Workforce Management Draws VC DollarsWorkforce Management Draws VC Dollars

While human capital is widely acknowledged to be among the most valuable assets of any successful business, it can also be one of the costliest. As a result, investors are betting that demand will increase for software that helps recruit contract and full-time workers and manage them once they're onboard.

Last week, workforce-management software suppliers IQNavigator and SmartTime Software said they'd raised $20 million and $10 million, respectively.

IQNavigator's products help businesses find appropriate talent and recruit, manage, and retain employees. The Denver company says its wares create collaborative marketplaces between businesses and their sources for potential employees. SmartTime, in Framingham, Mass., says its software automates workforce deployment and compensation processing.

"When companies are competing for IT spending dollars, these vendors will have a bit of a hard sell unless they can show significant cost savings" for their customers, says Bob McCullough, a Hurwitz Group research director. "These companies must be showing good growth and good numbers to receive funding."

Baker Capital of New York led the fourth-round funding for IQNavigator, while General Atlantic Partners led the latest funding round of funding for SmartTime.