Local human resources (HR) software vendor SmartHR has introduced a referral partner programme to extend the reach of its HR management system.
According to Brendon Gass, CEO of SmartHR, the initiative is designed to work with third-parties that offer people-related solutions but do not have a flexible platform to implement their solutions at clients.
Gass says the company is ideally looking for partners that have a trusted advisory relationship with their clients and are wanting to automate or support what they are doing for customers with an information solution.
"We are offering partners the opportunity to enhance the services they are currently offering their customers on a referral basis. The partners earn a referral commission not based on the product but based on the solution. The referral commission can grow based on the level of involvement with SmartHR."
Partners will receive support from the SmartHR team to assist them in understanding the range of the product's capabilities, including marketing materials, online training and telephonic assistance, says Gass.
Gass notes SmartHR chose a referral system over the traditional channel model because it is much better suited to the company's strategy.
"SmartHR is a flexible, modular system. We want to win market share by providing innovative solutions to digital age people management problems. It's important to us that our partners think the same way.
"We found the classic channel approach enforces a sales-first attitude. That means partners are under constant pressure to promote a given product or brand to meet their sales targets or maintain their ranking."
As a result, companies are often presented with a product that satisfies the vendor's obligations rather than a fitting solution to their problem, says Gass. He adds the programme eliminates the pressure on partners to sell in volume.
"There are no restrictions against using other products or brands in conjunction with SmartHR. There are also no sales targets or status maintenance requirements. If a partner introduces SmartHR as part of their solution, they'll be rewarded against the programme's payment scale."
The company believes the initiative will foster its solutions-first philosophy among partners and it hopes to unlock the level of innovation required to help its customers realise their goals, says Gass.
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