John Sumser
Founder, Principal Author and Editor-in-Chief
HRExaminer
What area of the HR function will be most impacted by emerging technologies, and why?
HR is rapidly evolving from an artisanal discipline to a relatively quantitative science. While all aspects of decision making will soon have a predictive element, it’s the things we haven’t done before that are the most interesting. You might imagine that some HR Generalists will be replaced by HR Product Managers. The new HRPMs will be responsible for delivering frictionless insights and recommendations to supervisors and the rest of business leadership.
What’s the single most dramatic shift you see happening in the HR tech space today?
The rapid evolution of the discipline that spans all of HR Data has just begun. Expect to see an emphasis on data flows replace the current focus on workflows.
In acquiring and implementing new technologies, what’s the one or two most common mistakes HR organizations make?
The first mistake is buying without regard to a larger strategy. HR Departments have generally lost their ability to act strategically about HRTech. The second mistake is investing without having the underlying data cleaned and managed. The most important asset HR holds is its employee data. Any move forward should be rooted in the way it improves the overall data set.
