all the companies I met with last week, WCN was the one that impressed me the most. Partly because I had never heard of them before — and I should have. They support over 400 employers, have a growth rate of over 30%, and cover end-to-end talent acquisition. Their diversity solution strengthens recruitment marketing, events management, and analytics efforts.  It also helps companies strengthen their talent pools of diverse candidates actively looking for new jobs.

Experience Economy

According to research by Aptitude, 83% of companies plan to continue to improve the experience of candidates, employees, and managers. But most companies are not clear about where to start. They understand that they should empower individuals, but do not have the right strategies and tools in place. Here are a few providers doing some great work:

Beamery: Beamery is the company to watch in recruitment marketing this year. Beamery personalizes the candidate experience and allows organizations to measure that experience through every stage of the process and compare data across different functions. It includes feedback surveys, talent promoter scores, and a way to measure recruiter performance.

Jellyvision: Jellyvision combines behavioral science with technology and a little bit of humor to help guide employees through difficult life decisions such as obtaining healthcare coverage, selecting life insurance, and establishing financial wellness. It does this through Alex, a communication platform. The solution is so popular with clients that Jellyvision even tracks the number of marriage proposals that Alex gets each year!

-Jobvite: This provider offers a comprehensive suite of solutions to handle everything from employer branding to attracting talent through onboarding. The entire suite is developed on one code and fully integrated. Analytics and advanced reporting gives clients a full view of the candidate’s entire journey and a consistent experience for users.

The Muse: The Muse has always been successful at helping individuals prepare for their next job and connect with employers. This year, they are also focusing on employers improve their brand and the overall candidate experience. Johnson & Johnson recently announced its’ Shine initiative- leveraging The Muse to bring a digital and consistent experience to all candidates.

Survale: Survale is a provider that offers something that every company in every industry needs: an “always-on” tool for collecting feedback and analytics around the candidate experience, quality of hire, and the employee experience. It was founded by former Cytiva executives who understand the importance of measuring the experience and holding recruiters and hiring managers accountable for their performance.

Recruitment Intelligence: Making Better Decisions

AI, machine learning, call it whatever you like…companies are looking for technology providers that can help them make better decisions around how to engage with talent. In fact, Aptitude found that 40% of companies are investing in some type of AI in talent acquisition. HRTech had no shortage of these providers.

Entelo: Entelo continues to dominate the sourcing market with its latest product, Envoy. Envoy sources on behalf of the customer. It takes care of everything and lets recruiters focus on other initiatives. Customers provide basic information about the job(s) they want to fill and Envoy uses AI to find who would be a good fit and then provides all of the communication to those candidates on behalf of the customer.

Greenhouse: Greenhouse, with its scorecard functionality and its focus on best practices, is a product that guides recruiters and hiring managers to make the right decisions. It doesn’t force them into the decisions, but it shows them what the obvious answers are and then lets them decide.

IBM: The power of IBM’s talent acquisition solution can be found in Watson, IBM’s supercomputer that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated analytical software for optimal performance as a “question answering” machine. It uses knowledge, skills, and the data within organizations (performance and succession data) to help companies better identify quality hires.

Symphony Talent: The product differentiates itself because of its simplicity and ease of use. While other ATS solutions are prioritizing the candidate experience, Symphony has invested equally in the recruiter’s experience. It feels more like a consumer product than a corporate talent acquisition solution and AI is built into every stage of the process.

Compensation

Compensation is an interesting market that hasn’t had the attention it deserves, considering it is one of the most important aspects of the employer/employee relationship. Employers are being held more accountable because employees expect more. And so much has changed with the way compensation is managed for organizations. We are seeing an increased emphasis on competitive pay, the need for greater pay transparency, and new regulations around gender pay inequity and executive compensation. These are two providers worth watching in the compensation market:

Willis Towers Watson: Towers Watson’s Total Compensation Management solution brings its expertise, robust data, and advisory services to compensation software. This solution provides market analysis, analytics and modeling, job leveling, interactive access to data, and a total rewards portal. It combines deep domain expertise with innovative software to help organizations both manage their strategy and reward employees.

Salary.com: Salary’s Compensation Analysis Suite of solutions includes configurable dashboards, interactive insights and a mobile application. It continues to invest heavily in its product in 2017.

It was a busy week and a busy year. Providers are tackling the big issues and focused more on their customers and less on their competitors. It feels like the start of new era of HR Technology, and we are ready for it. Some of these providers are included in our ATS Index Report publishing next week. Stay tuned…

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Four Trends Impacting Employee Recognition

Employee recognition is something that feels right: motivating employees and encouraging positive behavior feels like something every organization should be doing. We know this. And for a long time, these “feelings” of corporate responsibility have driven the employee recognition market to reach $46 billion (as estimated by Josh Bersin in 2012). But, in 2017, is this enough? Or does employee recognition need to be tied to something bigger than a feeling of “right or wrong?”

For the first time, we are seeing a shift in how companies evaluate recognition software and measure results. Recognition is becoming less about employee satisfaction and adoption rates and more about business outcomes. I was at the Achievers Customer Experience event last week and business performance was a recurring theme. The CEO of Meijer Supermarkets – a company with 70,000 employees (mostly non-desk employees) – took the stage to talk about how employee recognition drives customers satisfaction. Companies like Meijer are actually looking at how consistent recognition drives retention, engagement, and productivity. This type of correlation is becoming the standard in an industry that was at one time considered HR “fluff.”

Fortunately, we are seeing an uptick in the investment in employee recognition providers and the number of startups entering this space. It is a market we are watching closely and a few themes definitely stand out:

  • Recognition is Not a Replacement for a Performance Management System: Some providers are complicating their messaging and seem to be going after performance management in a way that is confusing to their buyers and existing partners. Recognition is recognition. It has an established budget and the value is far greater than what a traditional performance management solution can offer.
  • Recognition Needs to Be Tied to Business Outcomes: Customers are asking for this and the providers that can show how recognition impacts retention, customer satisfaction, and productivity. Research Aptitude conducted earlier this year found that companies with a recognition program are two times more likely to improve the employee experience.
  • Recognition is a Communication Tool: It is no surprise that one of the greatest challenges companies face is communicating with their workforce. Ninety-six percent (96%) of companies we surveyed last year believe that communication is critical to achieving company goals. Social recognition technology provides a way for communication to be frequent, consistent, and meaningful.
  • Social Recognition is a Solution for HR Leaders: Recognition has historically been a priority for compensation and benefits practitioners. As the market matures and technology becomes smarter and more strategic, recognition is becoming a priority for HR Leaders.

We will be publishing some new research on employee recognition next month and will be looking at what differentiates providers and how companies are showing the ROI from their investments.

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HR Technology Providers: What Your Demo Says About You

I have had some bad demos this summer. I get it. Sometimes things just don’t go right. The connection might be slow. The product isn’t doing what it is supposed to be doing. The conference bridge has issues. It’s not a big deal…technology solutions are entitled to have bad days too. But why does it feel like the quality of demos is not what it used to be? Why does it feel like providers are less prepared  when presenting their solutions and articulating their value proposition?

They are not all bad. I have had some really impressive demos recently – including Moovila, Jellyvision, Crowded, and most of the ATS providers that are included in this year’s Index report (they are all demo pros). But, the bad ones stand out. I think as the market is rapidly changing, it might be time to slow down and revisit what matters in a demo (especially before fall conference season).

So, here are my Do’s and Don’ts of presenting an HR Technology Demo:

  1. Do Know Your Audience: Are you showing this solution to a buyer, an analyst, a partner? Not everyone is interested in the same capabilities. Tailor your demo to the right audience and try to understand what capabilities are most important to show.
  2. Don’t Talk About Trends: If the first 30 minutes of your demo is spent talking about “the war for talent”, you are doing something wrong. We all get it. Your customers get it. You don’t need to talk about these very high level trends. Instead, talk about the problem that your solution is solving and what capabilities and differentiators set you apart.
  3. Do Keep It Simple: You don’t want to overwhelm a customer or prospect with every capability or use case on a demo. Understand what is important to that individual before the call and show them the capabilities that best align with their unique needs.
  4. Don’t Forget Your Team: Most demos include some mix of sales, product and possibly leadership. Work as a team on the demo by engaging with your audience and involving everyone on the call.
  5. Do Ask for Feedback: The best demos create a dialogue where you are engaging your audience. It is important to stop and ask for feedback and to check to see if anyone on the call has questions that need to be addressed.

Some of this may sound basic but the way that companies buy HR Technology is changing. In some cases, the demo needs to change as well.

Next week, we will publish the second part of this blog series on demo recommendations for organizations…