I’m a virgin when it comes to HR technology. When I first got into really studying the industry I probably put HR technology into about three buckets: HR system of record, applicant tracking systems and payroll. If you had those three types of software you had what you basically needed to run HR.

My friends, William and John, over at Key Interval Research recently released their latest study called “The Optimal Technical Stack”. The goal being let’s figure out what pieces of HR and Talent Technology you really need to run a ‘complete’ HR shop, and ideal HR shop. If money was no object, what technology solutions should you have to be great?

Here’s the list. I’m going to put in order to what I think you should invest in first to last. The guys at Key Interval did not do this. They do real research, this ranking is just my opinion:

• Human Resource Information System (HRIS)
• Payroll
• Recruiting/Talent Acquisition (Applicant Tracking Systems & Recruiting Automation)
• Benefits Management
• OnBoarding
• Total Rewards (Recognition)
• Performance Management
• Time & Attendance/Scheduling (Key broke T&A and Scheduling out separately, I think they go together)
• Learning Management
• HR Analytics
• Succession Management
• Engagement Tools
• Recruiting Tools (Interviewing tools and Assessments – Key broke these out as two separate categories)
• Wellness Management
• Compensation Management
• Employment Websites (CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, etc.)
• Collaboration/Communication Tools (Tools that help your employees communicate with each other: Yammer, TINYPulse, Chatter, etc.)
• Case Management (Employee hotlines, tracking calls and issues brought into HR, etc.)
• Workforce Planning & Workforce Management (Key had these broken out, but I think they actually probably fall into one of the 18 categories I have listed above somewhere)

You might rank this list differently depending on the situation you find yourself in with your current organisation. If I had my HR shop locked in and running down the tracks smoothly, maybe I would move up Wellness. If I had a crunch on hiring, maybe I move up some of the recruiting, interviewing talent attraction types of technology.

I think most people would look at this list and believe that their HR ‘suite’ is providing them with most, if not all of this stuff. The reality is, most suites are good with about three of these, touch another three, and try to make you believe they have another three. That makes nine pieces they might cover, which leaves a ton of technology you just don’t have.

If you were to listen to any HR or Talent technology vendor in 2015, you would be led to believe that the only piece of technology you really need is HR Analytics! That’s all we hear in the marketplace right now.

Another fascinating piece from the Key Interval research was that Succession Technology is ranked as the most desired need of organizations. Yet, has one of the lowest market penetrations. Also, it was clear to me, that organizations don’t really see any leader in this space. Most respondents used one of three tools for Succession: Some in-house/home grown (like an Excel spreadsheet), relied on what their HRIS suite offered (which is probably very weak) or relied on what their Learning Management system offered (probably weaker yet!).

No real players in Succession Technology! Sounds like an opportunity…

Fascinating research and data from Key Interval. Check them out. I love receiving their reports!

This article originally appeared on The Tim Sackett Project. You can check it out here.

About the Author

Tim Sackett is a HR pro with over 20 years’ experience. With a career perfectly split between recruiting and HR generalist roles – (also split between the HR vendor community and the corporate world) – he’s seen the HR world from all angles of the boardroom table. You can check out all his other brilliant ideas over at www.timsackett.com. Connect with Tim @TimSackett

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