More (if you can stand it), on HR and the future robotic workplace

I feel at this point I simply have to beep banging on the robot drum, if for no other reason that everyone else seems to have jumped on the bandwagon too, and I want to make sure folks recognize I was driving said bandwagon ages ago!

I'm over at Fistful of Talent today with a piece called, Will You Be Replaced by a Robot? Let's Break it Down - here is a little bit of what I am riffing about there:

Ok, so let’s assume you were either on board with the seriousness of the robotic threats before, or had been skeptical but have read over the Oxford paper and have come around. How do you actually know, or at least take an educated guess at the actual threat to what you do, i.e., how can you determine if or when the robots are coming for you?

Well let’s break it down using the three primary criteria cited in the paper - perception and manipulation task requirements, the need for creative intelligence, and last, the need for social interaction and intelligence on the job. Your task, as you read through these parameters, is to think really honestly about how what you do fits on along the continuum of ‘Easy for a machine to learn and perform ←→ No way a robot could EVER do this’ in the three categories...

Check out the rest over at Fistful of Talent and be sure to let me know what you think.

Or let the robot that is actually writing all these posts know what you think. He's cool with that.

Happy Wednesday!

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 176 - Big Bets for HR

HR Happy Hour 176 - 'Big Bets for HR'

Recorded live at Oracle HCM World - Thursday February 6, 2014

One more shot from last week's Oracle HCM World event - the HR Happy Hour Show/Podcast that Trish McFarlane and I were able to record with Oracle's Bertrand Dussert, VP of HR Transformation and one of the sharpest guys around when it comes to understanding modern HR, and the critical role of technology in that transformation to modern HR.

You can catch the show on the show page here, or using the widget player below:

Popular Business Internet Radio with Steve Boese and Trish McFarlane on BlogTalkRadio

 

Bertrand has had a great and varied career as an HR practitioner and executive, which sets him apart from many of the typical HR software company execs you'll encounter. He knows the challenges that come with being an HR and business leader playing in the big leagues, and can lend this expertise and insight to the clients he works with in his role as a trusted advisor for Oracle.

In the show, we talked with Bertrand on some of the most interesting technological trends and the opportunities they will present - the 'Big Bets for HR' as it were. We hit upon wearable devices, the internet of things, predicitive analytics and more. And at every turn Bertrand helps us break down the topic and see what it all might mean for HR leaders in the future.

It was a really fun, lively, and quick 30 minutes or so, and I hope you take some time this week to check out the show.

Once again, you can listen to or download the show from the show page here, or from the iTunes store - just search the Podcasts section for 'HR Happy Hour'. Android users - we have you covered too. Download a podcast app called Stitcher Radio and search for 'HR Happy Hour' and add the show to your list of favorites.

Thanks again to Bertrand and to everyone over at Oracle for making it possible to record the HR Happy Hour live and on site from Oracle HCM World.

HCM World: Transforming HR With Technology

Last week I had the pleasure to attend and moderate a panel at the inaugural Oracle HCM World event in Las Vegas. (That is a pic of me on the right warming up the crowd prior to the start of the panel with a joke involving Larry Bird and Larry Ellison).

The panel was titled 'Modern HR Transformations' and focused on some of the many ways that the HR function, and even the organization overall, is being impacted, enabled, and transformed today, with much of that transformation being driven by advances in technology. Whether it is through leveraging a modern and integrated technology approach to Talent Management, the increased use of data and analytics to inform talent and people decisions, or even to predict the most likely business outcomes from a range of talent decisions, or even some more far-out applications of wildly innovative technologies like wearable computing or the Internet of Things - there is little doubt the next era of business (and HR), will be defined in many ways by the use and application of new technology.

It was a really engaging and lively discussion that was highlighted by the panelists, (Holger Mueller of Constellation Group, Debbie Damesek of Credit Suisse, and Maureen Brosnan and Anthony Abbatiello, both from Accenture), sharing of both the big-picture trends and imperatives shaping HR and organizations, as well as their specific and real-world experiences, successes, and challenges with large-scale HR transformation projects. It's kind of tough for me to recap the point-by-point of the session, (since I was kind of busy, you know, running the panel and keeping one eye on the clock, one eye on the audience, and one eye on the panelist), so I thought I would simply share a really cool resource on HR Transformations and the HR Technology role in them that has been put together by the folks at Accenture and Oracle.

The free E-book, titled: Accenture and Oracle: The Future of HR—Five Technology Imperatives, digs into the need for HR to change to better enable the organization to compete in today's faster, more complex business environment, looks at some of the external forces that are driving and influencing this new paradigm, and then examines some of the HR technology challenges and opportunities that HR and organizations can and are utilizing to help find and attract talent, leverage data more fully in talent processes, and deliver both a set of compelling career experiences to individuals and provide the organization the talent and capability it needs to meet its business objectives. And the E-book builds on the prior research on 'The Future of HR' that has been done at Accenture as well.

Above, I have cribbed just one snippet from the E-book to give you a feel for the style and content - I think you will find it an informative and educational resources, and a good summary as well of much of was shared and talked about at Oracle HCM World, both in the panel I was a part of, and the event overall.

Many thanks to the folks at Oracle for allowing me to be a part of Oracle HCM World! 

The three axis of beauty that I bet you will keep repeating

On my way back from Oracle HCM World, (and by the way there will be more content coming from the event, including a HR Happy Hour Show that we recorded live from Las Vegas), and among the many excellent and thought-provoking presentations from the show, there was one really interesting nugget shared by an HR leader from Oracle customer, beauty products company Elizabeth Arden that I can't seem to quit thinking about.

At the top of the session, in the section of the talk where the presenter describes what the company does, the size and structure of the organization, and generally sets the context for the technology/strategy conversation to come, we learned that Elizabeth Arden has a concept that they call 'The Three axis of Beauty'. This idea guides, aligns, and helps prioritize their product development, marketing, and branding efforts. In case you were wondering, The Three Axis of Beauty' are color, fragrance, and skincare. Pretty much everything EA does has to align into one of these axis of color, fragrance, or skincare.

I don't know why I thought this was all that interesting a concept really, or particularly noteworthy - maybe it was just the use of a clever turn of phrase, i.e., the way the phrase 'The Three Axis of Beauty' just sounds way cooler than presenting the strategy or structure as 'The three elements of our strategy' or 'Our three product families', or 'The three pillars of our organization.'

In about 5 minutes I was, as a pretty much disinterested observer on the market for beauty products, turned into someone who seemed to instantly remember and have resonate with me the three axis of beauty and that, in fact, they are color, fragrance, skincare.

I bet you are even repeating them now as well, like some kind of Glamour magazine inspired mantra - color, fragrance, skincare.

Color, fragrance, skincare.

Color, fragrance, skincare.

Ok, I will give it a rest now, but I hope to at least someone else the beauty, pardon the pun, in presenting the company strategy and approach to their markets, expressed in a simultaneously simple and interesting way was well, a thing of beauty, (dang, that was terrible).

If you want people to actually think about normally boring content like a product/market segmentation strategy slide deck then it helps to at least try and elevate the manner in which you lay out said strategy.

The three axis of beauty is instantly memorable, is fun to say out loud, and even made a caveman like me interested in the world of beauty products. In 5 minutes of a talk I was able to connect with the strategy.

Can you say the same thing about the last time you or someone at your company presented on your strategy?

Have a great weekend!

Update: WEBINAR: Don't Fear the Future - Today at 2PM EST

UPDATE: With last week's travel nightmares a distant (kind of) memory the Webinar originally scheduled for January 29 will now be TODAY, February 5, 2014 at 2PM EST.

All the details are the same, and just in case you missed the opportunity to sign up last week, you can still jump in to the webinar today:

Here is everything you need to know and thanks to the fine folks at Silkroad for sponsoring the webinar called:

Don't Fear the Future: 5 Tech Keys to Raise Your HR and Game in 2014 and Beyond

This is meant to be a lively and hopefully interesting look at some of the most cutting edge or innovative technology trends, (robotics, wearable technology, etc.), talk about where these technologies are heading, why they matter, and then talk a little about how understanding how these technologies can and will be used in the workplace can help you raise your HR game in 2014 and beyond.

Here are all the pertinent details, including the registration link for the FREE Webinar:

While most of us with busy and chaotic jobs in HR are busily trying to get 2013 closed up -- there were some remarkable developments in the consumer, business, and economic arenas that you might have missed. Amazon introduced us to the concept of package delivery via a fleet of drones. Google wants to put a self-driving car in your driveway. And Rethink Robotics wants to supply you with your new office-mate, an eight-foot tall, fully articulated, and happy industrial robot named Baxter. Meanwhile, the workforce is getting older, entire industries are worried about finding the talent they need, and EVERYONE is fighting over the same superstar technical workers.

But you are a progressive HR, recruiting, or talent management pro (that’s why you’re reading this), and you know that in order to help drive your organization boldly into the future you’ve got to stay ahead of the rest of the pack and be the lead dog so to speak. And not only being aware of what is happening in the world outside of the HR office but how these technology and environmental developments will help inform and shape your talent management strategies.

You already get that the key to winning in 2014 (and beyond) is probably not going to be found in creating a better PTO request approval workflow, but you might not yet have the time and the bandwidth to think more deeply and creatively about how to leverage these changes in your organization and for your career.

That’s why Silkroad created their latest webcast – Don't Fear the Future: 5 Tech Keys to Raise Your HR and Game in 2014 and Beyond. Join us for this webcast, and we’ll give you a quick look at what these trends will mean for our work and workplaces, and more importantly, share some creative ideas about how to apply them to your HR and talent practice (and make you look like some kind of clairvoyant in the process). So make plans now to get your 2014 started in the right way - by getting your creative juices flowing and thinking about how your organization can be ready to win the future!

February 5, 2014
2:00 p.m. (Eastern)
1:00 p.m. (Central)
12:00 p.m. (Mountain)
11:00 a.m. (Pacific)

Date or time doesn't fit your schedule? Go ahead and register anyway. We will be sure you receive an email with a link to the recorded webinar following the event.

You can register here and I hope to see you on the webinar!