How to Vet an HR Tech PR Firm’s Influencer Relationships

“We know everyone in HR tech” can sound reassuring in a pitch meeting. To evaluate that claim, ask how those relationships connect to your buyers, your story, and the work the agency will do after you sign.

In HR tech, a relevant voice could be a talent acquisition leader who has run a large team, an analyst who studies your category, a podcast host, a journalist, a conference speaker, or a creator with an audience of practitioners. The right relationships depend on who buys your product, who uses it, and who influences the decision.

Here are practical ways to vet an agency’s relationships before you hire them.

Ask which relationships fit your buyers

Start by describing your actual audience. Are you trying to reach HR leaders, talent acquisition teams, technology executives, or several people involved in the same buying decision? Who would champion the product internally? Who needs to approve the purchase?

The agency should be able to connect those roles to the voices your buyers follow. A podcast with a large general audience may be less useful than a conversation with a smaller group of talent acquisition leaders who face the problem your product solves.

Ask the agency to explain why each proposed analyst, practitioner, creator, host, journalist, or conference matters to your specific audience.

Ask to see the work behind the network

Names are a starting point. Ask how the agency has worked with the people it mentions.

Examples might include:

• Guests brought onto a show

• Speakers or practitioners introduced to clients

• Events or roundtables organized together

• Research projects or briefings coordinated

• Podcast appearances or conference sessions arranged

• Public posts, photos, or collaborations that show an active relationship

For example, you can explore the Purple Acorn HR Morning Show and From the Desk with Jada Montemarano to see the kinds of conversations and guests we work with.

A useful follow-up question is: “What did you help make happen with this person, and what would a relevant opportunity look like for us?”

Find out who will maintain the relationship

Relationships are personal. Ask who owns them and who will be involved once the work begins.

Will the senior person who made the introductions stay engaged through planning and execution? Who will develop the idea with your team, coordinate outreach, prepare your spokespeople, and follow up afterward?

I stay involved from connection and ideation through delivery. Melissa supports coordination and media outreach. I work directly with founders and marketing leaders to understand the audience, shape the story, and see projects through to the finished experience.

Look for work that brings people together

One example from my work is the Podcast Zone at Transform 2024, held at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Transform invited me to help launch it: a 20-by-20-foot space on the trade show floor, divided into four recording studios. Each had a different setup, with couches in one area and a table and chairs in another.

I helped bring podcasters, conference speakers, sponsors, customers, and other people in the HR and talent acquisition community into the studios to share their stories with their audiences. The Podcast Zone continued as part of the Transform experience.

The relationship with Adam Posner and The POZCAST created several opportunities to connect people and stories through the Podcast Zone over multiple years:

• At Transform 2024, Adam interviewed ERIN CEO Mike Stafiej in a live POZCAST episode.

• Adam also brought Chad & Cheese together for a POZCAST collaboration recorded at Transform 2024.

• At Transform 2026, The POZCAST recorded an episode with HR tech analyst Kyle Lagunas.

• Another Transform 2026 episode featured practitioner and people leader Angela Briggs-Paige, available on Apple Podcasts.

These are examples of what an active relationship can make possible: a recurring place for analysts, practitioners, companies, and podcast hosts to share ideas with the HR tech community. The Transform 2024 event page documents the conference at the Wynn. Photos and LinkedIn posts from speakers and participants can show how the Podcast Zone worked in practice.

That kind of example shows more than whether an agency can get someone on a call. It shows whether the agency can understand the community, develop a useful idea, coordinate the people involved, and carry the work through.

Understand what a relationship can and can’t promise

A relationship can make an introduction possible. It cannot guarantee coverage, a favorable comment, a podcast interview, or an endorsement.

The person still needs to see a fit. They may want a product demo, need to understand the customer problem, or decide the story doesn’t suit their audience. They may participate as a paid partner or choose to engage editorially. Those terms should be clear from the beginning.

Be cautious if an agency promises guaranteed coverage through an influencer relationship. Ask whether an opportunity is sponsored, earned, or still only a possibility. Trust depends on being clear about the difference.

Watch for signs of a strong fit

In a pitch meeting, listen for whether the agency:

• Asks detailed questions about your buyers and product

• Explains why specific voices fit your audience

• Shares concrete examples of past collaboration

• Identifies who will lead the relationships after the sale

• Describes how outreach, preparation, and follow-up will work

• Sets expectations around meetings and opportunities without promising someone else’s response

A good agency should help you build a program around your audience. That may lead to introductions, meetings, shared content, research, podcast appearances, or event participation. Each opportunity still depends on the people involved and the value of the story.

A simple way to evaluate an agency

Before you choose a partner, ask them to walk you through one example from start to finish:

1. Who was the audience?

2. Why were those voices relevant?

3. How did the agency establish or use the relationship?

4. What opportunity did it create?

5. What did the team handle through execution?

6. What happened afterward?

The answers will tell you whether the agency understands your market and can turn relationships into useful work.

For HR tech companies, the best-fit relationships are the ones that connect your story with the people your buyers already trust. Vet the fit, the person doing the work, and the agency’s ability to follow through. Then set clear expectations about what a relationship can open—and what it cannot promise.