NOTE : This guest post is from Wendy Tandon, Director of Product Strategy for Human Resources technology vendor Salary.com. Wendy (@WTandon on Twitter), was an attendee of the HRevolution conference this past weekend in Louisville, KY and has agreed to share her perspectives on the event here.
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As mentioned in the intro to HRevolution I began my career in HR, and am now happily working to define technology products for HR and the Enterprise. I’ve not been plugged in to the HR online community for long and am truly amazed at the welcome I’ve received from this group. My second thoughts as I boarded the plane for Louisville wondering why on earth I would fly to a strange city on a weekend to meet with people I didn’t know were immediately squelched as I found intriguing conversation at every turn. My experience in Louisville was colored by my unique past, my current role, as well as by some books I happened to be reading during the travel and downtime. The first books “City of Ember” and “People of Sparks” (yes, they’re children’s books I read and then discuss with my son) and a third “Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion” as recommended by many of you on Twitter.
The children’s stories are about finding a way out of a dark and dying place, then the conflict that ensues once they find their way – “Influence,” about human behavior and compliance. All great commentary about why we interact with other people they way we do. I reflected on how technology has evolved from an isolating experience in the 80’s into the collaborative experience it is today, and how the power of these connections has transformational characteristics. We may indeed be finding our way out of a darker more isolated place – but we still have much to discover, and I anticipate some conflict as we find our way. HR and technology are both evolving rapidly, but evolution shouldn’t imply smooth or easy – there will be bumps in the road, especially at this pace.
What else did I discover this weekend?
1) Social media – the mere name bequeathed to these tools frightens and alienates many. Technologists must address this.
2) The actual percentage of HR pros that are “plugged in” is quite small – we must determine how to best reach out to those who don’t know what they are missing in a non-threatening way.
3) I’m secretly relieved they are not all plugged in because there must be some upper limit to the number of people one can follow effectively. See #4
4) The sheer volume of information available in this medium can be overwhelming and requires we use effective shortcuts to figure out what to use/discard/save for later. Opportunity for technologists.
5) The shortcuts we are conditioned to use every day to direct our behavior in a socially acceptable way are magnified by the larger network of interactions we can sustain in a virtual environment. Opportunity for tremendous influence by those who would effectively use it.
What do I predict?
HR seems to have not ruminated at great length about how to quantify or capture the value associated with their employees’ external networks outside of recruitment efforts. The vendor and analyst community will offer suggestions but we need HR to validate them. What will HR do to create internal networks as they recognize the enormous value in this kind of communication? My bet is that most will be willing to wait for HRM vendors to deliver a plug and play solution for this since many are still struggling against perceptions from CEOs or others with organizational influence that view social technology as “disturbing” and as something that would result in a lack of control (despite the obvious reasons this is backwards thinking). Those HR pros on the leading edge will create their own using whatever (mostly free) technology they can quickly deploy with likely mixed results. It will be interesting to analyze what works, what doesn’t and why.
What advice do I have?
As a former HR practitioner, I watch the analyst/vendor dynamic with interest (admittedly self interest) and curiosity, yet sprinkled with just a smidgeon of caution. I’m not a cynic at heart, but am I the only one who occasionally wonders if an element of these relationships might serve something other than the intrepid consumer? Call me crazy. [mad tapping of keys as analysts block me on twitter] At HRevolution it was asked if HR pulls the vendors or if HR is being pushed by them. When the market-gurus of my own org demand certain functionality for our products I consistently counter with, “Well, it’s cool, but does HR really want it? Will they use it??” I have vowed to be the advocate for HR when it comes to my own influence on product roadmap – I simply can’t get the HR out of me. But in response to the question of push vs. pull, itreally is “both.” We need each other. HR should be and in many cases is pushing vendors to deliver quality, easy to use products that address legitimate use cases (think business case). HR vendors should be clever enough to see the trends in these varied use cases, and then deliver a product that can solve business problems HR might not have been able to recognize or analyze were it not for the technology. Demand simplicity from your vendors – not more re-branding of old ideas to make the same software appear to do something it never did before without any corresponding change in code. Talk to your vendors – the good ones are eager to listen. More importantly, if you aren’t talking to us, we end up listening to no one but the analysts, and as much as we DO love them, well, let’s just say balance is a good thing.
One final thought:
I am encouraged, energized, and excited to be working in this rapidly changing space. The organizers and attendees of HRevolution have assured me that our efforts are NOT in vain. I am much obliged to all of you and will strive to give back, both personally and professionally, at every available opportunity. To all the torchbearers of leading edge HR, and you know who you are, you are truly an inspiration!
Wendy Tandon – Director of Product Management, Salary.com