What to know about WorkTech in 2022 and beyond?
"The best prophet for the future is the past" - Lord George Byron
An overview of web 1-2-3 evolution for HR:
The past - Web 1
...- 1980: Transactional ERP
The first steps in automating wage and time registration were taken in the late 1970s. Although the technology struggled with its development in the early stages, the first of many ERP systems was launched on the market a few years later. An ERP combines the automation of logistics, administrative and financial processes in one company-wide information and management system. At this time, HR was more of an option (functionality) than a focus and was therefore limited solely to the transactional data of the staff. 1980-1990: Human Capital Management
In the 1980s, these HR functionalities started to increase. This trend continued to improve and expand functionality as the company, market or suppliers changed. In 1987, the first complete Human Capital Management system or HCM was launched on the market. An HCM has an automated set of HR functionalities with the focus on managing the personnel and the data that is required for this.
1990-2000: Human Resource Information Management & job boards
In the late 1990s, these ERP-HR functionalities (& HCM) started to develop further. As a result of various upcoming labor market challenges and market demand for solutions, more and more functionalities focused on HR processes were developed; i.e. candidate tracking, performance management and learning management systems. These systems were not necessarily part of the original ERP, but they were compatible and could be easily implemented in the ERP or become part of an entirely new HCM system to complete the Human Resource Information Management System (HRIS), which can be seen as an ERP - with a focus on HRM. However, the main purpose of these functionalities and systems was to support Human Resource management, nothing more and nothing less. At this point we are talking about HR Technology. At the same time, the first web-based job boards arose, of which LinkedIn is a survivor because of their evolution towards a certain unique proposition, namely one as a professional network & recruitment platform. At that time, it was not about supply and demand (networking, marketplaces), but about information (publishing vacancies). That's what typifies web 1.0 . Job boards were not the only result of the burgeoning internet. This evolution also created systems that were easier to develop "in the cloud" that offered the same functionalities as the first HRIS systems, but cheaper and easier to maintain.
Striking: In conjunction with this new form of information processing on the internet, the first generations of artificially intelligent automations arose. Remember that in 1996 IBM's experiment, their second supercomputer "Deep Blue" managed to beat the then world chess champion Kasparov as the first computer ever - almost 30y ago.
The present - Web 2
Consolidation
As the millennium passed, more HR functionalities moved to the cloud because of the obvious benefits: fast, agile, secure. Ideal after changes in the organization, the suppliers or the demands of the people (users).
We speak of Web2 during this period because the focus of the Internet shifted from providing information to matching supply and demand. People (future or current employees) have grown in importance to organizations over the years, as the war for talent, the introduction of corporate culture, and driving engagement in favor of retention have also become interesting topics of discussion. Of course, during a financial crisis (2008, ed.) it was also possible to reflect on how to ensure growth in the future.
This more people-centric approach was completely new to HR technology, which was largely built and developed to support HR and business from a self-managed (in IT) system. Most of these systems were therefore built top-down, with only one goal: to facilitate the management of the HR department.
First gear
From 2014, the HR cloud also went mobile and the so-called disruption took place, not coincidentally related to the explosion of smartphone and social media users.
The impact of technological evolution and its adoption rate among different age groups, combined with the difficulty of finding suitable talent, caused the focus to shift. This went from performance management to effective people or even talent management.
Numerous software providers have developed easy-to-use, standalone, cloud-based solutions for highly specific HR issues or support. It also became easier for software developers and providers to deliver an interface on a mobile device, creating an almost individual experience.
At the same time, a second generation of artificially intelligent automations emerged that could go just a little further than the first; by learning, in contrast to the first generation, which steps need to be taken in order to subsequently automate them (Machine Learning).
Second gear
People are starting to talk about the Employee Life-cycle and Experience - including me in 2017 - and developers are starting to see that the user experience of their software is part of the work experience of their customers' staff. The term HR Technology is being discussed because of this additional focus and some people refer to it as EX Technology (Employee Experience Technologies). In 2022, even Gartner is talking about the EVP (Employee Value Proposition) that urgently needs to be reconsidered.
For example, in the last ten years numerous tools and apps have been developed that can help you attract, develop and retain employees throughout their entire life cycle at a company. These stand-alone applications usually have their own user screen, but are ideally compatible with all kinds of systems for monitoring or linking for information flow, for example with the HRIS. Most have one thing in common: They all try to improve the work experience of the employees - and thus indirectly your Employer Brand.
New, disruptive, systems appear as challengers in the market because they have succeeded in putting their growth strategy into practice in the short term. The existing HRIS systems and/or market leaders are responding to this trend by linking, buying or replicating (stand-alone) applications in order to anchor their market position.
In 2021 alone, $9.2 billion was invested in personnel services software worldwide. And that while the L&D marketplace generates more than $240 billion in annual revenue, and recruiting, advertising, assessment and interviewing tools account for a market of more than $250 billion. And then there are the other markets that are likely to be of the same order of magnitude such as well-being, benefits, insurance, workplace aids and workplace productivity systems, etc.
This trend is described as "merging technologies". The market is almost at a saturation point in terms of innovations and optimisations, so that the growth strategy of one new solution means the end for another and there will probably also be a next period of consolidation (and crisis?).
Hopefully, we have put that crisis behind us with covid19, and that indeed had an impact on the growth rate of many solutions that offered an answer to the demand for help that arose at companies and organisations, also in processes in which HR was previously not involved. However, with this injection of systems, another challenge has only become more apparent.
The big challenge for this trend is the inflow and outflow of the right data to continue to guarantee an ideal user experience, for both HR and employees. Issues such as; "whose data is this data from and are we all allowed to do it?" are currently still being researched and the ethical frameworks for this are often lacking, as is the case with the further development of AI and Machine Learning to their next phase...
At this point, people no longer speak of HR Technology or EX Technology, but of WerkTech - referring to any technology that helps to manage work, both for HR and for employees.
The Future - Web3
Web3, blockchain, gaming, cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations),...
They are all technology-related trends that are surfacing, some more than others. The important thing in this is to understand where it comes from, what problem it solves, what value it offers, whether it can be used and if it turns out not to be the case; what one can learn from it.
As far as I understand, Web3 is mainly about the ownership of, among other things, data, so these promise to be exciting times, also for WorkTech!
To predict the future, however, you need to have a crystal ball and clairvoyant abilities, or you can try to spot trends and make associations with contemporary evolutions in order to arrive at questions that are worth investigating.
For example:
Trend:
The metaverse - a virtual world in which users interact with a computer-driven environment and other users.
Scope and origin:
Social networks and gaming (and work)
Association:
The digital experience of the employees and its influence on the development of WorkTechnology.
Questions:
What exactly is that metaverse?
Could the metaverse also mean the ultimate digital experience for employees of the future?
Is the WorkTechnology of the future already being worked on today (a metaverse for work - #metaverseforwork)?
What other things does a metaverse entail and why?
....
These questions have already stimulated my research drive and my instinct tells me that many more questions will follow. As long as they are the right questions, I am convinced that the right answers will be found.