Leading in HR Tech innovation means taking a person-centered, holistic approach to the use of technology in the workplace. Traitify CEO Dan Sines voiced this value system as a panelist at the recent Global Best Practices Conference's "Workforce Technology" session.
Technology for the sake of technology is a path to draining resources, Sines explained. A high-value approach directs attention to the actual "lived experience" of employees, from the onboarding crew member to the regional manager with a long company history. There's more to the story than achieving theoretical buy-in from decision-makers. A tech tool must be built around the principle that ease of use across all job positions is priority one. Without that, technology doesn't boost productivity and morale -- it can undermine both.
How do we meet those goals? One answer lies in understanding how people invite technology into their daily lives, then mimicking that experience. Our culture is centered around the consumption of media, from streaming services to curated playlists to gaming platforms. A key player has been and will continue to be mobile devices, now occupying the typical user for several hours a day. Mobile-first technology is the future, Sines reminded the audience.
But we shouldn't stop there, he cautioned. The best solutions represent more than the migration of analog approaches into digital platforms into mobile-first ones. Instead, they are built around the way users choose to consume media and the manner in which our brains understand it best. Image-based technology that the user can navigate quickly leverages this reality well. Think of it as letting your employees take a "low-touch" approach to the technology -- time and effort allocation is minimal. And when the interface has a familiar component that users find engaging, there's no reason why they can't enjoy the experience. Technology can and should be a tool that enhances employee engagement.
Another strategy offered up by Sines: make science an ally. Traitify's personality assessment, for example, is rooted in psychological research. It therefore picks up where hundreds of peer-reviewed research studies among personality and organizational psychologists leave off. The science is well-established, and Sines encouraged industry leaders to bring its value to the modern workplace. When it comes to workforce technology, science should be its guide.
Behavioral science has a lot to say about how people behave on the job, the settings in which they thrive, how they communicate, and the ways they react to workplace stress. Lasting technology will be rooted in that store of knowledge. Imagine the future: workforce tech can be customized to the user, using metrics such as job role, personality, career path, tech savvy, and interests. The most well-designed HR tech will magnify the individual's strengths, be widely implemented by personnel whether they are in Week 1 or in Week 301, and serve operational needs while promoting engagement. As Sines helped Global Best Practices attendees to appreciate, when tech is built around the modern user and pulls from the deep well of contemporary behavioral science, its value can and will exceed expectations.
To learn how Traitify's image-based, science-backed technology could make your hiring process work for everyone, connect for a demo.
