Market struggles of HR SaaS Companies in Africa
In another article, we focused on the Key Players in the HR Market in Africa, and now the lens will be shifted to the market conditions. More specifically, the market challenges.
We shall seek to address the following
What Challenges to Growth do the key players face in the market?
Why do these Challenges exist?
Are there any plans for the challenges to be overcome?
What can be expected from the market in the coming decade?
Challenges in the HR Market
From research, articles, and interviews with key leaders in this space like the CEO of SeamlessHR, Dr. Emmanuel Okeleji, the challenges HR SAAS companies face, can be summed up into two categories
Economics
Trust
Trust
There is a prominent lack of trust that is hindering progress in the HR Market. This issue stems from the target audience.
Consumers do not trust the technology for two reasons:
Data Security Concerns: These are valid because SAAS is primarily cloud-based. Even in this state, being cloud-based does not hinder the technology from being susceptible to attacks and cybercrime. This concern has been a recurring one as the conversation of cybercrime in Africa resurfaces frequently. Companies and would-be customers fear that entrusting SAAS tools with company data may put them at risk.
Brand Credibility: This borders on the brands and players involved. Customers need to know whom they are purchasing goods and services from, and while key players like Seamless HR have put effort into their branding needs, there is still a lot more work to be done.
Economics
This problem deals with the cost of things. Being cloud-based, SAAS comes with a hefty price tag, and companies and consumers must get their dollars ready. Unfortunately, with this being the case, the software solutions provided by companies do not seem attractive anymore when consumers learn of the costs involved.
At the Local level, companies have the advantage of providing low-cost software solutions in their base currency to customers. However, the fact remains that cloud services used to build the software are expensive. If the SaaS Company fails to acquire enough customers to make up for its running costs, then it also explains why there aren’t more disruptors aiming to build in this space.
Another angle from the consumers’ end is that using the HR SAAS Tools also increases Internet costs.
Why Do these challenges exist?
Most companies are slow to adapt to the HR SAAS software, which can be narrowed down to one key phenomenon — the Environment.
In Africa, many businesses that ought to optimize employee experience by using the right software are not sold on the idea. A combination of unawareness, lack of trust, and perhaps costs, in some cases, hinder getting the right resources they need to move forward.
There is also less incentive on the company’s part to optimize the employee experience and maintain high performance since a great mass of the population is unemployed.
The number of individuals willing to jump at an employment offer, even with unfavorable conditions, is massive.
Therefore, employee experience is not necessarily a top priority for these types of companies.
Remedy Plans to the Problems faced in the HR Market
There are no openly aired remedies to the challenges; however, I would suggest that the main priority of the players in this space would be massive brand awareness and product localization.
If the prospect doesn’t know who you are, they will not be a customer. Thus, the need for prospects to be heavily educated on the benefits of leveraging such technology is evident. Also, there has to be some system that enables the pricing to be localized and attractive for would-be clients.
Growth Projections for HR SaaS Tools Market
The HR/SaaS Market in Africa is experiencing significant growth, with key players and more on their way. It’s a space to watch in the coming years.
The market has the potential to increase productivity and employee experience amongst multiple industries from Health to Finance and Tech. The technology has immense potential.
The central tipping point would occur if the players in the market invest heavily into their marketing and brand awareness strategy, and by doing so, they would enable more clientele growth and eventually match up to global standards.
