The HR Technologist

According to the Second Edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary the English language contains 171,476 different words.  Add to that number approximately 47,000 obsolete words which have all but disappeared from daily use.   In all, that provides us with over 218,000 different words in which to communicate, express ourselves, make a point, or otherwise interact with our fellow man.  With all those options available to choose from, its somewhat surprising that one of the most powerful words in the English language is a mere 3 letters long – WHY.

Typically when you think of a management consultant you think of a well-educated, highly experienced professional communicating in some sort of esoteric code – full of both buzzwords as well as high letter score words from scrabble.  Consultants immediately fall into this trap, partially in a way to validate to their clients that they’re well worth the high hourly rates they charge, and partially as a way to simply keep up with their peers who also choose to communicate using similar prose.  Having grown up in a Big-4 environment, I found myself doing the same thing out of fear more than anything else.  Fear of appearing simple-minded, fear of not fitting it, and fear of not impressing the partners I worked for.

With all the pressure to speak using greater numbers of complicated words, I have found over the years that one of the most effective ways to get impactful results is to rely upon this simple, three-lettered word.  Its elegantly simple, devoid of any pretense, and amazingly powerful in its ability to cut to the chase.

My four-year old son has mastered the art of using the word why.  While he uses it as a way to understand boundaries, question authority, and learn all at the same time, it has the amazing impact of forcing me to consider why things are as they are.  Absent any good reason that comes to mind immediately I find myself uttering the same words my parents uttered to me “because I said so”.

In ancient Greek culture Socrates was one of the most powerful minds of that time yet he didn’t author countless theories, wasn’t credited with amazing discoveries, and didn’t invent anything.  Rather it was the manner in which he engaged in dialogue to discredit ignorance which became the foundation of the Socratic Method – using questions and answers to arrive at a common understanding of what is correct and incorrect.  For Socrates it was not only normal to question everything but he felt it was his duty to do so.

In a business setting, the same thing happens.  While driving process improvement or transformation the simple act of asking “Why do we do this?”  or “Why is this necessary?” can help to cut through the clutter and get to the heart of an issue related to resistance to change. When you ask why, you quickly can determine what’s really necessary, what’s perceived to be necessary, and what’s simply a thinly-veiled excuse to resist change.

By simply asking why I’ve seen highly complex business processes dramatically simplify.  Asking the question of why can help to save money, avoid unnecessary work, and deliver a more positive experience for all.

When embarking upon any technology-related deployment, process improvement, or other initiative designed to help simplify, streamline, and/or enhance your work environment, remembering to slow down and ask simple questions can deliver impacts far beyond those of any technology.

Detroit Public Library

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but it appears that the economy is slowly recovered from the depths of the worst recession in the last 75+ years.  Sales are up, earnings are up, fortunately the Dow and everyone’s 401(k) balances are up, and the employment picture is beginning to shake the off the cobwebs.  While many signs point towards better times ahead, if your neighborhood is anything like mine there are some signs of the toll the economy took on the housing market.

I live amongst many newer housing developments, many of which were incomplete as the recession really took hold in 2008.  As a result of the sharp drop in new home sales there were several developments that didn’t get started and others that remain semi-complete because builders went bankrupt, sales halted, and lenders stopped the flow of money that earlier fueled the growth in the housing market.  To compound the matter, many lost their jobs for an extended period of time, resulting in a skyrocketing foreclosure rate.  The visible remains of this situation are abandoned homes that seem out of place in a nicer neighborhood, unkempt lawns, un-shoveled driveways, and hedges in need of some trimming.

It’s been 132 days since I last authored a post on here.  And as much as I hate to admit it, some might believe that my “online home” here appears to be abandoned just like some homes in my neighborhood.  While I’m clearly not properly keeping up the property, I’m also not  quite ready to declare the property abandoned.

Why I’ve neglected my blog lately:

1. Daily life has consumed more of my time than I have available.  While I can make various excuses as to what I’ve been spending my time on lately, I would prefer to be honest.  When I’ve had available time, I have chosen to focus my energies on other things.  Reconnecting with my family, catching up on the “Honey Do” list at home, and other personal commitments.
2. Lack of creative energy to consistently write blog entries.  I am a confused Human Resources / Information Technology consultant who happens to have many skills of which creative writing is not one.  Writing doesn’t necessarily come natural to me as I’m much more comfortable with a dry erase marker and/or powerpoint.  I often speak in 140 character sound bites or in links to the works of others
3. I create in different media.  I’m often still on twitter, linkedin, facebook, and other social media outlets.
4. I’ll be out presenting more in the future.  I have sessions coming up in April and May with plans for more in the second half of the year.

One thing is certain – I will begin writing again, and likely somewhat soon.  I encourage you to keep an eye out for new content soon.  Meanwhile, trust me…payday loans online this is no abandoned property.

viagra online

The other day I was reviewing a press release from one of the numerous vendors in the HR Technology market which stated “the new release incorporates highly flexible analytics to deliver key business metrics business leaders are demanding”.   That quote (along with a very lengthy delay on the tarmac at O’Hare) got me thinking .  Can a HR Technology Vendor deliver meaningful analytics that business leaders are demanding?

What analytics exactly are business leaders demanding?

If I’ve learned nothing else in the 15 years I’ve been in this space, its that HR generally doesn’t know what business leaders are demanding.  Not to be negative, but HR has historically been viewed as a highly administrative function which serves a supportive role to the business.  Very few HR organizations are actually viewed as strategic business partners and have been able to successfully answer the questions that the C-Suite is really asking.  Those that have, generally can demonstrate the following:

• Direct impact on talent-related programs and processes to top-line growth
• Comprehensive understanding of which talent-related levers can be pulled to adjust the overall financial performance of the organization
• How specific talent practices directly contribute to the levels of agility within the organization (effectiveness of core competencies, impact of development programs, bench strength in key roles, hiring talent beneficial to the organization not just people skilled to fill the role for which they applied, etc.)
• What impact incremental investment in HR practices can have on top-line growth
• Impact to both the top-line and bottom-line as a result of speeding up or slowing down hiring

Needless to say, being able to provide meaningful insights into ANY of the points above requires information which goes far beyond that contained within nearly any HR-specific application.  For a HR product vendor to claim out of the box business analytics is pure bunk, unless there is a data warehouse capability inherent in the solution.  Last time I checked,  other than the ERP-based solutions only one HR vendor that I am aware of really offers such a possible solution.  In all such cases, the use of a overlay analytics solution is necessary to deliver meaningful business analytics.  None actually do this native within the core business application.

What analytics do HR vendors provide?

While its highly unlikely that HR-centric solutions will provide meaningful analytics which answer the exact questions emerging from the boardroom, there are a multitude of rich, meaningful, and helpful analytics which can be produced.  These nuggets of knowledge, coupled with financial data can go a long way towards producing some simple, yet meaningful analytics such as:

• Your time to fill metric combined with average revenue per employee per day (annual revenue / headcount / 365) demonstrates the opportunity cost associated with your average vacancy.
• Turnover rate coupled with replacement cost (30% of annual salary is an average benchmark) can be used to speak to the financial cost of turnover.  This along with divisional or managerial level detail can help to pinpoint specific segments of the organization needing additional attention.
• Combining individual revenue details for those in revenue-generating roles along with demographic information enable analysis of certain trends such as relationship between tenure and revenue, career path progression and revenue, managerial tenure and revenue generated, etc.  All great information to find ways of raising revenue and driving costs out of an organization.

These are just the tip of the iceberg.  Armed with financial data and an analytical mindset event the most basic HR information can be meaningful to your company’s leadership.  Moreover, by sharing the results of this type of analysis in financial terms HR can and will make progress towards a seat at the proverbial table.

No matter what the metric, unless it can be stated in a way that demonstrates impact to revenue or costs it will not be of use to the c-suite.  And as highlighted earlier, unless the application from which the analytics are generated contains financial information you’ll never be able to produce the rich analytics that your vendor would lead you to believe their new managerial dashboard delivers.

What are your thoughts on this topic?  I would welcome your input.

buy Abana

Every 24 – 48 months businesses around the world with a premise-based enterprise application face the question of whether to upgrade to their chosen vendor’s most recent version of their software or evaluate other options, whatever those options might be.  It’s a tricky question to answer and the implications of which can be somewhat substantial. 

The cost to upgrade enterprise software is a significant investment for even the smallest of organizations and the return on this investment is often difficult to realize.  What is the modern CIO, COO, or CFO to do?  

The options generally available to a customer are:

• Upgrade
• Refrain from upgrading and go unsupported
• Refrain from upgrading and pay for additional support (3^rd party or extended vendor support if available)
• Evaluate alternative solutions

An upgrade point is the most opportune time to evaluate your options and be sure that the decision to upgrade is what’s right for your business, as in some cases it might not be.  Consider the following three simple questions:

1.  Has your business stayed the same since you made the decision to purchase your current solution?

Many organizations selected and implemented their enterprise solution ten or more years ago when their businesses were in a different environment than we are now.  Business is now more global, more integrated, and operating more lean than a decade ago.  Decisions you made regarding the technology you use to run your business years ago might not necessarily be the same decisions you would make today.

2.  Is running a data center a core competency of your business?

Ten or fifteen years ago the options for deploying an enterprise solution on hardware located somewhere else wasn’t commonplace.  The industry has realized two waves of transformation along with the commercial availability of the internet.  The first wave involved application hosting (ASP), the second is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).  As a result, ten years ago premise-based installations were not only the norm but the only likely option for most. 

Fast forward to today….  With organizations looking to run more lean, focus more on their core business, and become more agile, building and maintaining data centers becomes less attractive.  3^rd party vendors can pool demand from multiple sources and justify the investment in true world-class facilities which are designed to withstand disaster scenarios.  Few companies can replicate this same capability cost effectively for private use.

3.  Can your business needs wait until the next release of software is available and you upgrade to it?

It used to be commonplace in the software industry that if the product didn’t meet your needs due to limited or missing functionality, the vendor would show you powerpoint slides of “future functionality” which would address the missing functionality.  All too often that functionality either didn’t materialize or required a very expensive upgrade at some point in the future.  With major upgrades often spaced 36-48 months out, you could be waiting four years or more until you can take advantage of new functionality.  Can your business needs wait that long?

Odd are that you can’t honestly answer yes to at least two of the three questions above.  As a result of the questions above and the dramatic shift in the enterprise technology market, any organization facing a mandatory upgrade of their enterprise solution (HRIS, ERP, etc) would be best served by evaluating the options in the market.  You may end up continuing down the path you’re on, but unless you survey the market and make an educated decision, you might miss opportunities to enhance the business. 

You owe it to your stakeholders and yourself to ensure the decisions made today aren’t simply repeating history.

Its hard to imagine that after a year’s worth of anticipation and planning the 14^th Annual HR Technology Conference and Exposition is in the record books – literally and figuratively. While I haven’t seen the final attendance figures, I’ve been told that the numbers far exceeded those of the conferences of the past. Showing off it’s international appeal, the event draws people from all over the world, including South Africa, Australia, various points throughout Europe and Latin America. Regardless of where the attendees arrive from they all look to learn about the latest innovations in HR practices and technology from world class practitioners who share their successes (and failures) for others to learn from.

Conference Co-Chair Bill Kutik spends a good portion of the year planning the event to the most minute detail including the brand of coffee served to attendees and the placement of lighting in the room where the general sessions are held, to deliver the best possible experience for the attendees who invest not only the cost of the conference and travel, but their precious time as well. Kudos to the newly married Mr. Kutik and the rest of the conference team for pulling off another successful event.

What makes the HR Technology Conference and Exposition so successful?  See the details below:

Doubling Down on the Location

Moving the conference from Chicago to Las Vegas resulted in some new attendees, enabling many from the west coast to attend a conference they might have otherwise skipped due to the cost or time commitment to travel. Fortunately for those of us in attendance we were treated to something that has been lacking in the previous years in Chicago – a conference center which is directly attached to the conference hotel. While Chicago’s McCormick Place does have a hotel attached, it is not the official conference hotel. The Mandalay Bay offered conference attendees top notch accommodations, dining options galore, numerous entertainment options, and of course the gaming action that Las Vegas is known for. The location offered something for everyone even if an attendee didn’t gamble or drink.

Being Dealt a Full House

With a agenda filled with some of the best and brightest in the business its no surprise that attendance was through the roof with general sessions being completely packed – standing room only.  Conference attendee traffic on the floor of the exhibit hall was quite heavy with many vendors I spoke with reporting high levels of engagement with prospective customers.  While some vendors dug deep into their bag of tricks to attract people to their booth by way of dancing, celebrity impersonators, and flashing toys, many choose to instead go back to the basics and engage in dialogue absent the gimmicks.  My friend Dwayne Lay posted his HR Tech 2011 swag video here dishing on all the cool giveaways.

Winning the Jackpot

Two of my favorite events on the HR conference calendar came together this year, resulting in a two for one experience for a number of attendees. While the HR Technology Conference was the big draw, a much less known event, HRevolution was also incorporated into the overall festivities this year. For those of you not familiar with HRevolution, I would strongly encourage you to check it out next time. An unconference is a loosely structured conference model absent powerpoint presentations, one-way communications, and the formality typically found in many conferences.  Pairing this event with the HR Technology Conference offered attendees the best of both worlds.

Counting Cards

For those who share a passion for technology like I do the conference offered a chance to see more new products from vendors.  With Mobile and Social being the two largest themes of the show few vendors were without a story to tell on these topics.  While the mobile applications look cool, one has to ask whether it makes sense to build the same functionality into a new channel or if the use of that new channel should result in a completely different focus on how the software should/could be used.  Just because something can be done on a mobile device doesn’t mean its the most appropriate way to get something done.

By paying close attention to the various capabilities available in the market from the numerous vendors, attendees have the potential to shift the odds in their favor.  Unlike at the blackjack tables, you will not get tossed out for having an unfair advantage, it simply means you’ve successfully managed to pick and choose the best tools available.

Busting Out

While the conference was largely a very positive event, I wanted to highlight some of the ways in which the conference can be improved moving forward:

• High-speed WiFi (emphasis on high-speed) – first and foremost thanks to ADP for serving as the sponsor of the WiFi service for HR Tech.  While it was a great gesture, unfortunately the demand for internet service far exceeded available supply.  The result was internet connections which reminded me of my 14.4 kbps modem from 1993.  Next year having not only high speed but greater bandwidth is a must have.
• Closer Meeting Rooms – I’m not how many people experienced the challenge of having to leave the exposition show floor to head to a suite for meetings but for those who did you know what I’m talking about.  With limited meeting rooms directly adjacent to the expo hall vendors were forced to secure suites in the hotel towers for meeting rooms.  The long walk between the hotel elevator tower and the expo hall was just a hit under a 3/4 of a mile.  Having three or four meetings in the towers meant quite a few miles logged between the two locations.  Ideally the exposition hall would have “suites” available directly from the show floor where vendors could quickly escort prospects for more in-depth discussions.
• More Casual Food Options – While the dining options at Mandalay Bay were terrific (the hamburger at Fleur is amazing), there is a lack of more casual dining options where attendees can grab a less formal (and less expensive) meal.  For attendees on a budget the best options were either hitting up a vendor party for free food or venturing over to other hotels in search of more reasonable dining options.

This was the 7th year that I’ve attended the HR Technology Conference, and continue to be impressed with how well Bill Kutik and the LRP team manage to pull it off.  I’m looking forward to next year back in Chicago.