CandidateX listed on Sifted's 'early stage HR Tech startups to watch'

Market 101

The “war for talent”, the “Great Resignation”, a wave of layoffs in a jittery economy — HR departments have had plenty to worry about in recent years. Competing for coveted talent while making sure existing employees don’t leave for greener pastures was hard enough before the pandemic, which made working life virtually borderless, and for many reaffirmed the importance of work-life balance. Lately, HR managers have needed to handle a delicate task unknown to most of the tech sector for over a decade: mass layoffs.

Stepping in to provide support at this crucial time is a growing wave of startups focusing on everything from performance analytics to recruiting software to payroll management, with many of them targeting the giant — but underserved — European SME market. Going forward, their biggest challenge won’t be a lack of demand for HR tech, but an increasingly crowded sector in which they must stand out from the pack.

Trends to watch

1. The permanent hybridWith office occupancy back on the rise, the extent to which fully remote workplaces are here to stay is up for debate.Amid this uncertainty, HR-focused startups that are just starting out may do better to consider which products will remain essential to HR generally, rather than tailoring their offering too much towards fully remote or fully physical futures.
2. Fairness and AI biasAI tools for sourcing and screening talent are sprouting up, but concerns around fairness and reinforced biases may slow their adoption.Those startups need to be careful to sell their tools as providing additional, alternative information to support hiring managers in their decisions — rather than claiming to be able to replace human judgement altogether.
3. Securing data (and talent)Faced with stringent data regulations, HR departments need to demonstrate strong levels of protection and compliance.HR techs are filling the gap by developing “safe vaults” that centralise and protect social data, ensuring additional compliance across departments.
4. One for all, all for oneBecause HR has touch points with many other departments — from finance to legal — it makes a particularly good starting point for building an all-in-one enterprise software kit.With companies looking to streamline their spending amid the broader economic downturn, there’s even more incentive for HR startups to integrate additional services and help clients cut costs.

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