HR Technology Conference - Take Your Chances

Finally made it home from the HR Technology Conference in Chicago and still trying to process all the information from meeting vendors, attending sessions, and talking to old and new friends.

And recovering from Thursday night's Epic HR Happy Hour show.

One thing I noticed as I walked the massive Expo hall that in the Taleo booth (and I suspect a few others), there was a giant prize wheel that prospects, customers, or random passers-by could spin for the chance to win items like Subway gift cards, Amazon.com credits, or free stays at a popular resort.

You did have to get your badge scanned and listen to the 10 minute overview of Taleo 10 for the chance to spin the  wheel. It did seem a bit too 'time share presentation-ish' for me, but I get the need for vendors to capture prospect information at the show.

After the demo I attended was completed, and one lucky attendee spun the prize wheel, (I think he won a free Quiznos Sub), I thought a more fun 'prize wheel' would have all the possible outcomes of a major talent management implementation project.

Maybe the wheel would look something like this:

Technology projects, especially large complex ones, are tricky undertakings.  So many things are needed to hit the sweet spot on the wheel, and achieve enduring organizational transformation.  Correct understanding of the important business issues, selection of the correct tool to address these problems, effective project management, executive support, a vendor not only committed to customer success, but also one with a sound and perhaps even visionary product strategy, and managers and users that see the value the real 'What is in this for me' of the solution.

Missing any one of these key factors might be enough to scupper the project.  But without them, your chance for success are dicey at best, and indeed you are just spinning the wheel of technology fortune and you may not even realize it.

Be Curious

On Wednesday I had the great honor to present at the WTPF of Washington, DC's annual professional development event.

While my presentation was good (I think) I was really moved by the morning keynote speech given by Michele Toth of Northrop Grumman.

Her topic was 'HR in Transition' and in her speech she articulated a few key principles for HR professionals to help effect the transformation from administrative and reactive to strategic and proactive.

Be Curious - Understand what you don't know, and do your homework to educate yourself on the key issues that affect the organization.  If you are a technology company, understand how your technology actually solves customer problems.  Think like a business manager, not as an HR manager.

Be Persistent - You know the right things to do don't you? So do them.  And if you run in to obstacles keep going. Have conviction and confidence.

Be Tenacious - Don't wait to get invited to the key strategic planning meeting, or major executive pow-wow.  Show up and participate.  But you better be able to to bring it and that means doing your homework.

Be Courageous - HR needs to be the moral compass of the organization, even when it is not popular, even if it means turning in the boss. Courage may also require making unpopular decisions, but HR needs to have the courage to do the right thing, always.

It was a fantastic speech, and definitely inspirational for the attendees of the session. Check out the Twitter hashtag #WTPF to get the sense of the speech and the event overall.

Thanks again to the folks at WTPF for inviting me to speak, I had a fantastic day.

New Technology for Human Resources

Later today I am heading to Washington DC to attend and give a brief presentation on HR Technology to the WTPF - The Business Forum for Washington area Human Resources Professionals,  at their annual SOARS day.

I am really excited and appreciative for the opportunity to present, the only downer is that the WTPF event is also the start of the HR Technology Conference in Chicago.  (Anyone looking for me in Chicago, I promise I will get there on Wednesday night).

The subject of my talk at WTPF is of course HR Technology, and rather than bore the audience with tales of delivery models, maintenance fees, and competency modeling across talent processes, I thought I would talk about some interesting, new, and yes fun technologies that HR professionals might use in their own departments, and broader organizations.

Some of the technologies I will touch on during the session:

Sociacast - an activity streams tool for the enterprise, similar to FriendFeed but not as nerdy sounding

Socialtext - wiki-based platform that has expanded into micro-messaging

Shareflow -  a Google Wave-like tool for aggregating and collaboration

UserVoice - A classic customer and employee feedback tool that is easily embedded on websites

Rypple - tool for getting and receiving feedback, built around the idea of improving individual performance

VanillaForums - simple forum solution to capture ideas and comments from employees with a minimum of complexity

Ideascale - harness the ideas and innovations from your employees, allow the 'best' ideas to surface

And of course what 'new Tech' presentation for an HR group would be completed without mentioning social networking, so I will give the requisite 'Twitter is fantastic' bit.

If you are at the WTPF event, be sure to say hello. Many thanks to the WTPF for having me, the last time I was asked to speak at such a classy event it was my brother's wedding, and let's just say that speech did not go over too well.

The Week to Talk Technology

In the HR world, this is the week the Technology gets top billing.

The HR Technology Conference in Chicago runs from this Wednesday, September 30 through Friday, October 2.

I will be attending with the aim of seeing as many interesting technologies as I can, talking with tech leaders and visionaries about the current state and future directions of workforce technology, and arm wrestle a few folks to come on the HR Happy Hour show.

Mark Stelzer at Inflexion Advisors and Laurie Ruettimann at PunkRockHr offered there takes on what they are looking for and expecting here and here, so I figured I would offer my two cents:

I am offended by massive technology projects that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, take a year to implement, and leave the users angry, frustrated, and dreading their forced interactions with the systems.

I am deeply offended by massive technology projects that cost millions of dollars, take many years to implement, and cripple organizations under their weight for years to come.

I want to see solutions that can do the following:

1. Solve an actual problem that matters to the actual employees and users of the technology.

2. Do it quickly, efficiently, and gasp - in a manner not reminiscent of a root canal.

3. Work and work well in the shortest possible time from when they are purchased. 

4. Support not only the massive, global Fortune 1000 company, but the 117-person small business that  has 1.5 HR employees buried under piles of paper. I want to know what your solution offers them.

5. Show how what you make empowers employees, contributes to their individual success, and helps enable them to perform.

Show me all that, and you have a fantastic technology.

I look forward to the show, and meeting lots of folks for the first time. If you see me there, be sure to say hello.

Why Technology?

I am getting ready to head to Chicago later this week for the HR Technology Conference, a three day extravaganza of all things workplace and technology and I started thinking about the reasons why technology is implemented in organizations, and the key drivers for the executives that write the checks and give the go-ahead for big tech projects.

Cost reduction - Process 'XYZ' costs us too much today, lets apply a technology solution that will reduce 'XYZ' cost.  A solid reason in many cases, but if cost reduction is the sole or primary objective of the technology project, it will have limited effect, and it certainly is not all that interesting.  Lots of outsourcing deals are done on cost reduction alone. So HR Technology vendors that pitch primarily on cost reduction may be successful, but they too probably are not all that interesting. Have you met very many really fascinating accountants?

Compliance - HR knows all about the demands (certainly in the USA) around compliance.  Whether it is payroll, benefits administration, EEOC regulations in the recruitment process, it goes on and on. And truly it seems there will be a continuously expanding set of demands on HR for 'required' reporting and disclosure.  Compliance sucks, it is a pain in the neck, and your CEO demands that HR places a high priority on it, since he/she does not want to end up on a perp walk one day. Compliance is REALLY important, but also not terribly interesting.

Efficiency - Spin this as 'improving productivity' or 'doing more with less'. It usually comes down to this type of discussion : We have to perform activity 'ABC', and it takes too long, we make too many errors, or not enough employees actually complete the process.  A great example in HR is the annual employee performance review. There are plenty of technology solutions that can be applied to performance management issues to increase participation, ensure consistency, and speed up the process. Certainly these are all important, and if you believe in the strategic value of the process itself, then clearly simply improvement to the process can drive organizational value.  Vendors that offer technologies to support process efficiency typically also enable the next and more important reason for implementing technology.

Performance - I am not just talking about individual employee performance (although that is the critical element that supports everything else), but rather overall organizational performance, and the support necessary to execute the business strategy. Technologies that assist HR in attracting the best talent, ensuring that employees are aligned with and fairly measured on critical organizational objectives, have access to great resources for training and development, and finally drive compensation and rewards appropriately are probably what most great HR leaders are looking for.  In the last few years technologies that also facilitate, enhance, and improve employee 'connection' and workplace collaboration are on the radar of HR leaders.  These technologies, when chosen carefully, applied creatively, and managed effectively can lead us to the final aspect of technology in the workplace.

Fun - How many workplace technologies just suck the life out of employees? From bad interfaces, to redundant steps, and arcane language bad HR technology can drag down the organization.  The best and most exciting new technologies do more than automate, they improve and add value, AND engage users on a whole new level.  Technologies that benefit individual employees as well as the company are the ones that are the most interesting and compelling today. Work has changed, no one (hardly) stays in one place very long, tools that employees see as enhancing their personal effectiveness, skills, and value are in many ways the future of HR Technology.  Systems that move beyond 'Doing my job better, faster, cheaper' to 'Making me better, smarter, and more connected' are the ones I want to see at HR Technology this week. What is more fun than growing as a person and as a professional?

If you are at the HR Technology Conference this week, be sure to find me, I look forward to meeting as many people as I can.