Session
Buying the Software Is Not Buying the Outcome - II
What workforce technology buyers still need to own – tested against practitioner reality
PAWorld26 San Francisco · 23–24 September 2026 · San Francisco
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– · Workforce Strategy
About this session
A 20-minute research-led presentation offers practical tests for buying, building or combining People Analytics technology. A 20-minute fireside then tests that advice against a practitioner's work on an internal People Analytics agent. Examine where organisational constraints change the recommendation, which costs shift into the team's workload, and what would justify changing course.
Learning outcomes
- Define the decision or service improvement your technology investment must support.
- Separate supplier capabilities from responsibilities your organisation must retain.
- Compare technology approaches using internal labour, maintenance and opportunity costs.
- Distinguish a promising pilot from reliable use and realised value.
- Set ownership, evidence and review conditions for committing or changing course.
This session will explore
- Market developments shaping buy, build and combined People Analytics technology choices.
- Retained responsibilities for problem definition, data, integration, validation, ownership and adoption.
- Internal labour, support and maintenance costs beyond the software budget.
- Practitioner constraints that challenge market-level advice on technology choices.
- Evidence, accountable owners and review points needed before committing.
Context
Licence costs reveal only part of a technology investment. Integration, support and maintenance also draw on team capacity. Without clear ownership and credible evidence of improvement, organisations risk funding capabilities that do not improve decisions or services.
Speakers and contributors
Stacia GarrGuestCo-founder and Principal AnalystRedThread Research
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Roxanne LaczoGuestHead of People Analytics (former)Cloudflare