3 top questions to answer at HR Tech, starting with quiet quitting

From the keynote addresses to the Expo Hall, from the long-awaited hallway catchups to the evening events, this year’s HR Technology Conference is gearing up to be the industry’s must-attend event of the year. For senior HR and recruitment leaders, and the technology experts who support their mission, there will be hundreds of sessions, HR tech talks, demos, case studies and more, revealing the latest solutions, practices and coming trends to bring innovation back to their organizations.

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After the opening keynote Cynt Marshall of the Dallas Mavericks, industry experts Josh Bersin, Stacey Harris and Jason Averbook, among others, will deliver deep dives into the state of the current HR technology landscape and where organizations are spending their precious HR tech budgets. (Check out the five keynote addresses here.) From the session rooms to the Expo floor, which features more than 500 cutting-edge solutions plus the startup Pitchfest competition, the opportunities for networking, learning and identifying how to improve people operations are vast.

Beyond that, here are some of the more specific HR and HR technology questions we at HRE hope to learn more about at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas starting Sept. 13.

Quiet quitting is here. What can HR and technology do to help?
The summer of 2022 introduced a new phrase for HR leaders and business managers and supervisors: Are my employees quitting quietly? Although the debate on this topic is far from overthey’re complaining but not exactly quitting, right?we are eager to hear what employee experience experts and solution providers have to say about the workers who no longer claim to be going above and beyond in their jobs.

It’s a topic that is gaining urgency as employers start to insist on a hybrid work model or even full-time return to offices. For example, can these employees be inspired to work at the same levels and deliver the same results for an employer? Are employers blind to toxic workplaces, abusive supervisors or lackluster corporate culture? Is the debate about working remotely fueling the quiet quitting momentum?


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We are eager to hear from such companies as BrightPlan, Experian Employee Services, iSolved, and powerhouses like Microsoft, SAP SuccessFactors and UKG about what HR leaders need to do to address this issue. During the conference, at least nine sessions on employee engagement focus on technology that could address this burning issue. These include “The Remote Employee Engagement Crisis. What Can Employers Do?” on Sept. 13 hosted by Sparrow CEO Deborah Hanus and Your HR Management Solutions Can Make or Break the Employee Experience,” a panel discussion on Sept. 14 moderated by Matt Kelm of Experian Employer Services.


Related: For more details on specific sessions, see the full agenda here.

How can organizations harness the true power of people analytics?
With myriad challenges facing HR leaders—from the Great Resignation and employee retention to hybrid work models and corporate culture—robust people analytics can help build a successful organization. The recent wave of concern and conversation about quiet quitting reveals there is always more for HR leaders to learn about the workforces they serve.

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We are looking forward to seeing solutions from such vendors as ChartHop, cruncher, Human Intelligence, People Fluent, Visier and others. Visier, for example, will discuss how its recent acquisition of collaboration analytics vendor Yva.ai fits into its strategy and operates inside the Visier People Cloud, and ChartHop will discuss why companies should utilize their data to cultivate belonging and a diverse workforce.



This year, the conference boasts five people analytics sessions and four sessions dedicated to talent management. And the sessions that feature large-scale employers who are addressing HR problems head-on and sharing their successes and challenges are likely to be popular.

That includes “Scaling People Analytics at MetLife” on Sept. 14 when Christine Magee and Lauren Schubert of MetLife will discuss how the insurer deployed people analytics to enrich the conversation between HR and business leaders. This move ultimately created a new capacity for the underwriter’s People Planning and Insights team to focus on more strategic work. In terms of talent management, the sessions shining a light on the hidden skills that often languish inside major organizations are intriguing. Just one example? “Unleashing the Full Potential of the Employee Life Cycle: Talent Intelligence” on Sept. 15 will tackle internal mobility and more. 

Can HR tech save recruitment and recruiters?
Let’s face it: Talent acquisition is at a breaking point. TA professionals are burnt out and leaving their jobs in droves, in-demand workers are juggling multiple job offers despite talk of a looming recession, and the tools designed to help recruiters appear to be unable to effectively manage the flood of resumes and open job offers. And still, despite the innovations that have occurred in TA, those working in recruitment admit to hiring candidates based on their gut instincts.

What are today’s TA vendors delivering in hopes of easing the crunch? Some of the Top HR Products of 2022, specifically iCIMS, Paradox and Talview, look promising, as do the latest developments and innovations from CareerBuilder, Findem, Gem, Harri, SmartRank and others. We especially want to see if the new TA solutions are using AI and conversational bots to help streamline the recruitment process for the person applying for the job and the recruiter who has to fill the role.

That’s why we’re interested in hearing from Modern Hire’s Ken Lahti on Sept. 16 during: “Can Robots Replace Recruiters? Evidence-based Human-AI Systems for Hiring.” And for a broad look at the technology, George LaRocque will deliver “When Right Now Collides with What’s Next: How Forward-Thinking Leaders are Transforming the Recruiting Role” on Sept. 15. Insights from LaRocque, one of HRE’s go-to sources for HR technology data and analysis, will help explain how talent acquisition can evolve through business transformation, consumer and societal trends, and shifts in the job market.

TA expert Madeline Laurano of Aptitude Research will share her knowledge on the challenges facing today’s TA pros, including that her research shows 67% of companies have increased their investment in TA tech this year and 73% plan to increase their investment next year. She’ll present insights and research in the mega session, “How the TA Technology Landscape Supports the Modern Recruiter” on Sept. 15. And Alexa Morse, director of HR operations and execution for McDonald’s, will share the Golden Arches story in the Sept. 14 session, “The Power of Conversational Recruiting: How McDonald’s Replaced Friction With Automation,” with moderator Eleanor Vajzovic, vice president of strategic solutions for Paradox.

Register for the 2022 HR Technology Conference here.


We’d love to hear what you’re focused on and eager to learn more about at the 2022 HR Technology Conference. Let us know at [email protected].

Phil Albinus
Phil Albinus
Phil Albinus is the former HR Tech Editor for HRE. He has been covering personal and business technology for 25 years and has served as editor and executive editor for a number of financial services, trading technology and employee benefits titles. He is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz and lives in the Hudson Valley with his audiologist wife and three adult children.