When our Annual HR Systems Survey made its first appearance more than a quarter century ago, the technology landscape looked a bit different than it does today. To help put things into perspective, here’s what had the tech community buzzing back in the day:
- Windows 98 was getting ready to make its debut
- DVD players hit American store shelves for the first time, and
- IBM’s Deep Blue defeated Chess champion Garry Kasparov, opening people’s minds to the power and potential of Artificial Intelligence
Fast-forward to 2024, and cloud-based platforms have long since become the norm, streaming services have turned DVDs into antiques, and Artificial Intelligence is remapping our vision of what work will look like tomorrow.
Literally.
Today’s state-of-the-art is tomorrow’s old hat – in both consumer tech and in the world of HR – so it’s vitally important to have a resource that helps employers, workers, and HR professionals track all the changes and separate marketing hype from day-to-day reality.
That’s where we come in.
Sapient Insights Group’s Annual HR Systems Survey, currently in its 27th year, is totally unique because we go directly to the source – the HR, IT, and Finance pros who use the systems each and every day – for a completely “ground-level” view of market trends, tech adoption, and overall satisfaction with the apps shaping the HR technology landscape.
Getting the Word Out
To ensure we’re capturing as much of the HR technology landscape as possible, we take three primary paths to market:
- Public Access
We also open the survey to the public, ensuring we do not exclude any voices, especially those who may not be associated with specific vendors. This approach allows us to capture insights from a wide array of HR practitioners, including those from smaller or newer vendors who might not have extensive client lists.
- Community Relationships / Distributors
We work closely with a wide range of industry events, media outlets, and associations that serve the education and communication needs of our industry. Our relationships are built on mutual respect – and for their continued support, we work with them on engaging places to share the data with their audiences.
- Vendor Distribution
HR Service and Technology vendors who join our survey distributor community agree to send the survey directly to their clients, allowing us to tap into a ready pool of active users. These participants are likely engaged with their current HR systems and can provide detailed, firsthand insights into their experiences.
The surveys used for both public and vendor-distributed participation are identical – in content, wording, and sequence. We also ensure that an individual can complete only one survey per year, eliminating the potential for “double-counting” results.
Casting a Broader Net
At Sapient Insights, we have the rare opportunity to serve as the “connective tissue” between HR strategies, HR practitioners, and the technology provider community that can make everything work smoothly, consistently, and at scale. By taking this dual approach to sourcing the survey, we’re able to capture a broader array of perspectives that reflect the due diversity of the global HR systems market.
Through our newsletters, podcasts, webinars, and other activities within the HR community, we have a pretty extensive database of HR professionals at our disposal… and each of them receives an opportunity to let their voices be heard. But by teaming up with colleagues within the HR technology vendor community, we are able to amplify our reach and get an even healthier mix of respondents.
It also helps us to get responses from a richer demographic pool. Different regions, industries, and company sizes are all represented and prevent skewing data toward any particular group.
“So, what’s in it for me?”
Although the survey seeks in-depth insights across multiple areas of the HR technology landscape, neither survey-takers nor distributors are directly compensated for their efforts. However, each individual who completes the survey will receive a copy of the final report (currently valued at $1800) in the fall.
Technology providers who join our distribution team can also earn custom views of the data, webinars, and other promotional considerations based on the number of participants they drive. (Click here for a complete view of distributor benefits.)
Even if you weren’t able to take the survey or become a distributor, you can still purchase a copy of the report – 200+ pages of detailed insights and information ideal for benchmarking your own systems, developing a shortlist of vendors to consider when purchasing new tech, and identifying how your peers are prioritizing their investments in the year ahead.
Get Involved!
If you’re ready to step up and be counted in our 27th Annual Report, here’s how you can get involved:
- If you’re a vendor and would like to join our distributor community, click here and complete the brief form or contact Tammy Smith directly.
- If you’re an end user and you would like to take the survey, click here and get the process going!
- Interested in checking out the results from past surveys? Visit our Research Marketplace and check out the awesome educational content we have available through our online store.
- Make sure you stay up-to-speed on all things HR by subscribing to our podcast and our newsletter.