Kris and I got the opportunity to speak to a rather fun and active group at the SHRM National Conference in Vegas a few weeks back. Standing room only! We went live on Periscope with the “Pre-session” 15 minutes before the actual session for all those folks who came early to get a good seat. What is an HR technology session without a little testing of some new technology?!
KD and I have spoken quite a few times together, and we always have fun. In the moment, we also tend to agree to things we had no plan of agreeing to! In this session “we” (I blame KD for this) agreed to provide a list of 10 questions all the participants could ask HR Tech vendors when they were looking at new tech.
In classic FOT style, we are giving you 10 serious questions, but under those we’ll also give you 10 not-so- serious questions!
The 10 Serious Questions You Should Ask HR Tech Vendors:
- Does your company make money? If not, what’s the burn rate of your company and when will you run out of money?
- Tell me the three things you’re proudest of related to your software based on what you know about my needs.
- Tell me at least one thing you wish your solution did better for people like me.
- Let’s talk about term. How long am I under contract? Is there an out if I don’t feel like your company represented the capabilities of the solution in an accurate fashion?
- Can you show me the official product roadmap for the next four quarters for this solution?
- Do you have the power to waive all implementation fees to close this deal this week or do you have to go talk to the used car sales manager? Will you guys drink a bottle of soda in the back while you make me wait, just like when I bought my used IROC?
- What client do you have that uses your solution the best, to it’s fullest capabilities? When can I speak to them?
- Who is the company that you compete against for most of your deals in the past twelve months?
- What is at least one way your clients are using your solution that you didn’t realize they would when it was developed?
- What cost increases will I have (because we implement your solution) that have nothing to do with your solution?
The 10 Not-So-Serious Questions You Should Ask HR Tech Vendors:
- How does it feel to have no soul?
- Have you ever slept with an HR Lady to close a deal?
- Why haven’t I seen you on M*ther F*****g T3 – Tech Tuesdays at TimSackett.com?
- How much did the clothes you’re wearing cost and where did you buy them?
- What’s your quota? How much do you have to sell to keep your job?
- Who is your best looking sales rep, and when will I be meeting him/her?
- Does your implementation team have a bar budget to take out clients when things aren’t going well?
- What is the coolest prize you give out at your user conference?
- Are you going to send me something lame for the holidays, or can I just tell you what I would rather you send me?
- No, really, how does it feel to have no soul?
We kid! But, seriously use both lists if you want.
If you Google “Tim Sackett” you’ll find our Tim, and a truck driver chaplain. Our Tim is NOT the truck driver chaplain, although how awesome would that be if he was!? He is a prolific writer in the HR and TA space who just happens to also run an Engineering and IT contract staffing agency (HRU Technical Resources) out of Michigan. He also writes every day at his own blog, the Tim Sackett Project. Weirdly, he’s known as an expert in workplace hugging, which was kind of cool years ago, but now seems painfully creepy, but we still love him and he’s fairly harmless. Tim is also on the board of the Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals (ATAP), lifetime Michigan State Spartan fan, husband to a Hall of Fame wife, 3 sons, and his best friend Scout. He also wrote a book with SHRM called The Talent Fix, you can find it on Amazon.