The Evolving SaaS Industry and the Growing Need to Attract Talent

SaaS is an ever-evolving industry, with constant development and growth. According to Statista, in 2021, there were 25,000 SaaS organisations, with that figure expected to significantly rise in the next 12 months. The SaaS market is estimated to be worth approximately 152 billion U.S. dollars and estimated to reach 208 billion U.S. dollars by 2023.

Over the last two years with the impact of the pandemic, a shift to the hybrid workplace and advancements in technology, SaaS has become much more prevalent across a wide range of industry sectors. The opportunity to utilise applications and platforms that are easy to access through cloud-based software or the web has brought with it many benefits for businesses.

Benefits of SaaS

SaaS allows businesses the opportunity to easily access cost effective, time efficient software and programmes which have high adoptability, great compatibility, and high quality and reliable service levels. Productivity and operational software are a big focus for organisations utilising SaaS within their business and it is changing the way in which businesses operate. Examples include; HR and People Management platforms, CRMs, Finance and Payroll programmes.

The pandemic encouraged advancement in SaaS with the increased need for tools to facilitate remote working and connect teams across the globe. This has seen an increase in communications, project management and CRM software across a wide range of industry sectors including; Recruitment, Education, Finance, Retail, Healthcare, Logistics, Government, Engineering and Construction.

Lily Baker, Candidate Sourcing Specialist at CSG Talent noted the retail industry is adopting SaaS within their existing processes. “Big players in the retail industry are utilising SaaS in order to incorporate real time consumer data into the design, pricing and production processes of products.” With this new adoption, comes the need to attract skilled talent to take on new roles within the industry. 

Significant trends and developments within SaaS this year

Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning are becoming more prevalent across all areas of SaaS, something our team of experts are experiencing across a wealth of sectors CSG Talent operate within. These organisations are at an advantage to others in the market with an edge to their offering and a significant difference in performance and business activity.

With the increased adoption of SaaS across industries, there has been a significant growth in demand for API Connections. While there are issues centred around security of API’s, they play a critical role in allowing SaaS applications to be integrated with one another. Without this, integrated systems can experience problems and poor functionality.

Advancements in centralized analytics through SaaS is allowing businesses the opportunity to gain a deeper level of insight of performance, user, and activity metrics through enhanced data. Businesses have the power to access real time data from multiple devices at any time, with the power to make data-driven decisions to improve and enhance business performance.

Talent shortages in SaaS

With the introduction of new start-up companies, these advancements in technology, and new skills and expertise required, there is an increasing need to attract and retain talent at all levels within SaaS businesses. This is leading to an increasingly talent short market within the growing SaaS space.  Explore technological innovation and the impact it is having on talent in more detail in our article: Technological Innovation – What the future job market may look like and what this means for business leaders in 2022.

It isn’t just technical skills that are in high demand. Within such a high growth industry, commercial and leadership roles are equally in high demand. The SaaS recruitment team at CSG Talent in particular are experiencing an increase in product marketing and sales role requirements from clients they support with talent attraction and hiring strategies. This includes roles such as Head of Product Marketing, Product Marketing Managers, Business Development and Account Executives. We operate at a senior level and noticing an increase in Executive level roles in demand such as VP Sales, VP EMEA, CFO and other C-Suite positions. Organisations are seeking leadership talent to drive their business forward. We are proactively supporting our clients with the attraction and pipelining of candidates within these areas to ensure they effectively meet their headcount growth objectives.

Lily Baker is a Candidate Sourcing Specialist at CSG Talent, she works within the SaaS Recruitment Team. In recent months, Lily has noticed a rise in demand across sales roles within SaaS. “I’ve noticed an increased need from clients to attract experienced sales talent, specifically within business development. For a lot of our clients in Europe, there is a significant rise in the number of Business Development Representative opportunities and a huge challenge in attracting this type of candidate.” This is where our candidate sourcing teams focus on proactive talent pipelining and relationship building to ensure we build a strong network of candidates in the areas our clients experience the most challenge.

There is also a significant shortage of female presence within the SaaS industry, particularly prevalent at a senior leadership level and within sales functions. Introducing females to the industry is a big focus for many SaaS clients working with CSG Talent and there is growing demand to attract experienced female talent.

Across all industries, there is a specific focus on attracting talent with strong digital and technological skills due to many adopting new technology, including SaaS. This brings with it many challenges; competition within the existing industry and competition with new start-ups, alongside competition with large scale global firms such as Facebook, Google and Amazon.

Combatting talent shortages and attracting talent within SaaS

At CSG Talent, we are specialist industry experts, our team of recruiters have specific industry experience within their market. Combined with in-depth knowledge and experience of recruitment and talent attraction, we can effectively support our clients with successful hiring strategies to attract the top talent within the SaaS industry.

By using our sector expertise, we consult with clients who are struggling to source candidates with the relevant software background by suggesting they widen the talent pool to consider allied industries. Thereby opening a broader market and additional candidates with a background the client may not have previously considered. This approach instantly widens the talent pool available in the SaaS market.

In a candidate driven market, it’s important for organisations to put themselves in an optimum position to attract new talent. Businesses need to consider their approach to hiring, their recruitment strategy, employer brand and what they can offer a potential candidate. Candidates tend to prefer to work for organisations that are well funded, growth orientated, sustainable and pro-diversity. The SaaS recruitment specialists work closely with clients to allow them to adapt their approach and ensure their culture attracts the best SaaS talent in the market and reflects their business in the best way possible.

Another approach CSG Talent adopt to support clients through the talent shortage is by working on a retained basis. In a market where most organizations are seeking to hire the same profile of candidate, working with clients on a retained basis enhances the experience for both client and candidate. We become an extension of the client’s team, acting as brand ambassadors and once a strong candidate is sourced, they are the only organization we introduce them to. We ringfence the best possible talent and do not proactively market them elsewhere. This approach is favoured by many of our clients within the SaaS market.

If you’re keen to have a conversation around your current challenges with talent attraction or hear insights into the market with a member of our SaaS recruitment team, click here. To explore the executive search services we offer at CSG Talent, click here.