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I’ll admit that I had some preconceptions about what the HR Technology Conference would be like. Artificial intelligence has been the topic of conversation since the end of last year and it has, for better or worse, sucked the oxygen out of the room for almost anything else in HR technology. I figured any session would have to mention AI, and that the expo floor would be littered with claims of AI, AI, AI.
There were some of those AI firework displays that were a big show with little impact, but it definitely wasn’t at the level I expected. In a tech industry bit by a roller coaster year of layoffs, difficult fundraising and still finding a new normal after the pandemic, maybe I should’ve had more confidence that they would find their way. After all, companies need to sell software that actually solves problems and buyers need software that actually works.
Pragmatism in AI Reigns Supreme
AI might get the press coverage, but the pragmatic use of AI was a constant theme at this year’s event. Industry thought leader Josh Bersin keynoted the second day of the conference by telling attendees how AI could supercharge parts of HR. One area he highlighted, which I heard from multiple attendees, was the use of AI talent acquisition.
Recruiting is under pressure in many organizations to get costs under control, either through staff attrition, technology consolidation or, in many organizations, both. AI-driven automation is already lessening the amount of effort necessary to manage the sometimes painful administration of recruiting.
That doesn’t mean talent acquisition professionals will be going the way of the dinosaurs. Instead, Bersin believed they would be moving into what he calls talent advisor roles. In all reality, many recruiters will also be redeployed into the organization if possible. A few of the companies I talked to seem to be looking for savings in recruiting, with hiring normalizing in many industries, and they are finding the solutions that will help them squeeze every penny they can out of that function.
If you want more proof that organizations are looking for solutions to problems rather than just sexy AI gadgets, consider the Startup Pitchfest winner Manifest. They help employees consolidate their 401k accounts to maximize retirement savings and reduce costs for employers. That may not sound very interesting, but the technology behind it is novel, and orphaned 401k accounts are something that companies are paying millions of dollars in fees every year that they don’t need to.
Humanity Shows Up, Too
Surrounding Bersin’s keynote were two keynotes that focused on the humanity of technology.
On day one, actress and activist Geena Davis spoke to a crowded hall about equity in the media and technology. It was a welcome opening that paired well with the recent Nobel Prize in Economics being awarded to Claudia Goldin for her tireless research on the gender pay gap. It was preceded by the Women in HR Technology pre-conference event which helped women HR technology practitioners and HR technology executives connect and expand their roles in what is often still a male-dominated field.
On day three, author Marcus Buckingham told the audience that love, not technology, was the key to unlocking the most powerful force in business: People. “You can deploy AI intelligently, you can deploy AI strategically, you can hopefully deploy AI harmlessly. But you can’t lovingly. Not ever,” said Buckingham. Emphatic and passionate, Buckingham inspired people to look beyond technology to imagine an environment that encourages people to unlock the forces of their humanity at work instead of optimizing around technology and AI.
That might seem strange at an event built on the bedrock of HR technology but in reality, this approach just makes sense. All technology requires the cooperation of people and it makes it a lot easier when it is built for their needs.
Related Article: Salary Transparency Brings Us One Step Closer to Pay Equity
Analytics, Employee Experience Go Mainstream
From the expo floor, two categories stood out in ways they hadn’t in years past. HR and labor market analytics seem to have received a major boost in recent years. I counted at least a dozen providers that specialized in that category including a massive presence literally front and center from Visier this year.
Data-driven, informed decision-making is the dream of HR and talent teams and more executives are asking for proof before making consequential staffing decisions. The external view of labor market dynamics has been a sort of white whale for making holistic decisions. Companies like Claro Analytics are making it easier to not only get up-to-date information but to make it accessible and readable.
Employee experience was also on the agenda, with companies like Microsoft exhibiting its experience solutions prominently. As I covered this summer, they’re a company I’m keeping an eye on, as their access to the enterprise is literally unparalleled by anyone. Plenty of other companies are talking about employee experience, though they are keeping the definition fairly narrow (oftentimes focused on employee listening, surveys and communications).
Employee experience is so much more, though. As Buckingham implored the audience in his keynote, our employees have rich, human experiences. Thinking of employee experience as a small subset of that doesn’t work and will never work.
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If the headline from the HR Technology Conference this year was about AI, the rest of the story about unlocking humanity and working pragmatically in concert with technology deserved the bulk of attention. In the next year, I hope to hear more about how we’re making the workplace more aligned with how all employees want to work. Will we get there? Only time will tell.
