The roles that need to adapt to survive

The SaaS industry is constantly evolving.

Because of this, there are many roles that need to change with it to keep up.

Roles changing over time are not in themselves unique to the SaaS industry, but with the market innovating at a rapid pace, some roles will likely need to adapt fairly significantly over the next few years. Earlier this year we released a Skills Report where we carried out consultations with senior leaders from across the industry, and they dropped some nuggets of wisdom about the roles they foresee needing to change the most. 

Let's dive into detail on some of those now...

Implementation Engineers

This role is all about ensuring that the software is deployed, integrated, and customised to fit the specific needs of the customer. These teams are so highly valued because they have experience with customer projects and provide that immediate resolution for customers. For a few years now - well, mainly since the pandemic - teams of Implementation Engineers have managed to do a lot of this work remotely, and they have been doing it well. But with the shift we've seen this past year of companies pursuing a full return-to-office, this could also have an impact on where Implementation Engineers are required.

We foresee a shift in expectation for Implementation Engineers to revert back to pre-pandemic standards and travel to customer sites to deploy the software in person. Customer service is becoming more important than ever as part of the sale, and this is one way to immediately impact this. With this shift in working pattern will come a slight shift in the skills that are in demand for these roles, mainly around those in-person communication skills (as well as the ability to travel consistently around a region!)

Transactional Sales Roles

AI has developed to a point where it could - in theory - take over the transactional side of a sale, even for complicated processes. And we've arrived at a point in business (and society in general) where a vast majority of people prefer to deal with AI or other online systems when completing a transaction than deal with a fellow human. Think about the likes of Chatbots that are able to guide customers through a purchase, answer any standard questions that may arise, and help them reach the product or software that they need.

Now we're not saying that good salespeople will not be needed; in fact, it's almost the complete opposite. Great salespeople will always be needed; they'll just need to shift their focus to a different point in the customer lifecycle. We expect those who have, up to now, been focused on more transactional sales to switch to a Customer Success style model. This would see them focusing on building long-term relationships with clients, taking their suggestions directly to development teams, and providing education on the best uses of the software that they have purchased.

In terms of the skills that will be in demand, there will be greater focus on relationship management and presentation/demo ability rather than just the traditional negotiation and closing abilities. Customers will look for a human touch to provide additional value to their purchase and provide great customer service.

Data Analysts

One of the best ways that generative AI tools can be used in the workplace is in the analysis of large datasets. A human analyst may take multiple hours to sift through, analyse, and prepare reports out of routine data, AI tools are able to do exactly the same in a fraction of the time. But Data Analysts won't be made completely redundant; their skills will need to be used in other ways.

Whilst they themselves may not need to prepare data, they will absolutely still need to analyse whatever is produced by AI technology. Whilst the initial analysis of datasets can be automated, there's one aspect that can't be replicated. That's the emotional intelligence side of decision-making. Data Analysts will still be needed to add that human touch and ensure all factors are considered, rather than just relying on what is produced by AI.

Once again, the skills that will be sought after for these roles revolve around soft skills that AI cannot replicate. This will include strong emotional intelligence, but also there will be a need for practical skills around AI - think prompt engineering - in this role moving forward. Knowing how to prompt the tools to bring about the right results will be hugely important.

The moral of the story here is simple: jobs aren't being replaced, they just need to adapt. 

With soft skills likely to be in even higher demand going forward, if you aren't already assessing for soft skills in your recruitment process, then you'd better start soon. If you're interested in hearing more about the future of recruitment in the SaaS industry, download a free copy of our Skills Report here.