The HR Tech market is on fire. SuccessFactors everywhere, Workday growing fast, Oracle pushing hard. Everyone talks about transformation, automation, new ways of running HR. You listen to it and it feels like we're in a completely different place than a few years ago.
And then a client calls: "I need a senior EC Payroll. Germany. German B2+. Start in three weeks."
And just like that, all this "modern" stuff disappears. We're back to Excel, CRM and the usual hunting game.
Emails, calls, digging through databases, asking the same question for the hundredth time: "are you available?". A week goes by. Sometimes two. The project is stuck. And everyone acts like this is just how the market works.
No, it's not. We keep it this way.
Problem One: Specificity
The problem isn't a lack of tools. The problem is we're using them for things they were never designed for. People keep saying "SAP consultant" like it's one skill. It's not. It's a convenient shortcut that breaks projects.
These Are Not Interchangeable
Either someone has done Employee Central Payroll for Germany and knows what they're doing, or they don't. Polish payroll is a different game. Hungarian — different again. UK — same story. This is years of very specific experience. And still, we pretend keyword search will solve it.
Problem Two: Visibility
These people exist. They really do. But the way the system works, they're invisible when you actually need them. A consultant finishes a project mid-May, but the market won't see them until they say something. A LinkedIn update, a returned call, some signal. Until then? Nothing.
And the client who needed them for June ends up taking someone worse — not by choice, just because that's what's available. And then everyone's surprised things go sideways.
Problem Three: Speed
Clients don't come in relaxed. They come in when there's already a problem. They've tried internally, tried their network, maybe got burned already, and now time is tight. And what do they hear? "We'll come back with a shortlist." In a week. Maybe two.
This Isn't a Talent Shortage
This is an inability to respond when it actually matters.
The Real Problem
And here's the key point: this isn't a market problem. It's a model problem that everyone just accepts. You can have a bigger database. More recruiters. Better ATS. You'll still be doing the same thing — guessing who's available and hoping they fit.
What Actually Has to Change
Availability stops being hidden. Matching stops being keyword guessing. Responses stop taking days. This isn't some future vision. This is doable now.
But first, you have to stop pretending what we have today actually works. Because if after all this "market growth" it still takes weeks to find one person, maybe the problem isn't the market.
Maybe It's the Way It Works
And that's something we can actually fix — if we're willing to admit it needs fixing.
Need a Specific HCM Profile — Fast?
Let's skip the week-long shortlist dance and talk directly.
Get in TouchGet in Touch
Piotr Ławrynowicz
VP Strategic Growth, Smart People
Email: piotr.lawrynowicz@smartpeople.com.pl
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