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HR Tech Conference 2021: All eyes are on DE&I

Steve Boese, HR Tech Conference chair
Steve Boese
Steve Boese is HRE's Inside HR Tech columnist and chair of HRE’s HR Technology Conference®. He also writes a blog and hosts the HR Happy Hour Show, a radio program and podcast.

One of the main themes of this year’s HR Technology Conference is the increased prioritization of diversity, equity and inclusion at the highest levels of almost every organization. Everyone involved in these initiatives knows there is almost no doubt that DEI has ascended from “nice to have” to “essential for the organization and its future.” And when programs and new workplace priorities emerge, the HR technology market always responds to develop solutions that support HR and workplace demands.

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This fall at HR Tech, we have planned for several sessions to address how organizations are making progress on their DE&I goals and–importantly for the HR technology community–will showcase many of the updated and new HR technologies that can help organizations along this path. When a new focus for HR technology emerges, one of the things we like to do at HR Tech is have industry analysts and thought leaders who spend significant time researching the HR tech landscape share their insights with our audience. So, we will have Stacia Garr from RedThread Research, one of this year’s HR Tech Influencers, on the program to discuss the “Skills and DEIB: How the Biggest Topics in HR Will Transform Your Organization.” This research-based session will help our audience make connections between talent management technology and DE&I initiatives and will be one of the highlights at HR Tech.

Stacia Garr

Related: HR Tech Conference 2021–How workplace tech needs to evolve

But HR Tech is also about helping our audience see HR technology’s application in the real world, so we also plan on welcoming HR tech case studies of organizations that are seeing positive impacts from tech on their DE&I programs. One great example that will be showcased at HR Tech is in a session titled “How to Elevate Equity Using Data and Technology,” led by Hallie Bregman, global head of people analytics at PTC. In this session, Bregman and her co-presenters will share how they have used HR technology in their organizations to discover insights from people data, and help their organizations translate those insights into actions in support of DE&I goals. They will also discuss how to evaluate technology for bias, how to find workplace inequities using data and how technology can drive positive change for the organization and its employees.

These two sessions are great examples of what we try to do at HR Tech–give you an understanding of big themes and trends in HR technology, while also highlighting how these new HR tools are driving change and success for HR leaders and their organizations today. I am really excited about how HR tech is evolving to support DE&I, and you will see that evolution in-person at HR Tech this Fall.

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Click here to register for HR Tech, being held in person Sept. 28-Oct. 1 in Las Vegas.