HR Tech Day 2
Wow, what a day at HR Tech! While yesterday was just a couple of hours in the expo, today was the main event! 15k steps, and 7 miles later I can finally put my feet up to reflect. It was great to see so many friends from over the years while meeting some really amazing new ones. I want to thank those who shared with me how much they are enjoying the Wednesday Words. Even better, I was able to introduce www.brentcolescott.com to several more people today.
Here are some of the discussions and observations that occurred on Day 2 of HR Tech:
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is, well, the next xAPI. What I mean is, it’s the next overused term that everyone has to talk about. Much like xAPI was all the rage for at least 5 years, few were leveraging the capability, but every RFP demanded it. Vendors will be promoting various applications of AI in the products over the next few years.
Ecosystems are all the rage. As API’s in general become more robust in their development and ability to share data, organizations will have more options to create a modern day version of the “best of breed” approach without all the downsides of the “best of breed” approach in regard to integration of data. Keep in mind the employee experience; which is where companies like Degreed will have a place sitting atop as the presentation layer. And what about the data, well that’s where Business Intelligence and AI will funnel all that data though API’s to a single repository for analysis.
Of course by taking an Ecosystem, API, BI, Presentation, and Mobile approach; organizations need to be better prepared this time by leveraging HR Architects, a new role that is emerging. The HR Perfect Storm will demand better HR Tech and knitting together the right mix is essential. CHROs that rely on HR Architects will find much better results from someone well versed in the HR Tech landscape of systems, providers and capabilities.
I commented on the prevalence, or lack of presence of mobile in Day 1’s observations. With mobile in mind I set out on the Expo floor early yesterday before it opened. I did confirm my initial thoughts, there are mentions of mobile in many of the vendors, but it is not nearly as prevalent as it should be. In a matter of less that five years from now, mobile must be the primary interface if organizations hope to keep Gen Z employees. Here’s hoping that next year’s HR Tech doubles the number of mobile first presentations for their wares.
As mentioned yesterday, I was looking for something “Exponential” and think I may have an example. A good friend is with an organization; meQuilibrium. I learned a new HR Tech term today – resilience. Had no idea it was something that was being measured and leveraged. Think of it as taking EQ to the next level. I’ll do my best to explain in brief, but don’t take my word, check out their website: https://www.mequilibrium.com/
Essentially, they have a tool that can measure stress and overall resilience in the workforce. Consider the empathy factor for employees. meQuilibrium is an early warning indicator for organizations undergoing market shifts or considerable change in their organization. This data could be essential to knowing why turnover is a problem or why the workforce is not engaged. When it comes to the HR Storm, this is one of those areas that needs to be assessed, but also adds to the overall HR workload.
Looking around at the vendors, my overall impression is that HR Tech this year continues to be a bit Linear. There’s lots of the same, but better this year with their capabilities; Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, Benefits Administration, Payroll, Talent Management, Learning, Recognition & Rewards, they’re all here. I truly believe we’re at a point where the technology is matching the rhetoric and organizations are now in a place where they understand the need to make changes and improve their systems. Overall, I feel like this year might be a prelude to a really different HR Tech next year, dare I say Exponentially different – we’ll just have to wait and see.