In Kevin Kelly’s book The Inevitable, he observes that we’ve hit an era where we are forever technology ‘newbies’ (i.e. an inexperienced user). You’d like to master your smartphone or PC, but apps and operating systems update so frequently that you never know when a feature will be added, removed, or changed.
You are constantly dealing with software you haven’t quite mastered yet, and Kelly’s point is that there is no ‘yet’; you will always be a newbie.
With HR technology we are used to getting a system (after a long buying process); implementing the system (again a long process); and then learning the intricacies of the system (never an easy step). After that long adoption cycle we’ll live with the technology we’ve finally mastered, more or less happily, for many years.
The question is whether that old model is changing and, just like in the consumer world, we’ll end up with software that evolves so rapidly that we’re always newbies.
Certainly, now that we’ve moved to cloud-based / software-as-a-service we’ve lost control over the upgrade cycle — and hence we are into a constant struggle to keep our level of mastery up-to-date. Also, there are so many relatively small HR apps available now (e.g. data visualization tools) that we need to stay abreast of dozens of apps, not just one or two big ones. In HR tech we haven’t yet hit the same level of turmoil we see in our consumer apps; but that constant change seems to be on the way.
Note to my readers: I’m always interested in innovative firms that signal where HR is heading. I love these firms that are striving to make a difference, but many are startups and a mention does not necessarily mean they’ll be right for you