Tag: Technology

How AI Can Help Create Purpose Driven Work

There can be little doubt that AI has the capability to reshape organisations, giving businesses of all sizes an opportunity to use it not just for efficiency but to help foster a purpose-driven work culture, that can lead to better retention, higher engagement and more meaningful work.  Responsible AI integration will also help to empower employees and enhance collaboration, maintaining ethical and human-centred values within businesses.

In the coming weeks I’ll be speaking at HR Tech Europe, CIPD Scotland, In House Recruitment Expo and the inaugural Employee Xperience Expo and, perhaps unsurprisingly (!), amongst the topics I’ll be talking about will be the need to maintain humanity and human connection in an AI world, how we can harness AI to create meaningful work experiences, and the best ways to leverage AI for better recruitment.

From the various conversations I’ve had and research I’ve seen whilst preparing, I’m putting together some of the ways in which AI can help to create purpose driven work, and I’m sharing a few of them here. Let me know what you think.

Defining Purpose with AI

A strong purpose is the foundation of any thriving and meaningful workplace culture, and AI can help organisations refine their mission by providing data-driven insights into employee engagement, customer needs, and societal impact. AI-powered analytics can be used to align business goals with core values, ensuring that every decision supports a broader mission beyond profits.

For example, AI-driven employee sentiment analysis can gauge how well employees connect with the company’s mission. By tracking engagement patterns, leadership can identify areas where cultural reinforcement might be needed and make real-time adjustments to help strengthen alignment with company purpose.

Enhancing, Not Replacing, Human Work

One of the most recurring significant concerns about AI is job displacement. However, when implemented carefully, AI should be used to enhance rather than replace human work. By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, AI allows employees to focus on more meaningful, creative, satisfying and strategic contributions.

One straightforward example comes from customer services and the way AI-powered chatbots can handle routine customer inquiries, freeing up time for customer service representatives to engage in more personalised interactions that can lead to better outcomes and customer retention.

Similarly, AI-driven project management tools can streamline workflows, allowing employees to concentrate on innovation and problem-solving rather than administrative tasks.

Promoting Human-AI Collaboration

Rather than fully automating processes, AI should function as more of an assistant or support to the human workforce. The best AI applications can enhance decision-making, and offer insights that complement and support human judgment.

One example from hiring is that AI-driven recruitment tools should be able to help HR teams identify the best candidates, leaving human recruiters to assess cultural fit and emotional intelligence. AI-powered data analytics can provide business leaders with real-time insights, but final decisions should take into account human expertise and perceptions, and ethical considerations.

Improving Employee Wellbeing and Experience

Important ways in which AI can help promote employee wellbeing and help improve the employee experience are by optimising workloads, personalising career development, and identifying burnout risks. AI-driven HR platforms can recommend learning opportunities specifically tailored to an individual’s career aspirations and skills, which would help drive a culture of personal and professional up-skilling and growth.

And AI-powered wellness programs can analyse work patterns and suggest breaks or workload redistribution, which can help employees maintain a healthy work balance.

AI offers a real opportunity to create workplaces that are not only efficient, effective, supportive and also purpose-driven. By using AI to enhance meaningful work, support ethical decision-making, and empower employees, organisations can build cultures that inspire and sustain long-term engagement.

Ultimately, AI should be seen as a tool that amplifies human potential rather than replaces it. When integrated carefully, AI can help companies create work environments where employees feel engaged, valued, supported, and have a real sense of connection with the organisational purpose.

Hope I get to see some of you at the various events I’ve mentioned. Would be great to grab a coffee and find out what you see as the role of AI in creating and enhancing purpose driven work!

HR Challenges and Opportunities for 2025

Organisations are facing growing challenges, all of which are making the role of an HR professional increasingly complex and multi-faceted. As business navigates economic uncertainty, whilst supporting their employees’ mental health and wellbeing, we see almost daily debates online about evolving work models and working arrangements, and how to manage the emerging Gen Z workforce. That’s before we mention the role of AI and how it might impact – positively – the HR workload.

I’ve been looking at some recent research from the team at McKinsey & Company that identified five key areas that are contributing to this workload, but which also present opportunities for a better way of working. With stress on the rise, and some workforces complaining of ‘change fatigue’ it’s time to build trust within our teams and offer real support and enablement for our people.

Increasing Workload and Demands

The responsibilities on HR teams have escalated with modern HR departments not only tasked with traditional hiring, onboarding and compliance but also with addressing the more complicated areas that I outlined in the introduction – mental health and wellbeing support, remote/flexible/hybrid work policies, and a general dissatisfaction with the overall employee experience.

This increase in workload creates a dual tension, with HR teams managing a broader spectrum of demands while ensuring the wellbeing and retention of their people. The need for effective and supportive people management is stronger than ever, but with limited resources and growing tasks many HR teams find themselves stretched thinly.

Pressure of Strategic Involvement Without Necessary Authority

Whilst HR has historically, and wrongly, often been seen as more of a ‘support’ role, today’s organisations increasingly need their HR teams to be strategic partners. However, while they are called upon to influence company culture and policy more strongly, the main question is – do they have the authority to drive real change?

This can leave HR teams in a frustrating position – advisors on transformative strategies but lacking the decision-making authority to oversee their strategies fully realised for real change. HR needs to be part of the strategic conversation from the start, with the authority to influence and make impactful strategic decisions.

Battling ‘Change Fatigue’

Organisations are in a constant state of adaptation be it addressing remote & flexible work transitions, engaging and retaining the Gen Z workforce, building meaningful experiences and implementing AI effectively.

Change is necessary for most organisations, but can also create “change fatigue” among employees and managers if not implemented effectively. For HR teams, who are responsible for implementing and explaining these shifts, it could feel like an endless cycle of implementation without the time to let one change settle before the next is introduced.

Building resilience and carefully pacing transformations are crucial for preventing burnout within HR teams.

Potential Trust Deficits Between HR, Employees, and Leadership

There is often a ‘trust gap’ in organisations between employees, HR, and leadership, with HR teams finding themselves in a delicate balance – representing the company’s priorities whilst advocating for employees. This balancing act could lead to a perception that HR is not genuinely aligned with employees’ needs – thereby damaging trust – or too aligned with senior management.

For HR to be effective mediators between employees and leadership, it is essential that organisations to prioritise transparent, honest communication and to help HR clearly demonstrate the organisational commitment to employee welfare.

Technology’s Role in HR: Efficiency or Extra Burden?

While technology has the potential to streamline HR processes, it sometimes adds additional layers of responsibility. Generative AI, for instance, holds promise for enhancing recruitment, data analysis, and even employee engagement, though has the potential to detract from some of the more creative tasks that our people enjoy doing. Without proper implementation, these technologies can also impose more administrative duties, detracting from the human-centred support HR is meant to provide.

For technology to be effective, it should ease, support and provide smoother experiences for our people, not increase the workload, allowing HR teams to focus more fully on strategic support and enablement to our people.

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

Despite these mounting pressures, HR professionals can take steps to mitigate them and foster a more supportive organisational climate. Prioritising authentic communication and trust-building practices can help bridge any gaps between HR, leadership, and employees. In the long run, enabling HR to work as a full strategic partner – and not be seen as a support or adjunct function – will help to empower the whole organisation to be more adaptive, resilient, and people-focused.

Today’s HR professionals are dealing with some of the most challenging dynamics the workforce has seen. Yet, with the right support and authority they have the potential to transform these into positive experiences, fostering a workplace where employees thrive, organisations adapt smoothly and successfully, and the true value of HR can be recognised and rewarded.

Creating the Future of Talent Acquisition and Hiring

In the rapidly evolving landscape of talent acquisition and hiring, there are a number of key trends emerging that will re-shape how we attract, hire and develop our future talent. Some of these trends could be game-changers for business leaders and HR professionals, as they represent a shift in workforce dynamics, whilst shaping the future of work and potentially leading to a rethink of traditional HR practices.

My close friend, co-author and co-collaborator Matt Alder has been writing and documenting these shifts through our co-authored books, and his research for podcast interviews and online courses, and I recently had a conversation with him on my HR Means Business podcast to better understand how some of these emerging trends will impact the future of hiring and retention.

We identified and discussed five main trends.

1. Skills-Based Hiring

Hardly a brand new development, but skills-based hiring is definitely a growing trend amongst Talent Acquisition and HR teams as organisations increasingly recognise the limitations of traditional hiring practices that prioritise previous experience over potential. Skills-Based hiring focuses on hiring individuals based on their current skills, and on their ability to develop new ones, rather than rely on their past job titles or educational background. There are 3 key benefits to this approach:

  • Broader Talent Pools: By focusing on skills, organisations can tap into a more diverse talent pool, including candidates from different industries and backgrounds
  • Enhanced Diversity: Skills-based hiring promotes diversity by reducing biases associated with traditional hiring criteria
  • Future-Proofing Workforce: This approach aligns closely with the evolving nature of work, which we see as increasingly valuing skills and competencies over specific experiences

2. Total Talent Thinking

Total talent thinking is about breaking down the silos within HR departments and approaching talent management holistically. It involves integrating talent acquisition, talent management, and learning and development, to create a cohesive strategy that comprehensively addresses an organisation’s skills needs. There are certain key components that you need for a Total Talent Thinking approach:

  • Collaborative HR Functions: This approach relies on different HR functions working together seamlessly
  • Strategic Workforce Planning: Identifying and planning for the skills that will be needed across the organisation to achieve commercial goals
  • Flexibility and Adaptability: Building a workforce that can adapt to changing business needs and technologies

3. Impact of Generative AI

Whatever you think about Generative AI there is little doubt that it’s transforming Talent Acquisition by both automating various aspects of the hiring process, and also providing new tools for both employers and job-seekers. Generative AI’s full potential is still developing and unfolding, but its current applications are already making significant impacts:

  • Increased Efficiency: AI can streamline the recruitment process by automating routine tasks such as CV screening and initial candidate assessments
  • Enhanced Decision-Making: AI-powered tools can provide insights and analytics to help HR professionals and hiring managers to make better hiring decisions
  • Job Seeker Empowerment: Candidates are using AI to craft tailored CVs and applications, which can increase their chances of getting noticed, provided they use it as a tool to help support their job applications, rather than rely on it to be the application

4. Future-Casting and Strategic Foresight

Matt and I have been talking about Future-casting for a few years. Basically it involves anticipating and planning for future trends and disruptions in the workforce. It requires HR and Talent professionals to adopt more strategic foresight tools and methodologies to try and predict – and so be prepared for – changes that might shape their organisation’s future talent strategies. There are 3 component parts:

  • Trend Analysis: Identifying and analysing the macro and the micro forces that are driving change in the workforce
  • Scenario Planning: This calls for HR and Talent professionals to develop – and prepare for – multiple future scenarios so they can remain agile and responsive
  • Embracing Uncertainty: Recognising and planning for unknowns and uncertainties, such as technological disruptions, economic shifts or – as in the case of Covid – factoring unforeseen epidemics

5. Smart Automation

Automation, powered by AI and other technologies, is set to redefine many aspects of work – not least in the attraction, hiring and onboarding of talent. Smart automation goes beyond simple task automation and includes more complex processes and decision-making functions:

  • Redefining Job Roles: Automation will change the nature of many jobs, requiring employees to adapt and develop new skills, and HR to develop enhanced role profiles
  • Efficiency Gains: Automated processes can lead to significant efficiency improvements and cost savings
  • A Focus on Higher-Value Work: As routine tasks are automated, employees can focus on more strategic, creative, and value-added activities and processes.

You can find out more about how we see the future of Talent Acquisition – and our approach to Total Talent Thinking – on this episode off the HR Means Business podcast –

HR’s Role in Embracing the Future of Work

How is work evolving? What roles will Generative AI, taskification, the skills agenda and job disruption play in reshaping the future talent market? How can we create high value work? And what might future workforce dynamics look like?

Last year I was involved in a simulation run by business consultancy Wikistrat for Upwork in which I joined with a number of analysts, practitioners and consultants to map out a number of potential scenarios for the future of work – taking into account what we know about emerging technology, evolving trends and the preferences and priorities of the current and future workforce.

We came up with a number of potential outcomes using different frameworks and in a recent podcast chat I had with Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. Managing Director of Upwork‘s Research Institute, we talked about the the various trends and HR’s potential role in guiding the reinvention of work.

Accelerated Pace of Business and the Impact of Gen Z

It’s hard to look at how the future of work may develop without acknowledging the current exponential acceleration of all business operations fuelled by evolving tech. This pace of change needs real-time data insights to help inform decision-making, particularly within the HR team. The entry of Gen Z into the workplace will lead to further change – with Kelly Monahan anticipating that they will challenge traditional business norms and practices, and question the purpose of work, which could lead to fundamental shifts in organisational values.

Generative AI and Job Disruption

The advent of generative AI has been transformative but has capabilities taking us way beyond automation. Kelly emphasised how AI really acts as a catalyst, accelerating the development of allied technologies like IoT and 5G, which will require a re-evaluation of job roles, skills and work processes.

Taskification has emerged, and organisations need to start deconstructing their job roles into specific tasks and skills, potentially promoting more fluid work arrangements. Addressing the exponential growth in the number of tasks and skills needs to be high on HR’s learn ing and development agenda.

Up-skilling and Multiplexing Workforces

Responding to these evolving job landscapes will require continuous up-skilling to help effectively navigate any disruption bought about by technology or social change. This will lead to more ‘multiplexing’ – enabling workers to apply diverse skills across departments and tasks, that can boost organisational agility and resilience.

Community Formation and Digital Identities

As organisations evolve in this way, workers are likely to find identity and belonging through digital communities rather than traditional organisational structures. This could have a big impact on engagement, retention and experience as these communities, or digital hubs, are likely to provide cross-functional collaborative opportunities that transcend company, geographical and industry boundaries.

AI’s Impact on High-Value Work

One consequence of Generative AI is the elevation of the complexity and value of work. Kelly Monahan, Ph.D. talked about an increase in high-value projects, for which skilled workers will look for rewards and wage premiums. However, this shift also emphasises the need for continuous skill development if organisations are to remain competitive, which requires support for learning and development as well as recognition and financial rewards.

Grey Rhino vs. Black Swan: Proactive Adaptation

We talked about whether AI was ’a ’Black Swan’ or a ’Grey Rhino’ event. Ultimately it is a Grey Rhino – having a gradual impact that needs proactive adaptation rather than reactive responses. The emphasis is on organisations – particularly HR leaders – to prioritise understanding the evolving challenges their businesses face and navigate future workforce challenges effectively by restructuring work processes, and facilitating upskilling.

In essence, it’s essential for organisations to embrace agility and up-skilling, and transform job structures, in a landscape of ever evolving technology. This can then give HR leaders the platform to help ensure their businesses remain competitive and successful in navigating the future of work, whilst negating the potential for insecurity and instability in future talent markets.

You can listen to my full conversation on this episode of the HR Means Business podcast:

Technology, People, Recruitment and The Tipping Point

The recruitment ecosystem is constantly shifting shapes and dynamics, and ameliorating in new and different ways. Technology is driving much of this. The simple days of agencies, internal and advertising platforms (be they print or digital) have changed. Consolidation and collaboration is now happening on an almost weekly basis. Recruit Holdings can buy Indeed and Glassdoor, and have a significant foothold in the way people search for jobs. Although the search more often than not starts on Google.

How are we responding to jobseeker behaviour? Research I have recently been involved with from 14,000 European jobseekers showed 63% saying that online reviews are influential when deciding to apply for a job, 55% that the main thing they want to know about a company when applying is how it treats its staff, and 24% dropping out of an interview process after the first interview because they saw negative online reviews.

External reviews are now an integral part of the job hunt. So is automation. And after years of debate about whether recruiters should think and act like marketers, or be a part of marketing, how do we now connect and engage with potential candidates? How do we find, develop  and retain the people we need? Will technology replace people in the recruitment process?  And is it conceivable that data will replace people as an organisation’s ‘greatest asset’?

I’m looking forward to finding out more on June 20th when I’ll be co-chairing the first Talent Tipping Point Conference.

Across 8 hours internal talent teams, recruitment agencies, HR, tech suppliers and RPOs will come together from all corners of the Talent Acquisition and Recruitment community, to talk and debate about the impact of technology on talent acquisition. How are we responding, how are we collaborating and how can technology help us to create better talent outcomes for businesses, workers and jobseekers. Opening keynote is from Lord Chris Holmes and during the day we’ll have views and insight from many industry leaders including Robert Walters, Fleur Bothwick, Kelly Griffith, Kevin Blair, Adrian Thomas and Janine Chidlow.

As part of the event preparation, research was conducted across a large range of employers, recruitment agencies, RPOs and hr/recruitment tech companies to gain an overall feel for how they felt about technology, employment models, diversity and whether the future was in collaboration. There were some interesting findings:

  • 44% of in-house recruiters think that technology will become more important than people in recruitment within the next 5 years; for agency recruiters and RPO the figure is 27%
  • Half of all recruiters do not see permanent employment as the default option for workers in future
  • 53% believe technology to be more effective than humans in the unbiased assessment of candidate’s, although only 7% think it more effective for determining culture fit
  • Almost 40% don’t believe that their current recruitment (whether direct, though agency or RPO) is as effective as it should be, with over two thirds believing that recruitment suppliers (tech vendors, agency, RPO) need to be better at collaborating

The pace of digitisation in recruitment is quite varied, governed by size, needs, budget and management capability. Yet cognitive solutions and AI are now being used all the way through the hiring process. With technology becoming increasingly integral to how we live, and the way we consume and do business, its impact on the way we attract, hire, develop and retain our people can’t be denied.

Want to join me at Talent Tipping Point? Recruitment International UK has a limited number of half-price tickets remaining for the event. Simply enter the code RITP when you register to save £250 on the regular price. Order yours today – https://lnkd.in/eUdSjNG

#HRTechEurope – We’re All Millennials Now!

Last week’s HRTechEurope conference and exhibition spanned 2 full days of interesting content and thought provoking presentations, 1500 delegates and lots of fun. There was a blog squad of 21 leading to a range of views and insights as we digested what we heard, and there is definitely some variety in the follow up blogs.

For me the HR takeaways were about flatter and faster workplaces, with greater personal responsibility and a different kind of leadership, offering seemingly less secure employment. The 20th century definition of employment may not be helpful for addressing the way work is transacted in the 21st Century. And as networks of influence and knowledge shift power from the institution to the individual then reputation will become an important currency. All of this requiring a mindset that we may not be used to finding. And its millennial!

Too much is happening too quickly. Technology is transforming customer and employee expectations and several industries are experiencing challenges to the way they operate. The need for agile and flexible structures was referenced by many speakers, as was the writing of Frederic Laloux on reinventing organisations. And Tom Fishburne’s alternative org chart got an airing in presentation slides…

 


How can workplaces keep up with the pace of technological change? “The new normal isn’t technology, it’s speed” said Peter Hinssen “if things move fast then hierarchies are dangerous“. His “work is the brief period of the day where I have to use old tech” slide (above) was one of the most shared images from the event and the concept of today’s workers as time travellers illustrated this well, but maybe even the most agile organisations might struggle to keep up. The reliance of adult workers on email and the phone (50% of business comms) is at odds with experiences of the future workforce, for whom they make up around 5% of communication.

Peter’s main message was about networks, for information and knowledge – “We’re still building companies with old fashioned structures…we need networks where information is shared. If a brand doesn’t speak the language of its network it will die” Network vs hierarchy was pitched as fluidity vs rigidity, with HRs role as enabler of the network.

Change requires more than technology though. “Social tools can help but can’t change the organisation alone” said Lee Bryant in an afternoon keynote. They do make new structures possible though, relying less on visionary leaders, whilst organisational change is not a technology project and more about continual improvement – “Change shouldn’t be top down, or something that only happens every 3 years, but it should be agile, gradual and on-going”

Continuous improvement was also a theme underpinning a new approach to performance management. “Do you have confidence in the performance data within your organisation?” asked Heidi Spirgi. 1 hand was raised out of an audience of over 300. The new approach is based on leaders having frequent strengths-based conversations over the course of the year “what are you working on and how can I help?“. There is a shift from purely delivering feedback to regular coaching whilst performance ratings are becoming a thing of the past, with research indicating that 61% of a performance rating its a reflection of the rater not the ratee.

In another session on the performance appraisal, Armin Trost asked who was the customer – employee, manager or Board? He berated those who tried to set objectives for 12 months when they didn’t know what would be happening in their business the next month, whilst also observing that what usually starts out as an appraisal about performance usually ends up being about the person.

Rachel Botsman closed the event with a look at the Collaborative Economy. Rich in positives – “using technology to allow trust between strangers“, “untapped value of assets through collaborative models that enable empowerment efficiency and greater access” – she said the next phase for this technology would be about ‘unlocking the value inherent in human potential‘. Work was being ‘consumerfied‘ with new app Wonolo being showcased in a video – a collaborative platform for basic low skill, repetitive work.

Rachel had questions for HR. The 20th century laws for classifying workers is no longer relevant for new working models. Is the future of work not just about flexibility and empowerment, but also precarious, with no benefits and no guaranteed income? She called it the murky side of the sharing economy. The personal ratings element within this technology is interesting though with personal reputation and a kind of ‘peer capital’ becoming the new currency of work – from institutions to individuals.

The showcasing of Wonolo interested me. I’ve long thought that this kind of technology will impact staffing agencies and this was the closest yet. There have always been threats to agencies – job boards, in-house teams, social media – but this is different. The business needing a basic skill is directly in touch with the person offering the skill. The fact they connect, and the worker has a rating, covers validation, certification and availability with the pay rate set. Once these scale then things could get interesting.

So what about millennials?

I took part in a panel discussion, chaired by Andy Campbell from Oracle, about them. We heard research on what they want from the workplace – and the list could have been what the over 50s want from the workplace. or what 30/40 somethings want if they didn’t have childcare costs and associated expenditure. We heard about their aspirational employers of choice – Google, Apple etc – yet these are purely based on brand perception. Most look fun but don’t necessarily offer the flexibility, opportunities and rewards that we heard earlier the millennials want.

Employer branding didn’t start with the internet – there have always been aspirational employers of choice. Step back in time and Virgin, Marks & Spencers, John Lewis, BBC, NHS, British Airways and a plethora of banks, consulting firms and advertising agencies would all have topped those lists for older age groups.

Whilst the socio-economic, cultural and family factors that have influenced the values and aspirations of millennials during adolescence may have been different from previous generations (though not those growing up in fluctuating economic times) their mindset towards technology, change, personalisation, consumerfication, instant gratification, speed and opportunity is something we all need to share in the future world of work.

And if its a mindset, and not a date of birth, then we’re all millennials now.

Looking for Collaboration and Simplification at #HRTechEurope

The conversations around HR, recruitment, technology and the future of work move on to Docklands next Tuesday and Wednesday as HRTech Europe rolls in to Town. Always one of my favourite events, the mix of practitioners, theorists, commentators, suppliers and collaborators usually makes for some lively dialogue, great networking and thought provoking takeaways. And I’ll be part of an awesome (and I don’t use that word lightly) blog squad who will be helping to try and make sense of it all for everyone following online.

For those working in the people space, technology is posing some interesting problems and exciting possibilities. The recent Human Capital Global Trends report, along with other recent workforce overviews, have all flagged up findings such as:

  • People analytics has the second highest HR capability gap
  • Increasing investment in technology is not being matched by investment in the people and processes that would gain maximum benefit
  • 70% employees say that technology has changed their role or career in the last year
  • Using technology/new devices is ranked as the second highest training need by employees
  • Identifying and implementing the right technology is only a priority for around 20% of HRDs
  • Half of HRDs see their work environment as complex, and another 25% as very complex.

Are we being overwhelmed by an inexorable onslaught of automation and robotisation? Or do we just need to step back and take stock of the opportunities on offer?

I think there are a few strands here, most of which will be aired at HRTech next week by speakers as diverse as Peter Hinssen, Rachel Botsman, Lee Bryant, Nick Holley, Costas Markides and Euan Semple.

Some of the questions on my mind looking ahead to the event:

Should we be leveraging networks more? Peter Hinssen will be looking at networks of intelligence. Maybe customers and employees can provide some of the inspiration.

Is collaboration a choice or a necessity? I’ve been hearing about HR collaborations with IT and finance over analytics and data. I’m thinking this needs to become the norm not the exception.

How should we define performance? Most would agree that the yearly, school report style assessment of past performance isn’t fit for purpose, but what’s the replacement? Ongoing dialogue and continuous learning, with flexible goals, may be more relevant, with collective feedback. Do we have the culture, and leadership. to bring this about?

How do we define leadership? A culture? A collective mindset? Agile and flexible, future leaders need to be change agents comfortable with spearheading organisational change.

If responsibility for personal, professional and career development is now with the employee, what’s the future for the L&D function? I’ll be joined on the blog squad by some learning professionals, who will no doubt have a view!

How can we make work simple? Businesses may be facing increasing complexity but passing that on to the employee will reduce effectiveness and increase stress. Only just over half of companies have some kind of programme in place to help simplify work processes and practices – we clearly need to do more.

And then there’s the Millennial Mindset. I’ll be taking part in a panel discussion (along with Jo Dodds and Perry Timms) on ‘Employing the Millennial Mindset‘ chaired by Oracle’s Andy Campbell. It’s Tuesday at 3.30 on the main stage and we’ll be answering questions that you’ve all asked – you can start submitting them now through the hashtag #OracleAndyAsks. Come on, it’s about Millennials…you know I’ll have something to say!

One of the main concerns over technology is how intrusive it’s becoming. The 24/7/365 always-connected working environment, with more responsibility being shifted to the employee, can have a serious impact on wellbeing. I recently took part in a panel discussion for ADP on people and technology. here’s the video for the part of the debate on technology and wellbeing – I’m hoping to hear more about this on Tuesday and Wednesday…

HR Tech is coming to Town…are you ready??

 

#HRTechEurope – HR Is Dead! Long Live HR!

Me & OracleOscar

My previous two blogs previewed the HRTechEurope Spring Conference and Exhibition , which I duly attended last Thursday.

It was a fun day with exhibitors offering lots of swag and jellybeans, stormtroopers and a robot – you can see a somewhat blurred picture of yours truly with OracleOscar above – and I was rather excited to win cinema vouchers in a prize draw from Oracle too. Thanks guys! The conference content ranged from why HR is doing it wrong to how tech can save the day, with a final call of ‘HR is dead, long live HR’.

My friend and co-blogger for the event Doug Shaw has offered his thoughts on some of the morning sessions so in this post I’ll look at the afternoon, and in particular two well received and thought provoking presentations from visiting US commentators – William Tincup and Jason Averbook.

In my pre-event posts I was mainly concerned with capability – does HR have what it takes to really grapple with technology and use it to create the kind of experience that employees want, and produce the data that helps decisions rather than fills out barely read monthly reports.

Getting it Right

William Tincup was looking at the process of buying HR software from the angle of getting both satisfaction and success. His presentation was thoughtful and well structured, taking HR professionals through the sales and implementation process. I often get the feeling that there is a reticence within the community to truly challenge the salesmen and account managers from the big vendors, as if the complexities of technology are off-putting. It’s their budget, but not their own money I guess, so maybe due diligence is glossed over.

William gave a simple plan through the 7 stages of the process – product, sales, negotiation, implementation, training, adoption and support – with 5 or 6 questions at each stage that need to be asked and answered.

Some of the key ones for me:

  • What reports and features are really important to us?
  • Do I feel like I’m being over-sold? Did the demo meet or exceed expectations and have they done significant work in my sector?
  • Who owns the data? Am I giving up things in the negotiation that are important to me?
  • Can I meet the implementation team before I sign? How will we manage change and communicate it to all employee users?
  • Will all users be trained the way they want to be? How will new users be on-boarded?
  • How will we get users to ‘love’ the new software and how will we know if they don’t?
  • How will vendor support handle help desk items versus things that are broken?

There were two things he said that really nailed some of the issues that I think HR has with technology…

Good software doesn’t fix a bad process, it just highlights how bad the process is.

A feature is not a feature unless users use said feature.

He also urged people to ask vendors how they make their money as the answers can be very illuminating. This is excellent advice but I wonder if it might be too confrontational for many within the HR profession? The whole process of acquiring technology is a major investment for the business which has to be done well – and needs to be approached with the professionalism and determination that such a major investment requires.

Facing the Future

The closing keynote was from Jason Averbook. Closing presentations can often feel slightly lack lustre – the space many be partially empty, exhibitors are dismantling stands, some people have already left and others may be suffering from information overload – but Jason played it just right with a fast paced, high impact session.

I’ve seen him speak before and do like his style and thinking. A couple of presentations earlier in the day had lacked pace and verve, giving the Impression that the speaker had delivered them before, but Jason’s was different to the one I had seen last Autumn and, importantly, showed a progression in his thinking.

The message I took away was simple – things around the workplace are changing and HR can’t deal with new challenges by doing what it’s always done, it’s going to require a shift in attitude and thinking.

There are many examples of this. Our expectations of technology, and in particular the user experience, have shifted immeasurably. When employees use our internal software, or complain about it, they aren’t comparing it to what went before but to the experience they get from Amazon or Apple. When something changes – be it interface or new application – they expect it to be seamless, just like downloading a new app. He showed the video I’ve embedded at the end of a 4 years old’s reaction to having to use IOS7.

Innovation, and the impact of technology, is more than a redesign of payslips and needs to culturally shift the way we do things. HR has to lead this, to know what differentiates the business – new systems don’t drive differentiation.

There was talk of the changing work practices, how some jobs are beginning to disintegrate into a series of tasks, and workers to perform these tasks are being crowdsourced. ‘Do you know how you manage contingent labour in your business?‘ he asked. Some of that contingent labour may also be working for 4 or 5 other companies at the same time – potential for disruption that HR needs to understand.

One important point is that away from the workplace we don’t phone call centres or help desks to buy something online, download a new app or integrate a new Facebook function. We work it out for ourselves or search for the solution online – either video or on a blog. A lot of employees will expect to do this with their HR systems and processes, to self-solve. Do you have that in place?

There were many more examples of how shifts in technology, expectations, workplace strategies and staffing arrangements are shaping how our people feel about the business. The need for real time data (not historical surveys) in areas such as performance illustrates the importance of information in helping solve real business issues, not being inward facing or merely a tick box exercise.

The final summing up was that HR as we know it was probably dead and that a new HR approach, driven by technology and evidence (data), will be developed. People no longer want hand holding; they need to know that the information is there when they need it and that they can access it when it suits them. They don’t want self service; they want direct access.

This summary caused much debate and consternation amongst both the attendees and people following the Twitter threads from afar. The conversations and debates that it prompted were still going on a day later.

Which sounds to me like exactly what a good conference presentation should do – explore ideas, prompt and provoke thinking and conversation that helps us to make sense of an evolving landscape that will require new attitudes and solutions. It was also good to see Jason get involved in the online chat personally.

Something that I had observed in the morning was that none of the the early speakers had a social media presence, yet the HRTech event has a very good social outreach. Those morning presentations, as Doug’s blog had pointed out, seemed to be a tad lacking in depth and rationale whereas both Jason and William Tincup demonstrated a good understanding of the issues that HR professionals face and reflected this in what they said. Maybe it’s no coincidence that they are very active on social channels and this almost certainly helped towards their engaging and insightful presentations.

Reports of the death of HR may be an exaggeration, but there are certainly some interesting conversations to be had about adapting to meet future challenges.

 

 

 

HR and The Technology Issue

The recent 2014 Global HR Trends Report from Deloittes told us four things about the HR community’s views on Technology and Analytics:

  • They are rated as urgent issues
  • Of the 12 most urgent trends they are the 2 with the highest capacity shortfalls
  • They are 2 of the top 6 trends with the highest capability shortfalls
  • Amongst HR and business leaders Talent and HR Analytics was the area in which they rated their businesses least ready

And there’s more. One of the most significant emerging trends was that of the ‘Overwhelmed Employee’ creating it’s own need to simplify processes and create a streamlined, consumerist user experience.

Technology, and the resulting data, are major issues for the HR profession…issues that they feel unprepared for, with low capability and knowledge.

How can this be addressed?

With this question in mind I’ll be heading along to the HRTechEurope spring conference this Thursday (27th March) to see what the great and the good of the industry have up their sleeves. Many sessions will be about change and how to manage it within the organisation, the role technology plays in talent management and the need for developing HR skills.

I’ll be interested to see if the shortfall in capacity and capability gets a mention.

If you’re an HR professional and want to come along too then there’s still time to book. As a reader of this blog you can get a 20% too by using the code BL20 when you book.

Look forward to seeing a few of you there, and also bringing you my summary of what’s being said…

4 Questions About Talent and Technology

It’s nearly time for the HRTechEurope Spring Conference & Expo. I’ll be heading in to London on March 27th joining HR and Recruitment professionals, tech specialists and fellow bloggers to try and find out what’s old and what’s new, what we need and what we don’t.

It’s currently tough out there in the world of HR when it comes to talent acquisition. On a daily basis we’re fighting wars, covering skill shortages, putting a sticking plaster over long term people development and tearing our hair out over how to create the workforces our businesses need to face a future of growth and accelerating technological development.

Or so it seems. Rarely a day goes by without another report, white paper, survey or opinion piece on the huge challenges of creating the future workforce. They need to be highly skilled and motivated, locationally and contractually flexible, and ready to hit the ground running.

But this isn’t a perfect world, and people aren’t disposable goods to be chopped and changed. Instead of the constant and seemingly frenetic rush to get the best right now let’s look at some longer term issues that short term talent acquisition strategies may be covering up…

Are You Looking Everywhere?

By everywhere I mean everywhere. As I recently wrote for Monster, there’s a lot of talent right under your nose that you’re probably overlooking. Most probably…

  • Current employees who have skills and strengths that you haven’t recognised and can adapt to new challenges
  • Alumni who have moved on, had different experiences, gained knowledge and progressed
  • Candidates who have applied before and were not a good match then, and are now probably nestling in a black hole in your ATS hiding their very relevant talents
  • And remember, all the above have friends, collaborators and alumni who may be right

Is Your On-Boarding Good Enough?

We all know that if something’s going to go wrong then it will more than likely happen in the first 2/3 months so are your on-boarding and induction processes up to scratch? Is talent seeping away from the business because you’re not making the most of it when it first arrives? Think back to good people who just didn’t seem to work out with you and look at why. There may be a recurring theme.

Are You Growing From Within?

The people you’ve already invested in should be the first choice for new roles. My first job was within a medium-sized accountancy firm and we had PAs to Partner who had started as filing clerks (OK, you don’t get many of them any more) and accounting assistants who had originally joined in a clerical or admin role. The partners constantly tried to invest in developing the good, loyal people they had rather than demotivate and lose them by going outside. Do your people really feel that they have a future with you?

Have You Created the Right Environment?

To nurture talent you need a nurturing environment. One where people aren’t afraid to try and fail as part of the learning experience, and aren’t rewarded purely on achieving KPIs that preclude the opportunity to collaborate, innovate, share and provide feedback.

If the solution to filling new positions is always to go external and throw money at someone who’s performing at a competitor then this will become a self fulfilling modus operandi which will be difficult to break. And dangerous too as top achievers in a business usually benefit from a support structure and culture that enables them to do their best; there’s never a guarantee that they would achieve the same results in a different environment that offered a very different structure and culture.

There will probably be a lot of technology at HRTechEurope that can help enable this, but first it needs a mindset. A commitment to doing something fresh, an openness to new ideas and approaches.

Because to keep fighting the same mythical wars and keep moaning about shortages and expect to get different results would be insanity. Right?

(Image via SAP.info)