Disruptive HR Technology – Trends on the Horizon

In our latest GDS Video Snack, Shawna Ryan, Editor at Meet The Boss TV, asks HR executives how technology is changing the face of the industry through both daily practices and even employee backgrounds.

Rajeswari Ramanan, VP HR, UST Global:

“All the technology that’s going around with social media it’s unbelievable I think it’s the most exciting time for HR than ever before”.

We asked a number of senior level executives at the GDS International HR summit what was the most exciting change in their field – and they all unanimously agreed.

Kathryn Edwards, VP HR, Aditya Birla:

“I think it’s absolutely the move to being a technology based discipline”.

Malinda Carter, VP HR, Saint Anthony Hospital:

“Getting data and being able to get it easily is a huge challenge you’re either working with spreadsheets or systems that don’t talk to each other or you’re having to go out and add info that you have to do manually”.

HR leaders said the need for the skills and technology to provide data that contributes directly to the business is driving the field to innovate – but in ways that perhaps we’ve already witnessed in our personal lives.

Kathryn Edwards, VP HR, Aditya Birla:

“It’s converting everything to a process that can be accessed on the go. Folks are very mobile these days. Their dependence on tech is 24/7”.

Rajeswari Ramanan, VP HR, UST Global:

“I think the huge mindset change I have been facing has been providing budgets for key things like catching up on the technology front”.

Brian Smith, SVP, CHRO, Preferred Mutual:

“Perhaps parochially from the HR perspective I think the technology challenges we’re facing is being able to provide managers with good timely accurate data it has always been such!”

Kathryn Edwards, VP HR, Aditya Birla:

“Whether you’re in the office or sitting at your child’s soccer game, being able to make our processes available on the go I think will help our productivity in the future”.

And in a world where social media and mobile applications have people informed in real time 24/7, this new focus on catching up with the technology is changing the landscape of the field’s employee base.

Kathryn Edwards, VP HR, Aditya Birla:

“My 2 last hires into HR were folks that had backgrounds in electronics, engineering and software development – they weren’t the traditional HR career paths and yet they’re so vital as part of the team”.

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