Recognizing the Most Influential in HR Tech

Here are 100 individuals who have shaped the world of HR technology—and are helping to determine its future.

In launching the first edition of the Top 100 HR Tech Influencers, the Human Resource Executive^® and HR Technology Conference team felt it was important to consider the many ways in which people and organizations can be, and are, influenced. For sure, there are plenty of ways to define “influence” in a market as large, dynamic and full of innovation as HR technology.

Executives and product leaders at the largest HR-technology providers exert tremendous influence on the market: Their strategic decisions in how they direct their research and development efforts, along with the new products and capabilities they create, can impact thousands of employers and, potentially, millions of employees.

Chief HR officers and other HR leaders, especially those at larger organizations, can also impact the market. These HR leaders can drive the product direction of providers, as well as set an example for the broader HR and business communities by virtue of the decisions they make around the use and deployment of HR technology.

Traditional HR-technology industry analysts also can wield pretty important influence by offering the employer community insights and perspectives on the evolution of tools and technologies. These analysts, who are rapidly growing in number, often offer unbiased analyses of the HR-technology market, especially as it relates to emerging solutions.

Consultants, advisors, and systems implementers and integrators, meanwhile, have more impact on the HR-technology market than most people realize. Often, these individuals and organizations work under the radar, guiding both HR leaders and product providers to help make all of the moving parts of HR technology—product, processes, change management and more—fit together.

Finally, the newest group of influencers are in the category that might best be described as “new media.” Many of these individuals started out as bloggers, migrating to platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn as they grew in popularity before beginning to produce videos and/or podcasts on a wide range of HR topics. No doubt you’ll find more than a few recognizable names and faces among this segment of the list. Together, they regularly reach thousands of people in the HR and HR-technology communities.

So, suffice it to say, influence in HR technology comes from many places, takes many forms and continues to evolve over time. When the HRE/HR Tech Conference team met over the winter to work on this Influencers list, we knew it would be important to consider all aspects of influence. Some have more of a direct and immediate effect on products, while others have a more subtle yet longer-term impact. It’s safe to say all, however, are having an important and noticeable impact on where HR technology has been, where it is today and, perhaps most importantly, where it is heading. And that, above all else, informed the decision-making that went into compiling this list, which presents those being recognized in alphabetical order.

As in every endeavor of this type, we are bound to have missed someone or failed to properly account for influence that is hard to see publicly. To that, we say: Because this list is an ever-development, ever-changing resource, “Wait ’til next year!”

We hope you find some new people to connect with as a result of this effort.

Click here to see the Top 100 HR Tech Influencers.

—Human Resource Executive^® and HR Technology Conference team