HR tech has attracted a great deal of interest and VC funding in the last decade. Market data from WorkTech estimates the total addressable market for human capital management (HCM) technology to be $391B (for the nine countries most often requested by clients). Total VC investment in HCM, talent management and talent acquisition was $17.9B in 2021, up from $4.98B in 2020. Trends like remote and hybrid work models, employee wellness, employee experience and diversity/equity/inclusion programs have driven sustained interest in this space. Technology solutions are common in all segments of the HR process including recruiting and hiring, onboarding, core HR functions like payroll and employee communication, employee wellbeing, and talent management.

This interest means more public relations opportunities for organizations using or offering these products and services. Here’s a breakdown of what those media opportunities are and some sample topics to spark ideas for how to take advantage of them.

The HR Tech Media Landscape

There is a robust media landscape for the HR industry. Many traditional HR media outlets like HR Executive or SHRM.org have strong print and online audiences. There are also several career-focused pubs like The Ladders that may be interested in HR tech news. Many business pubs also have dedicated reporters or sections like CNBC’s Make It dedicated to careers that will cover HR tech issues (but probably not the products themselves).

Several HR pubs accept guest posts, and a wide range of other business outlets like the Forbes Business Council or Entrepreneur will take articles about HR and employee experience issues if they tie into the issue of the day (as they often do). Topics like how technology can make hiring more equitable, how to retain employees in a tight labor market through employee experience, internal mobility, or reskilling, how AI can be used effectively and ethically in HR, and how to manage remote and hybrid teams, will be interesting to a wide range of media outlets.

There are many HR podcasts out there, including several long running and prestigious ones like HR Happy Hour, Punk Rock HR and the Chad and Cheese podcast. Outreach to these podcasts to secure guest appearances for a well-spoken spokesperson will be time well spent. Note that not all of them will have people from vendors on as guests, but many will. Some podcasts have also started charging for guest appearances, especially for vendors. But enough free opportunities remain to make this fertile ground for PR outreach.

Topics, Trends and Story Hooks for HR Tech

Several trends and topics within HR are currently having a moment in the spotlight. Tying into these trends will help secure interview and guest article opportunities for HR tech PR programs.

  • Quality of Hire – This is a metric many talent leaders are interested in measuring (it’s essentially a measure of how much value new hires provide an organization after coming on board), but struggle to implement successfully. Techniques and tools that help measure it will be relevant for HR press.
  • AI/ML/Predictive Analytics – These tools have many applications in HR tech, from providing employees with feedback on their communication styles to assess candidate’s skills, competencies, and behavioral traits. Both the potential uses of this technology and its potential downsides (invasion of privacy, bias, etc.) are relevant stories for HR media.
  • Employee Training – Employees increasingly want more training, reskilling and advancement opportunities at work. HR tech that can provide these options will be interesting to press.
  • Retention and Internal Mobility – A tight labor market and the huge reshuffling thanks to Covid-19 means organizations are trying desperately to hang onto their workers and help them move within the organization rather than have them leave. HR tech can help alleviate this issue in a variety of ways.
  • Wellness – Organizations changing to remote or hybrid working models are trying to replace in-office perks with other benefits, and provide more resources to help employee’s physical, mental and emotional health. New ways to do this successfully are always interesting to press.

Pitching stories related to these topics, to the outlets summarized above will set your HR tech PR program up for success. If your organization is riding this rising wave of interest and investment in HR tech, make sure your communications program is growing along with everything else.