An avalanche of new HR tools has entered the market in the last few years, from video conferencing software and employee tracking tools to project management platforms. Some companies were overzealous at that time and added a lot of software to their tech stack. They later complained that they were drowning in tools and that the purchases they thought would help productivity were actually hindering it.
Given the current market conditions, with companies trimming down costs — including reducing their software spend — Sifted asked investors in the field of HR tech what solutions they feel remain important, and vital, in 2023.
Annalise Dragic, partner at Sapphire Ventures
Sapphire Ventures is a Palo Alto-based VC fund, investing in growth-stage technology companies and early-stage venture funds. It has offices in London, San Francisco, Menlo Park, and Austin.
Ravio has created a platform that brings a huge amount of real-time information into one place: salary benchmarking, equity-based comparisons, and benefits overviews, allowing employers to stay competitive. I believe Ravio and similar products will become must-haves, enabling employers to enter into compensation conversations armed with data and insight.
This can also be a vital tool in battling the gender and diversity wage gaps that persist in far too many organizations.
Wagestream’s product — which allows people to access their wages daily or weekly instead of monthly — has become even more important in the current cost of living crisis. It’s been able to refine its model and augment its partnership base over recent years. I can only see increased demand for a service like this in the months and years to come, and think Wagestream has built the tech and team to capitalize on a global opportunity.