Findings from the HR Technology Conference 2011

At the world’s largest HR Technology conference last week, there were  product announcements from a plethora of providers, best practices shared on implementation from all perspectives, and updates from industry experts like Naomi Bloom and Jason Averbook as well as forecasts from prominent analysts on the future of work technology (Welcome to “Face-Linked”).

Below find a brief recap summary including a few takeaways regarding the current state of HR technology as well as future workforce technology drivers.

Primary challenges (priorities) for HR technology providers today to overcome:

1. HR’s ability to impact/solve/support the business.  As HR continues to move from “HR centric” to a “worker centric model tied to business outcomes”; the demands placed upon professionals and systems evolve.  The admin and strategic functions of HR are intrinsically intertwined and cannot be separated and have to be performed durably well.   Essentially, HR’s job is to create jobs.  If sweepers are viewed as unimportant then they can be outsourced, but if HR finds sweepers that are customer service oriented, sweepers become an integral part of operations in the above pictorial example.
2. Vendor Definition. The current fragmented landscape continues to evolve as the major players consolidate and race to keep pace with the advancements in technology and the demands of consumers.  First and foremost, providers have to decide whether they are Business Management Platform (ERP) or an HR Platform (Talent Management suite + core HRIS-HRMS) or simply an application that integrates into the aforementioned platforms?  Today, the HR solutions landscape is littered with hundreds of providers that have meaningful client bases, but there are only a few players that have the majority of the market share by segment and region.
• Suites exasperate the vendor definition problem as companies need to deploy processes and not modules (illustrative list of processes here).
3. Data Management Sludge. According to Naomi Bloom, data management is a big problem not only in HR but is actually preventing the US economy from tHRiving because the ability to effectively and efficiently manage requires usable, actionable, secure data.
4. Customers are moving towards demanding Solutions and not software.  The emergence of HROs servicing a broader scope as well as the mid-market continues to grow.  These outsourced human resource providers are filling a needed role of performing transactions for companies, providing back-office shared services, and providing expertise across the HR and human capital management spectrum.  But also, software providers have to change their thinking and approach to fit consumers’ demands.  Software providers must think of user adoption and measurement of outputs as the end goal versus “go-live.”  Software systems have for too long rewarded the wrong goals.  Adopting enterprises and organizations have exasperated the problem as well by implementing technology to solve the business problem when technology is only a tool. Organizations are best served by starting with strategy and desired business outcomes and then defining their requirements for architecture and their users (defining wow user experiences before deployment).

Did you know?

· 1 in 5 enterprises are seeking to replace HRMS in 2011 up from 9% over the previous two years.

· 25% of firms looking to upgrade their HRMS.

· The top 3 initiatives regarding HR tech spending in 2011 include::

1. Business process improvement/innovation (approximately 2/3)
2. Implement/automate talent management processes (more than half)
3. Tie: Implement self-service and Support Business Strategy from HR by nearly half the responses

 

The overall state of technology continues to evolve as consumer technology evolves.  Today, SaaS deployments are taking over, as evidenced by Workday’s market share growth, and the shift towards truly integrated  platforms has become the adopted standard (although it will take years to filter to everyone).  Additional big ideas for the future of HR technology include:

1. Voice capabilities will end usability issues. As Apple and others pioneer voice capabilities coupled with advanced interfaces and embedded intelligence into end-user systems such as Workday, end-users will be able to use HR technology to its fullest utility and only limited by the maturity of the organization’s knowledge/skills/capabilities (KSAOCs).
2. Communities. Social collaboration is in demand.
   • Did you know that by 2013 80% of enterprises will support tablets, 40% will support mobile phone and wireless.
   • Check out this forecast from Gartner’s Jim Holincheck that predicts grand change: Welcome to “Face-Linked”.
   • The future workforce is notably different than the current workforce including:
   1. Large global and virtual “outside the firewall” workforce along with a mobile workforce.  Do you have integrated language translation services embedded in your systems?  Providers need to embed global into everything from data standards to analytics to systems blueprints to processes.
   2. Contingent workforces will represent a significant portion of the workforce.
   3. Younger generations are driven by “meaningful work” not money and other changes in work.
   4. Matrix and team organizations will be more prevalent.
   5. Total Compensation prevalent based on the new workforce demographics and attributes. 
3. Consumerization requires re-thinking about Usability, Usefulness and Utility. 
   1. Users expect the same experiences at home as they do at work. Software systems will need to be so easy that anyone can start using right away (No more form driven, tabbed, menu driven solutions that require manuals).
   2. “Gamificaiton” = Engagement. The fastest growing application is games. Games have already been adopted by numerous Global 2000 companies as well as non-profits for training and development with outstanding ROI. 

 

Historically, the majority of HR technology systems were implemented for either “payroll+” reasons or to solve a specific human resource pain.  Coupled with advancements in technology, and demand from consumers, many organizations are facing re-implementation.  Lots of  roadmaps exist (email us for a list of options).  Beyond defining your  multi-generational tech savvy requirements (SaaS architecture for the future), processes (KSAOCs), and creating your organization’s YBR ("the “Yellow Brick Road”), having the right game-plan & mantra is key. 

As the buyer of HR technology has shifted towards the end-user; the future of HR technology will certainly be work centric, workforce driven, and people performance-oriented.