Creating a Positive, Enjoyable work environment is the biggest challenge faced by Business Leaders. Whether you be a small, medium or large business, attracting the best talent and keeping is how you will gain the advantage. Though I pose this question, is this just about the bottom line, or, should there be a more humanistic approach to “Why” we are in business. How many Managers and HR professionals know, each day, how their workforce is feeling. Why are they happy, why are they sad. And how can the business contribute to a more balanced productive environment. You obviously need the tools and the vision.

Was inspired by Heather Albrecht during a Digital Marketing Workshop, where we were asked the question: “Why”. “Why Subscribe-HR”. What makes you different. I am a very strong believer in work-life balance. For 7 years, I sold Software systems to HR and Recruitment professionals. These systems did not really add the type of value that allowed busy HR professionals to create more time for things they enjoy and also allowed employees to express their opinions and feeling about the business they spend 38 hours per week working for.

The best analogy to describe SaaS. The car industry holds the key here.

The best analogy to describe SaaS. The car industry holds the key here.

Really agree that we need to be careful not to blur the lines between social apps and business apps. Article from earlier this year, still very relevant, particularly important to keep in mind for true-blue saas providers. This is precisely why we have used a fusion of desktop and web2.0+ design principles and parameters.

Over the past 7 – 8 years, the HR and Payroll Software Market has progressed through what you would call a basic maturity life-cycle. Back at the start of this cycle, vendors attempted to create value in the market by offering what was perceived as “Market need and demand”. It is true that the target audience of any market defines what is offered by suppliers. In the Australian HR and Payroll Software market, payroll took the lead and most of the providers that existed back then were born as payroll systems. As the cycle progressed and matured, these providers started to tack on token HR components to appease clients and prospects whom themselves were under pressure to make payroll decisions by the finance department. Decisions that did not present any real value to Recruitment and HR. As we stand today, the market has been noticeably fragmented and there now exists 2-3 clear and distinct waves.

With regards to any data integration, I can define how we work. With reference to third party applications, I can provide you with general integration principles and parameters. So, generally speaking, the mainstream ways that applications pass data is using XML. Flatfile (like csv) SQL Scripts (DTS – Very Old way of doing things). Passing of information can be done on a routine basis, e.g. export/import based on the time, and selected data.