Posts

3 Ways To Gain Employee Engagement in Technology Adoption

/ /by

Today, organizations of all sizes are experiencing a digital transformation. Irrespective of the industry or sector, the majority of businesses are implementing technology to better serve their customers and drive more revenue. During the transition, it is very common to hear these companies gripe –“We’ve spent an obscene amount of money on that tool, but people are still not using it.” According to an MIT Sloan study, most organizations consider adoption of new technologies to be at the top of their lists for future success. However, most of their employees find the process “complex and slow”. Why does this happen?

Employee engagement is paramount to drive tech adoption

When deploying a technology, businesses often forget employees are the ones who perform and deliver value; technology merely helps them do that better. When you implement technology without considering if it’s actually going to make the user’s job easier, they won’t have the incentive to use it. When you frame technology through the context of your employees, you can achieve the kind of engagement you need to drive high returns on your tech investments.

When employees aren’t fully involved with management’s tech initiatives, money and time get wasted. This is one of the main reasons why, despite having enterprise-issued technology at the workplace, employees turn to non-approved apps or tools. Staff are familiar with and comfortable using these platforms, and hence perform tasks more efficiently. That said, this also puts your organization’s security and privacy at risk. How do you find the perfect happy medium?

Choose technology with care

No matter what technology you’re planning to purchase for your organization, frame it through the interests of those who will use it daily. Don’t get swayed by functionality alone; consider the end user. Also, technology that requires a massive learning curve are almost always rejected by employees. Therefore, get your team to do multiple trials, listen to their feedback, and then spend your money on the best tech tool for their needs. This will ensure its adoption across all levels of your organization.

Spread awareness

According to 2013 US Mobile Enterprise Risk Survey, 38 percent of workers in U.S. companies are not aware of BYOD (“Bring You Own Device”) policies existing in their organization. The lack of knowledge about the potential dangers causes employees using their own devices or cloud-based applications to risk the security of the organization. To help combat this “Shadow IT” show your employees the positive sides of using your enterprise technology and explain how it can help them work productively without inviting any risks for the organization.            

Show, don’t tell

While putting forth your argument for a new technology, you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Prove that the technology actually works. According to experts, a better approach is to build a team of tech champions and loyal adopters by convincing a handful of employees to try the new technology for an initial period. Once they experience the benefits, they’ll not only promote the new tool among their co-workers but they’ll also help others acclimatize to it.

If we want our employees to buy into our tech initiatives, we need to be more steadfast in helping them understand why we are investing in them. Incentivizing your teams to embrace your tech adoption strategy is a great way to engage employees. Engagement is critical to achieve buy in from all levels of the organization.

This post was brought to you by IBM for MSPs and opinions are my own.

This article was first published on Converge.xyz

Image: Image Attribution

HR Flashback: The Way We Worked

/ /by

(Editor’s Note: Want to learn more from Kevin and TalentCulture CEO, Meghan M. Biro about the transformation of HR and workplace learning? Listen to their CLO Magazine on-demand webinar.)

“What do you do?” asked my airport shuttle driver (I’ll call him Ben).

“I work for an HR software company,” I answered.

He nodded. “HR, huh? I remember when I worked in personnel.”

“Personnel.” That term got my attention — precursor to the “human resources” profession we know today. I asked Ben about his experience, and he told me about his days at Polaroid in the Boston area during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

By my estimates, Ben is in his early 60s — a fit man with short salt-and-pepper hair, a neatly trimmed matching goatee, and an infectious storytelling style.

Back in his Polaroid days he worked the line that manufactured the shutterfly housing for a new camera at the time. Two years later he was offered a personnel job.

“I thought I was going to have my own corner office, enjoy long lunches and play golf with the management team,” he told me, shaking his head. “I was 21 years old and extremely naïve. I had no idea the job would be as hard as it was.”

“HR is no free lunch. Not then, not now,” I said.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t then, that’s for damn sure,” he said.

He managed and staffed the “C shift” (11 pm to 7 am  — otherwise known as the graveyard) one of the hardest shifts to work, much less staff and manage. He had to continually wake up his team members as they dozed off on the job.

“C shift” workers were some of Boston’s poorest whites and minorities who had the basic skills to do the job. Ben had to interview, screen and hire 50 people a week for months, until he had a few hundred employees to help roll-out the new cameras.

And Ben managed it all manually.

“We had no HR software or systems,” he explained. “I was going through 150 to 200 applicants per week to hit my 50 target. We had a brief interview process and a skills proficiency test. Then there were tons of forms for each new employee, and all had to be completed in triplicate. There were stuffed file folders and cabinets that cornered me daily in my tiny office.”

“Mercy me,” I replied.

He continued. “Not only that. The new hire trainings were intensive and on-the-job, complete with product manuals that weighed about 100 pounds each. Needless to say, I got very close to the line I used to work with and the new line employees I was staffing for. These people struggled financially, had families to care for. Many were single moms. They had all sorts of personal stress outside of work that affected productivity and quality, but we managed to meet line quota every week.”

“Fascinating,” I said. “And painful.”

“Yes, it was. One of the hardest jobs I ever had.”

“It sounds like it,” I said. “I’ve only played HR on TV.”

He laughed. I sat fascinated by the conversation and the contrast to today. The whole time we talked, with my WiFi hotspot booted, I had logged into my company’s expense report system to review and approve reports.

Then I logged into our collaborative community platform to review some product marketing collateral and the latest entries in our organization’s global contest to name our corporate intranet. What a great way to promote creativity, diversity of thought and culture in a company that’s recently moved through multiple acquisitions, and now has multiple product lines and multiple office locations and many remote contributors.

There we all were, naming the very thing that kept us connected, and I was accessing it all from my tablet of choice.

I logged off, closed my iPad, and sighed audibly. Thank goodness we have today’s technology and software systems at our fingertips, I thought. It’s all about moving from the way we worked to the way we work now — complete with interconnected, platform agnostic devices tethered by the invisible magic of cellular and WiFi science.

Mobile recruiting has seen unprecedented recent growth, and now mobile screening, assessing, hiring, onboarding, training, learning, developing, recognizing, rewarding, and more are part of the “world of work” master plan — critical to an increasingly global, dispersed workforce of full-time, part-time and contract employees.

Again, thank goodness. Think about the old model of snail-mail offer letters, conference room paperwork and storage space stacked to the ceiling with file box archives. So horribly inefficient and administratively painful. Even e-mail has become cumbersome for many in today’s workplace, (although it’s not being replaced anytime soon.)

Fortunately though, highly configurable, mobile-friendly work spaces and systems are here. They mirror our day-to-day work experience and allow us to access the data we need, whenever its needed.

Your corner office is nestled comfortably in the heart of your favorite mobile device. I think Ben would like it that way.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

Hiring: Moving Forward With Mobile? #TChat Preview

/ /by

(Editor’s Note: Looking for a full recap of the week’s highlights and resources? Read the #TChat Recap: “Mobile Hiring Hits The Fast Lane.”)

Several weeks ago at #TChat Events, our community discussed the rapid rise in demand for mobile recruiting.

The statistics are mind-boggling. Already, it’s estimated that 1 billion job-related searches are initiated each month from mobile devices. That kind of volume means organizations everywhere are racing to make their candidate experience more mobile friendly.

Mobile Recruiting Leaps Forward: Can Hiring Keep Pace?

These explosive mobile adoption figures lead us to wonder — what happens after the recruitment phase?

Are HR organizations committed to mobile-friendly hiring processes — from the offer letter to onboarding — and beyond? What will it take to connect the mobile workforce dots across the entire employee lifecycle? And how can we get there from here? That’s what we’ll explore this week at #TChat Events, with two talent acquisition experts:

• Kyle Lagunas, Talent Acquisition Industry Analyst at Brandon Hall Group and
• Todd Owens, President and COO at TalentWise, a next-generation hiring platform provider.

Todd took several minutes to help frame this week’s issues in a “sneak peek” hangout with me:

This is an important issue for talent-minded professionals everywhere. So we hope you’ll join the conversation this week. We look forward to hearing your ideas and opinions!

#TChat Events: Mobile Devices + Hiring = Good Match?

TChatRadio_logo_020813

Tune-in to #TChat Radio

#TChat Radio — Wed, Nov 13 — 6:30pmET / 3:30pmPT

Our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman talk with Todd Owens and Kyle Lagunas about how mobile hiring processes extend the candidate experience and improve HR effectiveness. Tune-in LIVE online this Wednesday!

#TChat Twitter — Wed, Nov 13 — 7pmET / 4pmPT

Immediately following the radio show, we’ll move this discussion to the #TChat Twitter stream, where Dr. Nancy Rubin will moderate an open chat with the entire TalentCulture community. Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we address these questions:

Q1: What exactly is mobile hiring, and how it is being applied today?
Q2: What are the advantages of hiring anywhere, anytime?
Q3: How can mobile hiring showcase an organization’s corporate culture?
Q4: How can companies get all generations to adopt mobile recruiting/hiring?
Q5: Is mobile hiring a revolution, while mobile onboarding is an evolution?

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed and on our LinkedIn Discussion Group. So please join us share your questions, ideas and opinions.
We’ll see you on the stream!

Recruiting: Going Mobile By Demand? #TChat Recap

/ /by

This week at #TChat Events, the TalentCulture community explored the emerging role of mobile recruiting in today’s world of work.

First, let’s clarify — what does the term “mobile recruiting” mean? CareerBuilder defines it this way:

“The ability to market to prospective talent with or on a mobile device. More importantly, mobile recruiting is about the opportunity to connect with job seekers anywhere, and at any time; provide a better candidate experience; streamline your own process; and engage job seekers in entirely new and unique ways.”

It sounds like a lofty goal — but how do we get there from here? And how are employers overcoming key issues in implementing mobile strategies? To keep the conversation grounded, we welcomed two experts in talent acquisition:

• Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR, Founder and Chief Blogger at Blogging4Jobs and
• Rayanne Thorn, VP of Product Marketing and Strategy at Technomedia, global talent management solutions provider.

(Editor’s Note: See highlights from the #TChat events and related resource links at the end of this post.)

Mobile Is Everywhere — Why Isn’t Mobile Recruiting?

Many #TChat participants agreed that mobile recruiting is becoming a necessity, as individuals increasingly rely on smart phones and tablets to connect with information and people in our personal and professional lives.

The convenience of mobile access is rapidly translating into job search behaviors, even though many employers haven’t yet optimized their websites for mobile access. SimplyHired says that the number of workers looking for jobs via mobile devices has skyrocketed, from 2.3 million to 9.3 million in the past year. Talemetry, says that 70% of job seekers are using mobile platforms, while Beyond.com estimates even higher, at 77%. (See the article and infographic.)

However, as the Wall Street Journal explained earlier this year, most companies aren’t moving fast enough. According to a recent CareerBuilder study, only 20% of Fortune 500 companies have mobile-optimized career sites. What is everyone waiting for? Read the full report, “Trends in Mobile Adoption: An Analysis of Mobile Recruitment Efforts Across Industries.”

Mobile Excellence: What Does It Look Like?

So, what does it take for employers to be “mobile recruitment ready”? Ideally, it starts with a website that is that is optimized for mobile interaction. SnapHop, a company that provides mobile talent management solutions, says these elements are necessary for a great candidate experience:

• Support for all mobile platforms — access to sites from anywhere using, any mobile device;
• Location awareness — automatically sense the candidate’s location and filter information accordingly;
• Personalization — tailor information and recommendations by uncovering candidate preferences;
• Social media presence — leverage social channels to connect with candidates and share relevant, timely content;
• Responsive design — ensure that on all platforms, content is easy to skim and consume, and navigation flows with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling.

Upward Mobility: Advantages of Mobile Recruitment

If you’re still not convinced about the business case for mobile recruitment, CareerBuilder for Employers developed a helpful presentation that outlines key issues and opportunities:

And what did the #TChat crowd say about the pros and cons of mobile recruiting? Check the highlights slideshow and other resource links below for great facts, real-world stories and ideas from across the TalentCulture community.

#TChat Week-In-Review: Mobile Devices + Recruiting = Perfect Match?

Jessica Miller Merrell

Watch the preview hangout now

SAT 10/26:

#TChat Preview: TalentCulture Community Manager Tim McDonald framed this week’s topic in a post that featured a brief G+ Hangout video with one of our guests, Jessica Miller-Merrell, Read the Preview: “Mobile Devices + Recruiting = Perfect Match?”

SUN 10/27:

Forbes.com Post: TalentCulture CEO, Meghan M. Biro recommended ways that employers can gain business advantage by embracing mobile strategies. Read: “5 Ways To Use Mobile To Recruit Top Talent.”

MON 10/28:

Related Post: Dan Newman, author of Millennial CEO, offered a broad perspective on the changing of the leadership guard — and its implications for business. Read: “Another Kind of Revolution: Social, Mobile, Cloud.”

WED 10/30:

TChatRadio_logo_020813

Listen to the #TChat Radio show now

#TChat Radio: Our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman spoke with guests Jessica Miller-Merrell and Rayanne Thorn about how mobile adoption is revolutionizing the recruiting process today’s world of work. Listen to the radio recording now!

#TChat Twitter: Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin and guests moved over to the #TChat Twitter stream as I led the TalentCulture community through a conversation focused on 5 key questions. For highlights, check the Storify slideshow below:

#TChat Insights: Recruiting Is Rockin’ Mobile Platforms

[javascript src=”//storify.com/TalentCulture/tchat-insights-recruiting-is-rockin-mobile-at-lea.js?template=slideshow”]

Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

GRATITUDE: Thanks again to Jessica Miller-Merrell and Rayanne Thorn for helping us explore the potential of mobile platforms in the recruiting process. Your knowledge and passion are infectuous!

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about mobile recruiting trends or issues? We’d love to share your thoughts. Post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week, we dive into another fascinating topic — the role of social media in building brand influence. So save the date (November 6) for another #TChat double-header!

Meanwhile, the World of Work conversation continues. So join us on the #TChat Twitter stream, on our LinkedIn discussion group. or elsewhere on social media. The lights are always on here at TalentCulture, and your thoughts are always welcome.

See you on the stream!

Image Credit: GailJadeHamilton via Flickr

Another Kind Of Revolution: Social, Mobile, Cloud

/ /by

“You say you want a revolution? Well you know, we all want to change the world.” –John Lennon

It’s deja vu on a grand scale — like the Beatles are arriving in America all over again. A huge culture shift is upon us, and the winds of change are blowing in ways that are simultaneously unsettling and exhilarating.

“Boomers” are transitioning out of their careers, and the leadership reigns are slowly-but-surely being handed to Millennials at start-ups, small businesses and enterprises everywhere. Much like when John, Paul, George and Ringo touched down in New York in 1964, at first there was some resistance, but eventually the new guard convinced skeptics and changed minds. In the 60’s, revolution was expressed through music and social change — while today, next-generation leaders are driving disruptive change in technology and business.

New Agents of Change

Cloud computing, mobile devices, “big data” and social media are now prominent fixtures across the business landscape. From solopreneurs to the global enterprise, companies are more connected than ever with their customers, employees, shareholders and stakeholders.

Enabled by connectivity and powered by the cloud, this is more than just “Marketecture,” this is the engine of our business future. Millennial leaders are strongly committed to embracing these technologies and putting them to use in a way that drives their organizations forward, leaning on cloud applications to keep employees connected with anyone, anywhere, anytime. This allows business to continue 24×7×365 if needed, yet provides employees ultimate flexibility to untether from their desks and remain productive.

I don’t see anything wrong with that, do you?

And then there is social media. This phenomenon isn’t just about tweeting #hashtags on Twitter and posting  “likes” on Facebook. Social media offers a whole new way for humans to engage and extend our communities through the most powerful business-building infrastructure in the world — the Internet.

Thanks to social powers, the timeline for building a global business has compressed from decades to days, because word can spread and new markets can be created at a such a dramatically accelerated pace. New ventures everywhere can instantly reach out to potential partners and target markets to ask questions and find solutions for the most simple and complex business problems.

Building the Future, Differently

When the Beatles came to America, they permanently redefined rock and roll. Adding their collective influence to the voices of their time, they made music better for all of us who followed. And today, through social synergy, Millennial leaders seek to do the same for business.

Leaning on the best ideas and innovations that have previously defined success across industries, the CEOs of the future are not content to settle for the status quo. The goals of next-generation leaders may be similar to those before us in some ways, but they are different enough, so our mark will be felt.

We will leverage breakthrough cloud and big data resources to develop businesses that are inherently social, and we’ll create cultures that thrive on collaboration. Like leaders throughout history, our goal is to solve business problems effectively, but we’ll approach those problems very differently. Building a smarter planet through technology is exactly what the Millennial CEO of the future is destined to do.

What role do you think technology plays in next-generation business success? What must Millennial leaders do to succeed in a hyper-connected marketplace? Share your ideas in the comments area.

(Editor’s Note: This post was adapted from the Building a Smarter Planet Blog, with permission.)

Image Credit: Wikimedia Public Domain image archives

Clouding: Can it Cross the Job Chasm? #TChat Recap

/ /by

“See the lonely man on the corner.
What he’s waiting for, I don’t know.
But he waits everyday now.
He’s just waiting for something to show.” –Genesis

Contract Work Wears Many Faces

They wait on street corners and in parking lots, flanking big box home improvement stores and local hardware stores. They cluster in groups to keep one another company, hoping together for better opportunities ahead. They keep their distance from the entrances, waving their hands low or snapping their chins back in earnest as cars pull up and in to park. They smile hopefully and wait for a sign that work awaits in your front yard, around your house, at your construction site or at your business office.

We call them “day laborers.” They’re mostly men, who may also be illegal immigrants. They have low-wage skills and are willing to toil in high-risk work environments for cash on an “as needed” basis. (This assumes that they will actually be paid at the end of the day, but there are no guarantees.)

I’ve never hired one of these workers myself. However, I know others who have, and who’ve thankfully paid them for their labor.

Talent Supply Meets Demand: Old School

What does this have to do with TalentCulture? Actually, in many ways, the classic “day labor” model is starting to seem closer than ever to a professional career path.

This week in #TChat forums we’ve been talking about on-demand talent, the rise of the contingent workforce, Humans as a Service (HuaaS) and talent “clouding.” It’s been a fascinating ride; however we’ve focused primarily on how it applies to specialized skills and talent, including business services, marketing and IT — and how this approach can help companies reduce fixed costs associated with headcount. It’s considered edgy — and it’s supported by emerging technologies and innovative business practices.

But there’s another world of work that operates in parallel each day. The one defined by low-wages, high risk and physical labor. Its an on-demand labor market that has become commoditized over thousands of years. Yardwork. Household maintenance and repair. Household chores. Cash and carry.

Can you perform these tasks well? Some of us are handy with DIY projects, but don’t ask me to install a sprinkler system (found a friend to help with that one) or clean my rain gutters (my lovely wife forbids me to climb ladders). Could you fix your own plumbing or electrical systems? Not me — although I did install a dimmer switch once with great pride (and a fair share of sweat and cursing).

Talent Supply Meets Demand: A New View?

While powerful new talent software platforms and freelance online clearinghouses now help us manage today’s on-demand, fluid “professional” workforce, let’s not forget that we’ve been clouding humans for a long, long time. But if we’ve learned anything from history — especially with more recent worker protections and employment laws — we should be mindful that this new world of specialized project work could eventually be commoditized — and not for the better.

Yes, the economics will fluctuate with supply and demand, and business will find efficiency in digital pathways to just-in-time talent. Yes, many are choosing to offer their talent independently — not because they must, but because they prefer operating as free agents. But many others are not so comfortable in that zone.

For now, those who have the skills, the savvy, and the determination to package and promote themselves professionally will help drive their own opportunities, while the corporate world rethinks vendor management.

I just hope that this kind of talent clouding doesn’t arrive on my corner anytime soon.

#TChat Week-in-Review: “Cloud Talent” Guests

Because “Talent as a Service” is a new and complex concept, we invited two experts in HR innovation to inform and guide this week’s discussion:

Also, by popular demand, we’ve captured below links to the week’s various activities and resources, to help you easily find, review and share information now and in the future. We look forward to hearing from you early and often as the conversation continues to evolve within the World of Work.

#TChat “Cloud Talent” Resource Links

VidImage

See the guest videos on Tim McDonald’s post now…

SAT 3/30  “Sneak Peek” videos: In bite-sized interviews with our community manager, Tim McDonald, both Richie Etwaru and Jason Averbook weighed in with a definition of “Talent as a Service.”

SUN 3/31  “Will Leaders Embrace Talent in a Cloud?” TalentCulture CEO, Meghan M. Biro, offered her perspective and advice in her weekly Forbes.com column.

MON 4/1  #TChat Weekly Preview  “Cloud Talent: Gaining Ground?” outlined the week’s premise and core questions.

TChatRadio_logo_020813

Listen to the #TChat Radio show recording now…

TUE 4/2  #TChat Radio Show  Both Jason and Richie joined our radio hosts to clarify the business issues and opportunities associated with talent “clouding” strategies. It’s a fascinating 30-minute session for anyone interested workforce trends and their impact on global business management, as well as individual careers.

WED 4/3  #TChat Twitter  Jason and Richie returned — this time to connect directly with the TalentCulture tribe live on the Twitter — for a dynamic discussion about the realities and possibilities of “clouding” as a talent strategy. See highlights from the conversation in the slideshow below…

#TChat Twitter Highlights Slideshow: Cloud Talent: Gaining Ground?

[javascript src=”//storify.com/TalentCulture/tchat-insights-cloud-talent-gaining-ground.js?template=slideshow”]

Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

SPECIAL THANKS: Again, thanks to Jason Averbook, and Richie Etwaru, for contributing your time and expertise to help inform and inspire our community. We look forward to continued dialogue with you both on “talent clouding” and other World of Work topics.

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about “humans as a service” or related issues? We’re happy to share your thoughts. Just post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week, we shift gears to consider how to understand and move beyond workplace stereotypes, with guest experts John Wilson, Founder and CEO of WilsonHCG, and Ashley Lauren Perez, a WilsonHCG Sourcing Specialist and highly regarded HR blogger.

Until then, we’ll continue the World of Work conversation each day. So join us on the #TChat Twitter stream, or on our new LinkedIn discussion group. And feel free to explore other areas of our redesigned blog/community website. The lights are always on at TalentCulture, and your ideas and opinions are always welcome.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Image credit: Pixabay

Cloud Talent: Gaining Ground? #TChat Preview

/2 Comments/ /by

(Editorial Note: Want to read the RECAP of this week’s events? See “Clouding: Can it Cross the Job Chasm? #TChat Recap”)

Over the past decade, the concept of Software as a Service (SaaS) has transformed the way we work, learn and live. Individuals and organizations, alike, have welcomed the convenience, flexibility and efficiency of on-demand applications – delivered from “the cloud” over digital networks.

Not surprisingly, business strategists now wonder how this “cloud” model can transform other aspects of business management. And in the World of Work community, we wonder — can this “on demand” model be extended effectively to human resources? How?

#TChat Focus Topic: Talent as a Service

First, let’s be sure we’re on the same page. What exactly do we mean by “Talent as a Service” (TaaS)? As I explained yesterday in a Forbes.com post, “Will Leaders Embrace Talent in a Cloud?” think of it essentially as recruiting on an as-needed basis from a cloud-based talent pool.

Of course, this already happens, as contingent workers are sourced for temporary assignments and projects via online freelance clearinghouses and similar services. But I can’t help wondering if this approach will scale effectively and efficiently for the global enterprise, as well as smaller companies and consultants? What does this mean for professional skills development and knowledge sharing? And what are the implications for  corporate cultures, everywhere?

#TChat Guests

Some of the most innovative minds in human capital management and cloud technology are now focused on these questions. And I’m thrilled to say that two of those experts are joining the TalentCulture Community this week!

As we revealed along with their “sneak peek” videos last weekend, we are welcoming two brilliant guests:

I expect a week filled with both future-thinking predictions, as well as actionable advice. And I’m sure that this is only the start of a conversation that will continue to resonate with our community for a long time to come! Join us for this week’s events, and let’s talk about the possibilities!

TChatRadio_logo_020813#TChat Radio

#TChat Radio — Tuesday, April 2 at 7:30pmET (4:30pmPT)

Both Jason and Richie will join Kevin Grossman and me to tackle key issues that come with “clouding” strategies.

#TChat Twitter

#TChat Twitter – Wednesday,  April 3 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT.

Join our weekly online forum, and share your thoughts with others about these key questions:

Q1: Do you think that “Human as a Service” models will really take hold? Why or why not?
Q2: How can the process of “clouding humans” create competitive advantage for business?
Q3: Could “clouding” humans be immoral? Unethical? Do you see HR compliance issues?
Q4: What processes should business leaders put in place to scale true on-demand talent, globally?
Q5: What kinds of HR technology requirements will facilitate on-demand talent now? In the future?

Want to see more about this week’s topic? Read Richie Etwaru’s blog post, “Go Beyond Everything as a Service.” Or see the “sneak peek” blog post from TalentCulture community manager, Tim McDonald, where both of our guests offer quick video definitions of “Humans as a Service” concept.

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed and on our new LinkedIn Discussion Group. So please join us share your questions, ideas and opinions.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Image credit: Pixabay

Humans as a Service: Sneak Peek Videos

/ /by

Software as a Service (SaaS). It’s no longer a new concept in the world of work. But have you heard of the new variation on that term — Humans as a Service? What is this really about? How and when will it gain traction? And what does it mean for professionals who focus on the “people” side of business?

This is what human capital innovation experts Jason Averbook, and Richie Etwaru will explore with the TalentCulture community throughout the coming week. Both of our guests bring a unique perspective to the discussion, as you can see in their “sneak peek” videos below.

Take a look. What do you think of this concept? We hope you’ll join us at #TChat forums throughout the week and voice your questions, concerns and ideas.

Economy Shifts From “Buying” to “Subscribing”

Jason Averbook, Chief Business Innovation Officer at Appirio, sees Humans as a Service as a logical next step in the shift from a “buy” to a “subscription” economy:

Looking at “Cloud” as Both a Noun and a Verb

Richie Etwaru, Group VP of Cloud and Digital Innovation at Cegedim Relationship Management, sees no boundaries as business moves toward “everything” as a service:

Join us at #TChat events this week, and let’s explore the potential of “Humans as a Service” together:

NOTE: If you don’t see the videos above in this post, you can watch them on YouTube:

What Lies Beneath: The Why of HR Tech in 2012

/ /by

Does technology emerge to fill a business need – say, serving customers better – or is technical innovation driven largely by cost pressures? Does a completely external, unknowable force influence the development of disruptive technologies? Was it foreseeable Jeff Bezos would disrupt big-box stores and consumer brands with a web site, when most brands had a web site? Was it predictable Steve Jobs would turn the music industry on its head with a digital music player, when everyone already had a Sony Walkman?

I’ve been considering these questions because we are in a period of major disruption in HR technology. Of course, this makes me very happy but it also brings to mind so many unanswered questions. Conventional wisdom may say technologies emerge in response to a raw desire for innovation, but in fact business reality tells me that innovation is a byproduct of the need to reduce costs and streamline business processes – in other words, attempts to automate daily processes – whether social or otherwise. Perhaps nowhere is this easier to see than in the emergence of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and Cloud technologies aimed at solving HR and Workplace challenges.

For many Leaders and HR practitioners, just talking about innovation is not the way to advocate for technology change. It’s much easier to prove the business value of technology if you present it as a way to improve processes and deliver business value. We are challenged as an industry, particularly in the recruiting trenches–with a glut of candidates and, simultaneously, a scarcity of qualified candidates. Clients ask recruiters to source candidates against very specific job requirements; they want to speed recruiting and see key performance indicators (KPIs) and analytics to show HR processes are effective; they need to retain skilled workers, manage and a develop a compelling workplace culture, and create a credible, appealing and connected social media persona and workplace brand to be attractive to job seekers. These drivers require the application of appropriate technologies and the development of HR services to make the technologies easier to use and simpler to deploy. This is just one example that comes to mind.

So this week on TalentCulture #TChat we’re going to look at HR technology trends and leading edge thoughts to watch in 2012. We’ll examine which comes first – innovation or automation – and how knowing the answer to that question will influence how technologies are adopted, and which will thrive or fail. Join us Wednesday night on #TChat The World of Work January 25th from 7-8 pm ET (6-7 CT, 4-5 pm PT, or wherever you are), where HR and Recruiting technology topics are in the hot seat. The #TChat Twitter chat and the #TChat Radio Show are created by @MeghanMBiro and @KevinWGrossman; hosted by them and @MarenHogan; powered by@SocialMediaSean and @CatyKobe; and our partners include @HRmarketer, @talentmgmttech, @Focus and#hrtechchat as well as our media partner TLNT. Come join us at TLNT Transform February 27-28, 2012, in Austin, TX. Here’s a special $250 discount code for all our #TChatters — TF12TCH.

Join me, Kevin Grossman, Maren Hogan, Sean Charles and Kyle Lagunas for a very special #TChat and #TChat Radio Show!

Questions we’ll be debating this week include:

[listly id=”ka” theme=”light” layout=”full” numbered=”yes” image=”yes” items=”all”]