When Mollie and I founded Aptitude Research Partners, we did so because of a massive need in the Human Capital Management market for a more productive conversation between HCM technology users and providers. Our goal from day one has been to move the dialogue beyond feature and function, to what really matters.
The mission of our business is to enable a new conversation where organizations have the insight to better understand their own HCM needs, and providers can clearly highlight their differentiators in order to create stronger relationships and improve the overall employee experience.
The Experience Economy, as we call it, is a delicate balance. Each member plays a distinct role. As far as we are concerned, as analysts, we take on the role of a kind of Sherpa leading both vendors and practitioners up the mountain to new heights.
(See mountainous logo, etc… now it makes sense!)
It’s a role we take quite seriously.
And unlike the traditional analyst ranking models made popular by Gartner’s Magic Quadrant or Forrester’s Wave,TM we do things a bit differently. We feel it’s critical to maintain objectivity to truly add value to both parties.
That is why we do not rank vendors in our reports
To-date we have published two Index Reports, one last year on Talent Acquisition Systems and one this month on Recruitment Marketing. The Indexes are an expression of that new conversation.
[Update: Now three Index Reports. Read our latest Index Report on Payroll Solution providers.]
They bring the concepts of the HCM technology landscape (our perspective of the vendor landscape) and an understanding of the buyer’s journey (detailing what matters to practitioners) together. The reports explore key trends, meaningful differentiators, and provide our opinion on how to think about the process of matching organizations with the right provider with a unique look at the top players in the space.
It is NOT a stack-ranked list of providers, or a shopper’s comparison guide. This is important. Instead, it provides an overview of the market and helps companies rethink how they determine their own needs, the evaluation criteria used to select partners, and what providers might meet their unique requirements.
As the market becomes more complex, organizations must take a step back and reexamine what is driving success, and ask new questions around technology decisions. The profiles of providers in these reports describe their attributes along these criteria. The insights are based on survey data from hundreds of technology users, in-depth demos and conversations with providers, and our own experience and expertise in the HCM space.
It is our hope that these reports help to simplify the confusion, and focus in on the real, practical questions users and buyers ask every day as they prepare to evaluate technology.
We’re always listening. Reach out on Twitter and Facebook, on our blog, or by emailing us at hello@aptituderp.com.
