Messaging - What HR Wants to Hear from Vendors

The following is an excerpt from my latest ebook entitled the Essential Marketing Guide for HR Tech Vendors and Startups.

Recruiters and HR people are arguably the busiest people at any company today. They are managing multiple reqs or putting out fire after fire while trying to please management.

I think the four messages that resonate most with them in general are;

• Save me time

• Save me money

• Make my job easier

• Get me quality applicants

Be sure your messaging has elements of some or all of these. Integration with other technologies like an applicant tracking systems is also a key feature request from HR. If your product doesn’t play nice, that’s a hurdle you need to be aware of. Expect questions about possible integrations when demo’ing your tool.

NOTE: Josh Bersin, the HR Tech analyst calls it “integrated talent management”.

When it comes to HR software there is a big push from employers to have  integrated suites that do everything. We are seeing a big push from vendors who offer well rounded set of features.

Take Snagajob for instance, the job board company just bought PeopleMatter a HR system for managing hourly workers. For years, CareerBuilder was just a job board. But even they have broadened their offerings. Now they serve employers needs from soup to nuts.

Because of this if your product does not integrate well into these new and powerful HR systems your product may struggle to gain acceptance until you do.

Tout your numbers if you have them. I was speaking to an exec at an entry level job site recently who asked what he should lead with as far as wording on his marketing and landing pages. “What are your numbers?”, I asked. “2.5 million profiles of college students and recent grads”, he replied. “Lead with that”, I said. Those are the kinds of things recruiters like to hear.