by Mark Velthuis, Vice President of Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, Amplitude
As economic uncertainty increases in APJ and around the world, The Great Resignation feels long in the past. Today, employees are afraid of workforce reductions and uncertain financial situations, particularly in countries like Japan and India.
As HR and recruiting leaders manage a quickly changing job market, they are turning to tools and software that help scale their efforts and provide clarity in the face of uncertainty. At the same time, job seekers affected by layoffs are leveraging job search platforms to find their next role. Against this backdrop, it’s no surprise that HR product usage — including job search platforms, people management software, and payroll and benefits applications — have skyrocketed over the past year, up 118% from 2021 to 2022.
The golden age of self-development
Complementing this surge in HR and staffing products is the significant growth of continued education and adult learning products. In today’s competitive job market, there is a greater emphasis placed on reskilling and upskilling. In Singapore, the government recently announced its plans to help job seekers bounce back from career setbacks through retraining. It’s no surprise that digital learning products like foreign language learning, skill-building, and career coaching apps grew 48% globally year-over-year. For the same reasons employees are harnessing the power of job-searching tools, they’re looking to digital learning products to help build their skills or become well-rounded applicants to rise above their competition.
HR tech isn’t just for HR anymore
These twin peaks in digital product usage are proof that we are living at the pinnacle of HR and workplace technology. According to Gartner, investing in HR technology has emerged at the top of HR leaders’ priorities in 2023. With demand at an all-time high from organizations and individuals alike, this presents a huge opportunity for technology solution providers. From an organisational standpoint, HR teams are in dire need of solutions that will help them lower costs, increase productivity, and streamline decision-making. For current and prospective employees, they are looking for the tools that give them an edge, whether that is a way to increase networking opportunities or master a new skill set. Given this, how can the organizations building these tools capitalize, and more importantly, maintain this growth?
When companies go through periods of explosive growth like we’re seeing now with HR and digital learning products, investing in your product and the digital experience is key to keeping both new and existing customers coming back for more. And when it comes to gaining and retaining customers, organizations will have competition. This is particularly so for the APJ region, which is leading the surge of the global HR technology market slated to reach USD76.5 billion by 2031.
With so many options available to them, users are able to be fickler than ever. As organizations look to refresh and reimagine workforce strategies, product builders need to offer a service that hooks users straight away and continues to give them reasons to return. Achieving this requires a deep understanding of customer behavior in order to deliver genuine value and consistent experiences to users. The companies who invest in their product now will not only improve the customer experience but will also create better long-term differentiation in increasingly crowded markets.
Positioning HR tech for the future
With economic instability likely to continue, we can expect to see the continued utilization of HR tech and adult learning products. While this is good news for solution providers, it also presents a challenge. To meet this demand and win their market, it is imperative these companies continue investing in their offerings during a time when budgets are tight. With this commitment, not only will they continue to grow themselves, but they will help organizations and individuals alike navigate the choppy waters ahead.
