HR Tech Insiders

At this month’s free, virtual HR Tech Conference, RedThread Research co-founder and principal analyst Stacia Garr will bring a data-focused perspective to the conversation about the evolving HR technology marketplace.

Specifically, Garr will explore the need for organizational purpose in technology programs, a keynote she will deliver Oct. 28. It’s among the many topics Garr has studied through her 15 years as an analyst and researcher in the HCM field. She has consulted for such organizations as Taproot Foundation and led talent and workforce research at Bersin by Deloitte, before founding her own human capital research and advisory firm in 2018.

The workplace intersection of technology and people has never been more critical, or more rapidly changing, as during the coronavirus pandemic. Tech is being looked to as an enabler of new remote work engagement, to maintain culture despite challenging conditions and to help HR reconfigure hiring and retention—all while centering employees and candidates.

At the upcoming Virtual HR Technology Conference & Exposition^®, Lisa Buckingham, executive vice president and chief people, place and brand officer at Lincoln Financial Group, will explore how HR can leverage technology without losing sight of people-focused HR. Buckingham, HRE’s 2017 Executive of the Year, will share the organization’s multi-year digital journey and how it enabled Lincoln to provide true workforce support throughout the pandemic.

The word “disruption” has been a near-constant in HR circles since the COVID-19 pandemic started sweeping the nation this spring. From making remote work an overnight reality to redefining flexibility, HR leaders are working to keep up with the changes, relying on tech along the way.

Those many shifts that have already happened — and the countless more to come — will be the focus of industry analyst Josh Bersin’s keynote address at the 2020 Virtual HR Technology Conference & Exposition^®. 

Each spring, Stacey Harris spends considerable time and effort getting the Sierra-Cedar/Sapient Insights HR Systems Survey off the ground. The project is the HR industry’s longest-running, most distributed research effort, collecting insights on the adoption and deployment of HR technology, and the innovative tech strategies organizations are implementing.

John Sumser, founder and principal analyst for HRExaminer, has witnessed change in the HR-technology realm that puts him among the pantheon of advisors and observers.

But he’ll be the first to admit that nothing could have prepared him for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on HR, including on executives and decision-makers who are representing employers of all stripes, sizes and industry sectors.

Laurie Ruettimann doesn’t mince words.

When asked her outlook on gender parity in corporate leadership, she didn’t sugarcoat things: “I’m not optimistic. According to the World Economic Forum, a woman would have to be born in the year 2255 to get equal pay at work. I’m irritated. How about we speed this up, OK?”

That straight talk will be at the heart of the closing session of Women in HR Tech this fall, as Ruettimann moderates a discussion on the long game of achieving gender parity in leadership ranks, which will feature PlanSource’s Nancy Sansom and Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Tomya Watt. The speakers will discuss the progress and pitfalls of gender equity in the workplace and share their personal experiences climbing the corporate ladder, a journey that, for Ruettimann—a corporate trainer, speaker and author—has taken some interesting turns, which she recently shared with HRE.

This pandemic has demonstrated just how brittle our society is. A tiny virus has drastically upset our lives, our economies and our societies. In a time like this, resilience—the ability to adapt and bounce back—will be one of the most important characteristics that will help us recover.

But how do we design our organizations for resilience? Here are four things to consider: 

Read more.