In an era of mass resignations, shifting employee expectations, and AI-induced workplace anxiety, the HR tech sector is booming—and battling. Every week, a new startup claims it has solved employee engagement, reinvented performance reviews, or revolutionized people analytics. But in this noisy, trust-sensitive market, features and funding aren’t enough. You need the right story, told the right way.
Few companies have navigated this complex terrain more successfully than Lattice. Over the past several years, Lattice has transformed from a niche performance management platform into one of the most trusted and widely respected brands in HR tech. It did so not just by building a product that works—but by executing a public relations strategy that built credibility, cultivated community, and captured the spirit of a changing workforce.
In a space where bad PR can destroy trust (see: Zenefits) or create consumer skepticism (see: overhyped AI HR bots), Lattice’s approach offers a blueprint for what HR tech public relations done right actually looks like.
1. Start with a Human-First Message
At the heart of Lattice’s PR strategy is a consistent, values-based message: “Make work meaningful.”
That phrase isn’t a tagline—it’s a thesis. While many HR tech firms emphasize efficiency, automation, or data dominance, Lattice rooted its brand identity in human connection and purpose. Its messaging rarely talks about “optimizing output” or “reducing headcount.” Instead, it emphasizes development, feedback, transparency, and growth.
This message is subtle but powerful. It speaks directly to the HR leaders and people ops professionals who have been burned by platforms that promised simplification but delivered surveillance. It also resonates with employees who are increasingly skeptical of opaque management systems.
By building its PR around dignity, not disruption, Lattice positioned itself as a partner inemployee well-being—not an overlord tracking keystrokes. And that framing made it easier for the company to be trusted by users, reporters, and investors alike.
2. Own the Thought Leadership—Don’t Just Rent It
PR in the HR tech space often defaults to two approaches: chasing media placements or overproducing product marketing content. Lattice rejected both. Instead, it invested inoriginal thought leadership—anchored by its own research, analysis, and storytelling.
A prime example is Lattice’s State of People Strategy Report, now released annually. This isn’t a superficial press release padded with cherry-picked survey data. It’s a deep, well-designed, and widely cited document based on extensive surveying of HR professionals across industries and company sizes. It explores challenges like burnout, DEIB progress, retention, and remote culture—and it provides data that both validates and challenges existing narratives.
Crucially, the report is not just gated content for lead generation. Lattice promotes its findings across media channels, webinars, and social content with genuine educational intent. This creates a positive media loop: reporters cite the report as a resource, positioning Lattice as a credible voice in HR. The brand becomes not just a product vendor, but a source of insight.
By owning their research and placing it in service of their mission—not just marketing goals—Lattice earned real editorial attention, including placements in Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, TechCrunch, and HR-specific publications like HR Executive and People Matters.
3. Craft a CEO Who Speaks Like a Human
Another underappreciated element of Lattice’s PR success? Its CEO, Jack Altman.
Altman is not a flamboyant Silicon Valley caricature. He doesn’t pretend to be an HR guru. He doesn’t posture about 10x disruption or casually insult incumbents. Instead, he shows up as a thoughtful, coach-like executive who’s genuinely invested in the future of work.
His LinkedIn posts are among the most authentic and widely shared in the HR tech space—offering real advice for founders, managers, and people leaders without sounding self-congratulatory or salesy. And his interviews, whether in First Round Review or WorkLife, feel like honest reflections rather than PR-polished soundbites.
This kind of voice matters. In HR tech, buyers are often HR leaders who prize empathy, clarity, and alignment. Altman represents those values—giving the Lattice brand a human credibility that’s hard to fake and harder to scale.
4. Create a Content Ecosystem, Not a Billboard
Instead of relying solely on earned media, Lattice built a content and community ecosystem that operates like its own media brand. At the center is the company’s blog, podcast (All Hands), newsletter, and longform guides—each aligned to a core idea: helping people leaders do their jobs better.
Take their Resources for Managers series. It’s not focused on “Why Lattice Is the Best Tool”—it’s about how to give better feedback, how to run one-on-ones, how to coach a struggling employee. This is journalism-quality content, freely available, and brand-enhancing.
By becoming an actual resource hub, Lattice embedded itself in the workflows of its ideal buyers—not as a pitch, but as a partner.
Even more impressive is how Lattice has used its community events to amplify this ecosystem. From Resources for Humans (its Slack-based HR community) to its RFG conference series, the company provides spaces for dialogue, not just product demos.
This allows Lattice to earn PR amplification organically: journalists and industry influencers attend the events, cite the content, and write stories based on the real conversations happening there.
5. Position Around People, Not Platforms
In a tech-driven industry, the temptation is to lean heavily into software specs. But Lattice’s PR rarely leads with features. Instead, it leads with people success.
The company often highlights customer stories that show the impact of better management, not just better dashboards. Their case studies focus on outcomes like cultural alignment, retention, and manager growth—not merely usage metrics.
This subtle storytelling shift allows Lattice to market through outcomes, not just inputs. When your brand promise is “making work meaningful,” your most valuable assets are stories of transformation—not screenshots.
6. Handle Growth and Funding With Maturity
Another moment where Lattice’s PR acumen shined was during its funding rounds. Rather than use the typical “XYZ raises $50 million to dominate HR” trope, Lattice consistently emphasized strategic evolution—how the funding would support long-term value creation, international expansion, or product diversification.
In its Series E announcement, Lattice included a message from the CEO that directly addressed industry concerns: “We believe people strategy is business strategy, and this investment enables us to support HR leaders not just in tech, but across all industries.”
That’s a smart reframing. It signals maturity, scale-readiness, and a long-term view—exactly what enterprise buyers and journalists want to hear in a post-hype climate.
7. Prioritize Integrity Over Intensity in a Post-Zenefits Era
HR buyers are still wary of flash-in-the-pan tech. The shadow of Zenefits’ PR meltdown—from meteoric rise to compliance scandal—still looms over the sector. And new brands that try to “move fast and break things” often find themselves breaking trust with the very professionals they’re supposed to support.
Lattice’s restraint in messaging—its refusal to overpromise or attack competitors—has positioned it as an ethical, stable player. Its PR avoids jargon, avoids AI hype, and avoids making HR seem like a problem to be “solved.” Instead, it treats HR as a strategic partner inevery company’s success story.
That tone earns credibility. And in HR tech, credibility is everything.
Key Takeaways for Emerging HR Tech Brands
What can other HR tech startups learn from Lattice’s example? Here are six core principles:
- Lead with purpose, not product. Build a mission that speaks to the why, not just the what.
- Create original content that educates. Don’t just promote your features—become atrusted source of insight for HR professionals.
- Let your leadership be real. A relatable CEO with substance is more valuable than apolished one with soundbites.
- Build community, not just campaigns. Users who feel included and empowered become organic PR multipliers.
- Celebrate outcomes, not just usage. Highlight stories that show real human and business impact.
- Keep your tone grounded. Don’t chase the AI hype cycle unless you can deliver real value behind the buzz.
Conclusion: Trust Is the Only Moat in HR Tech
The future of work is uncertain, but one thing is clear: trust in tech—especially HR tech—is fragile and hard-won. Companies that see PR as a tool to inflate, exaggerate, or disrupt will struggle to earn lasting credibility.
Lattice’s success wasn’t built on stunts, aggressive claims, or viral moments. It was built on consistency, humility, and value-driven messaging. It treated PR not as a tool to generate clicks, but as a strategy to build community and conviction.
For HR tech brands looking to scale in 2025 and beyond, this approach isn’t just smart—it’s essential. In a sector where the stakes are human lives and livelihoods, how you communicate is as important as what you create.
And when done right, like Lattice has done, HR Tech PR doesn’t just tell the story—it builds the brand.
