The future of SaaS recruitment

Where will recruitment be focused in the future for the SaaS industry?

It's quite easy to tunnel vision and remain fully focused on your immediate needs in the market - particularly in one as competitive as the one we're seeing right now - but there's real value in a bit of forward thinking, too. 

As we enter the final few months of this eventful year, we've been having plenty of insightful conversations with our contacts and connections across the space. One of the topics we've been most interested in is the future of the industry and where they foresee recruitment heading, so I thought I'd put together a list of what we've found to help you stay ahead of the game.

High-demand jobs

With the way the market is heading, the sales process is expected to face the most change over the coming years. The expectation is that talent will be taken away from the process and administration side of sales, with AI now being sophisticated enough to deal with the nitty-gritty of the sale. But people won't be left without a job; instead, we may well see sales turning to something more and more consultative, with the human side of supporting sales taking centre stage. Pre-Sales Specialist is the number one role that we expect to be in high demand over the coming years. Customer Success Manager and VP of Sales are some other sales-focused roles mentioned from our conversations in the market.

I'd be silly not to mention the inevitable rise of AI-focused roles in the SaaS space. With companies already making AI-specific hires (think Chief AI Officers!) this skillset is likely to become a mainstay in the industry. As with any emerging tech, top candidates for these roles should expect to be in high demand in the coming years (and are likely to expect to be paid a pretty penny too). Keep an eye out for our AI Report coming out soon, which dives into further detail about the in-demand AI skills as well as the wage premiums you should expect to pay to secure these skills.

The key thing to acknowledge with these high-demand roles is that there will inevitably be skills shortages in the market. Game-changing employees will not be easy to find, and everyone will be after them. Pipelining talent and having a solid attraction strategy for these jobs and skills will be as crucial as ever to secure the talent you want and need.

Focus on DE&I

There've been huge steps taken to invest further into DE&I initiatives across the industry as the focus shifts to making SaaS a level playing field for everyone. It's been acknowledged that there is still a lack of diversity industry-wide, and our conversations from Hannover Messe earlier this year made it clear that senior leaders want to right this wrong. But what are some ways that companies are actively looking to reduce the diversity gap?

From our conversations with senior leaders, one of the most interesting takeaways was around challenging any unconscious biases that may exist in the recruitment cycle. Going through your job adverts with a fine-tooth comb to see if there is anything in the wording or requirements that may deter marginalised groups from applying. An example is around the expectations of on-the-road travel for sales roles. It can be easy to put "up to 50% travel time" in a job advert and not think much of it, but a working mother is unlikely to be able to commit to such requirements. Travel expectations may not be as strict as suggested, but this marginalised group will instantly be put off from applying.

Not only is embracing diversity at work good from a moral and ethical standpoint, but it's also been proven that diversity can have a huge impact on the effectiveness of decision-making. Different viewpoints that come from a diverse team boost the likelihood of well-rounded solutions being agreed upon, as well as more potential risks being identified with any decision. So make sure you're investing in DE&I initiatives in your company, or be prepared to be left behind.

Further industry developments

Our conversations this year have also got us thinking about some of the future developments we might see in the coming years. These are things that are just whispers right now and aren't being widely acted upon, but might be in the future. 

One of these is around SaaS pricing systems. Currently, most companies stick with the same pricing model, which is the tiered pricing system. It works and it's currently the best way for teams to meet their targets, which the industry is always laser-focused on. 

Whilst interest in changing pricing systems is low, there have been murmurings that some companies are willing to make a change to try and get ahead in the market. Definitely something to keep a close eye on, as a battle on pricing terms could be beaten by offering a superior service, which links perfectly back to those in-demand jobs of the future.

The other industry shift we're seeing in the market is the push for 'ecosystems'. Companies are putting a greater emphasis on building connectivity between a platform and all the solutions in their portfolio, as it's seen as the best way to provide customers with a seamless and integrated experience. This has created a fantastic sense of partnership throughout the industry, which is great to see.

So that's a mix of our findings from conversations we've had this year with people in the industry. If you're looking for more insight into the future of the SaaS industry, we released a stacked Skills Report recently that goes into great detail about exactly that. Download your copy for free here