Our Focus: The HR Technology Ecosystem

The HR Tech ecosystem is complex, often obscuring the true value of your software. At Alder Makham, we cut through this confusion with our 4-Layer ecosystem framework.

We don't just fill roles. Our framework places your solution precisely within the wider tech stack, sharpening the opportunity and attracting GTM leaders who understand exactly where it fits, how to sell it, and how to drive growth. Through this lens, we position your brand as a critical architect of workforce evolution.

Core Foundations

Intelligence Layer

Activation & Growth

Engagement & Experience

Core Foundations Intelligence Layer Activation & Growth Engagement & Experience

Core Foundations

The System of Record, Across the Workforce

Cloud HCM, Payroll, and Global EOR platforms combine to create the foundational System of Record for the modern workforce. While EOR platforms are traditionally viewed as separate legal entities, they are included in this core layer for this framework because they hold the definitive truth for international workers. Everything else in the HR ecosystem, from talent acquisition to learning management, plugs directly into this data layer.

•    Enterprise HCM Foundation: e.g., Workday, SAP SuccessFactors

•    Unified HCM & Global Payroll Rails: e.g., Rippling

•    Global EOR & Contractor Management: e.g., Deel, Papaya Global

Intelligence Layer

Insights, Driving Strategic Decisions

The layer that turns workforce data into a decision. People analytics, workforce planning, job architecture, and compensation modelling live here. This is where raw HR data transforms into a predictive forecast: identifying flight risks, pricing roles accurately based on real-time market data, and spotting where organisational hierarchies are about to break. These tools are rapidly shifting from backward-looking, descriptive reports to predictive, AI-powered planning solutions.

  • People Analytics & Workforce Planning: e.g., Visier, ChartHop

  • Compensation Intelligence & Benchmarking: e.g., Pave, Payscale

Activation & Growth

Where Sourcing, Learning, and Performance Meet

The layer where sourcing, learning, and performance meet. This encompasses continuous performance management tools, AI-led external sourcing, skills-based matching, internal talent marketplaces, and learning experience platforms (LXPs) built on a unified skills data architecture. As the largest and most fragmented layer in the HR technology stack, it is also the fastest-evolving space due to the deployment of agentic AI autonomous workflows, such as automated sourcing, digital screening, and interview orchestration.

•    AI Talent Intelligence & Sourcing: e.g., Eightfold, SeekOut

•    Applicant Tracking & Recruiting CRM: e.g., Greenhouse, Beamery

Engagement & Experience

The Pulse of the Workforce

This layer anchors the day-to-day employee experience, capturing how teams interact, collaborate, and maintain alignment. It bridges communication gaps, tracks sentiment, and measures productivity, ensuring that organisational strategy translates directly into daily execution and workplace culture.

•    Employee Listening & Engagement: e.g., Culture Amp, Perceptyx

•    Employee Experience & Communications: e.g., Microsoft Viva

N.B. The company names mentioned in our 4 layers are used to illustrate the market and are not clients, partners, or endorsers

How We Work

The goal isn't a filled seat, it's a hire who moves your number.

Our approach combines the agility of a specialist search firm with the commercial realism and knowledge of a former industry sales professional. Whether you are an early-stage innovator building your first commercial hire, scaling a Series A/B startup, or expanding an enterprise division, we ensure every hire is aligned with your growth trajectory.

Building or scaling a GTM team?

Get in touch directly at: nextsteps@aldermakham.com or +44 (0)204 5690114