Integration Partnership Plan: Employee Onboarding Automation Platform

Executive Summary

This plan outlines a strategy to grow pipeline 2x in 6 months by expanding from 3 to 10-15 integration partnerships with HRIS and ATS vendors. Given the constraint of 1.5 engineers dedicated to integrations, the plan prioritizes partners by market overlap with our mid-market ICP (200-2000 employees), integration complexity, and pipeline potential. The approach uses a tiered partnership model that matches investment to expected return, a structured partner pitch framework, and a multi-touch outreach sequence.

1. Prioritized Partner Shortlist

Selection Criteria

Partners are ranked on four dimensions:

Tier 1: Strategic Partners (Build First — Quarters 1-2)

These are high-overlap, high-pipeline partners. Prioritize engineering resources here.

Tier 2: Growth Partners (Build in Quarters 2-3)

Solid ICP overlap but slightly lower pipeline urgency or higher complexity.

Tier 3: Opportunistic Partners (Build in Quarters 3-4)

Lower priority but worth pursuing if engineering capacity allows.

Engineering Capacity Plan

With 1.5 engineers over 6 months (~26 weeks of capacity):

• Weeks 1-10: Build Tier 1 integrations (5 partners, ~12-15 weeks of work, parallelized across 1.5 engineers)
• Weeks 8-18: Build Tier 2 integrations (5 partners, ~12-16 weeks of work, overlap with Tier 1 tail)
• Weeks 16-24: Build Tier 3 integrations (2-3 partners based on capacity)
• Ongoing: Maintenance buffer (~10-15% of capacity reserved)

Target: 12-13 new integrations live by month 6 (total of 15-16 including existing 3).

2. Tiered Partnership Offer Structure

Tier Overview

Detailed Offer: Integration Partner (Core Tier)

This is the primary tier most partners will occupy.

What We Provide:

• Full bidirectional integration (employee data sync, workflow triggers, status updates)
• Co-branded marketplace listing with setup documentation
• Joint case study featuring a shared customer
• Quarterly co-marketing activity (webinar, blog post, or social campaign)
• Partner portal access with lead tracking and integration analytics
• 15-20% revenue share on partner-sourced deals (Year 1 ACV)
• Dedicated Slack channel for technical and partnership support
• Quarterly business review to track pipeline and optimize

What We Ask:

• Marketplace listing approval and promotion
• Introduction to 3-5 mutual customers for pilot/case study
• Sales team enablement session (30 min) for their mid-market reps
• Quarterly pipeline review participation
• Joint press release or announcement at launch

Detailed Offer: Strategic Alliance (Top Tier)

Reserved for 2-3 highest-potential partners (likely BambooHR, Greenhouse, Rippling).

Additional Benefits Beyond Integration Partner:

• Co-developed integration features based on shared product roadmap
• Named partner manager with monthly strategic syncs
• Joint go-to-market campaign budget ($5-10K/quarter shared investment)
• Priority engineering support for integration issues (4-hour SLA)
• Early access to product roadmap and beta features
• Event co-sponsorship (1-2 industry events/year)
• Joint deal registration with protected pipeline
• 20-25% revenue share on sourced deals

Additional Asks:

• Executive sponsor alignment (VP+ level)
• Minimum 5 qualified introductions per quarter
• Joint annual planning session
• Product feedback loop participation
• Co-selling commitment on qualified opportunities

3. Partner Pitch Framework

The BRIDGE Framework

A structured pitch approach for partnership conversations.

B — Business Context (30 seconds)

"We help mid-market companies automate the entire employee onboarding journey — from offer acceptance through day-90 productivity. Our customers typically cut onboarding time by 40% and reduce new-hire drop-off by 25%."

Adapt to partner type:

• For HRIS partners: Emphasize the gap between HR record creation and actual onboarding execution.
• For ATS partners: Emphasize the broken handoff between "candidate accepted" and "employee onboarded."

R — Relevant Pain Point (60 seconds)

"[Partner name]'s customers tell us the same thing: they love [Partner] for [core function], but onboarding is still a mess of spreadsheets and manual emails. Your support team probably fields tickets about onboarding workflows that aren't really your product's job to solve — but your customers expect it."

Key pain points to reference:

• Customers asking partner for onboarding features outside their core product
• Churn risk when customers outgrow basic onboarding capabilities
• Competitive pressure from all-in-one HCM suites

I — Integration Value Proposition (90 seconds)

"We've built an integration that connects [our product] directly to [partner product], so when [trigger event] happens in your system, onboarding workflows automatically kick off in ours. For your customers, it feels native. For your team, it means fewer support tickets and a stronger product story."

Specific value by partner type:

• HRIS: "New employee record in [HRIS] triggers onboarding workflow. Employee data syncs bidirectionally. No duplicate entry, no missed steps."
• ATS: "When a candidate is marked as hired in [ATS], their onboarding journey starts automatically. Hiring manager gets a checklist, IT gets provisioning tasks, the new hire gets a welcome portal — all triggered from your system."

D — Data / Social Proof (60 seconds)

"We're already integrated with [existing partners], and our joint customers see [specific metric]. [Customer name] reduced their onboarding setup time from 3 days to 2 hours after connecting [our product] to [existing partner]. We have [X] customers in common with [target partner] based on our analysis."

Proof points to prepare for each pitch:

• Number of mutual customers (check LinkedIn, G2, or ask CS team)
• Metrics from existing integration partnerships
• Relevant case study or testimonial
• G2 category rankings and review volume

G — Go-to-Market Opportunity (60 seconds)

"Here's what we're proposing: a co-marketed integration that lives in your marketplace, a joint case study with one of our shared customers, and a revenue share on deals we source for each other. We've mapped [X] accounts where we have relationships your team is prospecting into, and [Y] accounts where you have relationships we'd love intros to."

Include:

• Specific account overlap numbers
• Proposed co-marketing activities
• Revenue share structure (reference the tier)
• Timeline to launch

E — Easy Next Step (15 seconds)

"Can we schedule a 30-minute technical walkthrough with your partnerships and product teams? We'll demo the integration prototype and walk through the co-marketing plan. I can have that ready by [date one week out]."

Always propose a concrete, low-commitment next step:

• Technical walkthrough (not a "sales call")
• Specific date/time
• Clear deliverable you'll bring

Pitch Preparation Checklist

Before every partner conversation, prepare:

• Mutual customer count (pull from CRM + partner's public customer list)
• Partner's marketplace requirements and listing process
• Partner's current integration partner roster (identify gaps you fill)
• 1-2 specific shared customer stories or pain points
• Integration prototype or mockup (even wireframes help)
• Revenue share and co-marketing proposal customized to partner tier
• Competitive context (who else is in their ecosystem doing adjacent things)

4. Outreach Sequence

Pre-Outreach Preparation (Before Day 1)

For each target partner, gather:

1. Partnership contact: Head of Partnerships / BD, or Director of Ecosystem
2. Product contact: Product Manager for integrations or marketplace
3. Mutual customer champions: 2-3 customers who use both products
4. Warm intro paths: Board members, investors, mutual connections on LinkedIn
5. Partner marketplace: Existing listings, application process, requirements

Sequence Overview

Touch 1: LinkedIn Connection Request (Day 0)

Target: Head of Partnerships or Director of Ecosystem at partner company.

Hi [Name] — I lead partnerships at [Our Company]. We share [X] mid-market customers with [Partner], and I've been hearing from them about the onboarding gap after [partner's core workflow]. Would love to compare notes on what you're seeing. — [Your Name]

Touch 2: Email #1 — Value-Led Introduction (Day 2)

Subject Line Options:

• "[Partner] + [Our Company]: [X] shared customers, 0 integration"
• "Your mid-market customers are asking for this"
• "The onboarding gap in [Partner]'s ecosystem"

Body:

Hi [Name],

I lead partnerships at [Our Company] — we automate employee onboarding for mid-market companies.

I'm reaching out because we've identified [X] customers who use both [Partner] and [Our Company], and they keep asking us for the same thing: a native integration that triggers onboarding workflows directly from [Partner].

We've already built integrations with [Existing Partner 1] and [Existing Partner 2], and our joint customers are seeing:

• 40% faster onboarding setup
• 65% fewer manual handoff errors
• 3x more completed Day-1 tasks

I'd love to explore whether a [Partner] + [Our Company] integration makes sense. I've sketched out what the data flow could look like and a co-marketing plan — happy to share if you're open to a 20-minute call.

Best, [Your Name]

Touch 3: LinkedIn Engagement (Day 5)

Do not send a message. Instead:

• Comment thoughtfully on a recent post by the partner contact
• Share or react to partner company news
• Engage with their marketplace or ecosystem content

Goal: Increase visibility and familiarity before the next direct touch.

Touch 4: Email #2 — Mutual Customer Angle (Day 8)

Subject: "Quick story from [Mutual Customer Name]"

Hi [Name],

Wanted to share a quick story. [Mutual Customer] uses [Partner] for [function] and [Our Company] for onboarding. Their HR director told us last week that their biggest friction point is manually recreating employee records after someone is [hired/added] in [Partner].

We've since built a prototype integration that auto-syncs [specific data fields] from [Partner] into our onboarding workflows. [Mutual Customer] is eager to pilot it.

Would your partnerships or product team be open to a 20-minute technical walkthrough? I can show exactly how the data flows and what the marketplace listing would look like.

Best, [Your Name]

Touch 5: Warm Introduction (Day 12)

Activate one of:

• Mutual customer champion: Ask a shared customer to make an email intro. ("Hey [Partner Contact], you should talk to [Your Name] at [Our Company] — they built an integration with [Other Partner] that saved us hours.")
• Investor/board connection: If you share investors or board members, ask for a warm intro.
• Industry peer: If you know someone at a company that already partners with the target, ask for an introduction.

Script for asking a mutual customer:

Hi [Customer Name],

I know you've been wanting a tighter connection between [Partner] and [Our Company]. We're actively exploring a partnership with [Partner] and would love your help. Would you be willing to make a quick email intro to your contact at [Partner]? Even a one-liner like "These two should talk — I'd use this integration tomorrow" would go a long way.

Touch 6: Email #3 — Integration Demo Offer (Day 16)

Subject: "Built a prototype: [Partner] → [Our Company] integration"

Hi [Name],

I wanted to follow up with something concrete. Our engineering team built a working prototype of the [Partner] + [Our Company] integration. Here's a quick summary:

Trigger: [Specific event in partner system, e.g., "New hire record created in BambooHR"] Action: Auto-provisions onboarding workflow in [Our Company] — welcome emails, IT provisioning tasks, manager checklists, compliance forms Data Sync: Bidirectional — employee data, department, manager, start date, role Setup Time: Under 5 minutes for the end customer

I recorded a 3-minute walkthrough video — happy to share it, or better yet, do a live demo with your product and partnerships team.

Would [specific date] or [specific date] work for 25 minutes?

Best, [Your Name]

Touch 7: LinkedIn Voice Note (Day 22)

Send a 30-second LinkedIn voice message (pattern interrupt — very few people use this, so it stands out).

Script:

"Hey [Name], it's [Your Name] from [Our Company]. I've sent a couple emails about a [Partner] integration — I know partnership inboxes get flooded, so I figured I'd try you here. We've got a working prototype, [X] mutual customers asking for it, and a co-marketing plan ready to go. If there's a better person for me to talk to on your team, happy to be redirected. Either way, would love 15 minutes. Cheers."

Touch 8: Email #4 — Breakup / Alternative Path (Day 28)

Subject: "Should I try someone else at [Partner]?"

Hi [Name],

I've reached out a few times about a potential [Partner] + [Our Company] integration. I know timing and priorities may not line up right now, and that's completely fine.

In case it's helpful, here's where we stand:

• Working integration prototype (built to your API docs)
• mutual customers who've expressed interest
• Co-marketing plan and revenue share proposal ready

If this isn't the right time, no worries — I'll check back in Q[X]. If there's a better person to connect with on your team, I'm happy to be redirected.

Thanks for your time, [Your Name]

Post-Sequence Actions

• If no response after Day 28: Add to quarterly nurture (re-engage with new data: additional mutual customers, new integration launches, customer testimonials).
• If redirected: Restart sequence at Touch 2 with the new contact, referencing the redirect.
• If meeting booked: Move to the BRIDGE pitch framework. Prepare a customized deck with mutual customer data, integration demo, and proposed partnership tier.

5. Measurement & Success Metrics

6-Month Targets

Monthly Tracking Dashboard

Partner Health Scorecard (Quarterly Review)

Rate each partner 1-5 on:

• Integration adoption (% of mutual customers activating)
• Lead flow (qualified introductions per quarter)
• Co-marketing engagement (activities completed vs. planned)
• Technical health (uptime, support ticket volume)
• Relationship strength (exec sponsor engagement, responsiveness)

Partners scoring below 2.5 average should be moved to a lower tier or deprioritized.

6. Risk Mitigation

7. Quick-Start Action Plan (First 30 Days)

Week 1

• Finalize internal alignment on partnership tiers and revenue share approval
• Begin engineering on integration framework/SDK for faster partner builds
• Pull mutual customer data for top 5 Tier 1 partners from CRM
• Identify partnership contacts at all Tier 1 partners

Week 2

• Launch outreach sequence for Tier 1 partners (5 partners, Touch 1)
• Brief customer success team on partnership strategy (enable warm intros)
• Begin BambooHR integration development (highest priority)
• Create partnership pitch deck and one-pager

Week 3

• Continue outreach sequence (Touches 2-3)
• Begin Greenhouse integration development
• Activate mutual customer champions for warm introductions
• Prepare integration demo environment

Week 4

• First partner meetings (target: 2-3 meetings booked from Tier 1)
• Complete BambooHR integration MVP
• Begin Lever integration development
• Launch outreach sequence for Tier 2 partners (5 partners)
• Publish first marketplace listing

Plan prepared for [Company Name] — Mid-Market Employee Onboarding Automation Platform Target: 2x pipeline growth via integration partnerships in 6 months Engineering Constraint: 1.5 FTE dedicated to integrations