Work with me here.According to Census information from 2004, there are (were) about 6 million businesses in the U.S. with employees.
Out of those, 5,996,500 have fewer than 2,500 employees.
So, depending on how you define small and mid-size businesses, there are fewer than 3,500 large, enterprise-esque and enterprise businesses doing business in the U.S. totalling over 1.8 billion employees.
Not a very big pool compared to the remainder (considering number of firms, not employees - which actually makes it very lucrative for benefits, payroll and talent management firms), and which is also why we've seen the big kids on the HR marketplace block drill down into smaller markets.
Or at least try to.
Now, I'm sure there are up-to-date numbers elsewhere considering the downturn, but again, work with me here.
What I've heard in the past few weeks from various talent acquisition/management suppliers and other HR tech leaders is that more than half of the remaining 5,996,500 firms (totalling over 2.4 billion employees):
- Have no Web- or install-based automated HR software systems to help with recruiting, hiring, onboarding, benefits and comp administration, performance management, succession planning, workforce planning, etc.
- Have executive management teams and/or owners who really don't understand what Web- and/or install-based automated HR software systems are, how they can help improve talent workflow processes and retention while saving time and money, and because of this have inflated price fears of what it might cost to purchased them.
And if that's the case, there's a lot of friggin' business out there to be had by HR suppliers big and small as the good ship lollipop of American business finally starts to sweeten again.
It all starts by sharing compelling content to educate your prospects and nuture them to become leads and buyers.
Trust me. We've got lots of compelling stories to share.
Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn)
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5 comments:
I agree Kevin that is seems like there is lots of opportunity in the small and medium size business HR market. I get questions all the time about technology from HR pros in these organizations that really struggle with identifying available technologies and determining those technologies that are the best fit for their issues. Great points.
Having worked with an HRO provider the last few years that provides services to small businesses I can verify first hand that less than 20% have implemented a Talent Management or HRIS system of any kind. Depends on industry but on average the starting point seems to occur around 300 to 600 employees and the tipping point depends on the complexity of the business and sophistication of the management team.
And I would further assert that less than 5% of the small business marketplace is getting value from their HR systems as they may have a technology that came with their payroll or benefits, or may have even purchased a software package but failed to fully implement and utilize.
Thank you for your comments, Steve and Charles. Appreciate it! Lots of opportunity abounds.
Hey Kevin,
Here at www.jobscore.com we have been squarely focused on this opportunity for a while now -- and have been steadily gaining market share by offering a self-service free applicant tracking system. For the most part we replace a hodgepodge of spreadsheets and email.
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