I recently had a chance to chat with Leapgen’s Jess Von Bank about what’s next in our world of HR. Things are moving so fast and nearly every one of our member organizations I speak with are significantly impacted by the changes that have come along with the pandemic. We’re so fortunate to have Leapgen scheduled to present a Thought Leadership keynote at our Ascend conference this August to give us some guidance on what’s next. I took the opportunity to pick Jess’ brain to give us a little preview of what we’ll be learning during their keynote session:
Janice: It has been over a year since we were thrown into lockdown and it seems that HR has been a function called on to figure everything out from communication to managing and retaining remote employees to improving morale, recruitment and more. Work and home lives have been forever altered for nearly everyone. We seem to be getting the hang of it now. What should we focus on in the coming months to ensure we are taking care of our employees?
Jess: This is a great question, Janice, because we’re nearing the next tipping point where “What Now?” becomes “What Next”? When we were responding to What’s Now, we didn’t have time or answers to think it through - we simply reacted to what was in front of us. Now that we have our wits about us, we get to define What’s Next. Organizations will look to their Human Resources and IT departments to support the digital workforce and the digital workplace; those departments, in turn, will look to their technology partners to help deliver solutions.
This part is really important: Technology helps deliver the solution, but it is not itself the solution. Employee Experience will be the buzzword of 2021, along with approaches to whole person care, wellbeing, DEI, and mental wellness to avoid burnout and build resiliency. These will all be important to supporting people in the Now of Work, but technology alone isn’t going to meet the need. Employee Experience is about understanding your workforce and leveraging both data and human-centered design to create personalized and relevant employee journeys. This is how you show care for people; you design for them. Technology helps you deliver experience consistently and at scale.
Janice: What advice do you have for software users groups like ours to support our members?
Jess: Challenge yourself to leverage the greatest digital accelerant of our lifetimes. Business transformation cannot be sustained without a culture of innovation, a growth mindset, and an appetite for change. The most innovative organizations will build trust, transparency, and high-performing teams who hold each other accountable. They’ll LISTEN to what the workforce needs NOW. Don’t (re-)design a single solution without listening. Act like product managers when it comes to meeting the needs of the workforce: How have the problems changed? What gaps does your solution leave? How are those gaps best filled in the new, digital Now of Work?
Janice: We’re so happy to announce Leapgen’s Thought Leadership keynote at Ascend 2021, scheduled for in-person and hybrid participation this August 15-18 where Jason Averbook and Jess Von Bank will be talking about Understanding Experience in the Now of Work, including putting people at the center of workforce experience and technology strategies. How else can we start to understand experience design when it comes to workforce solutions and employee experience?
Jess: Perfect timing, because Jason & I host a weekly Digital Meetup and have invited Oracle’s own Yvette Cameron to be our guest this FRIDAY, APRIL 16, at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. We’re talking about the role of HCM and HR technology solution providers in the Employee Experience arena, and we’ll get Yvette’s take on what success looks like when building experience on a technology platform. You can watch the live broadcast by signing up here: https://bit.ly/NowofWork
Leapgen is also hosting a webinar next week (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 9AM PT / 12PM ET) on Humanizing Workforce Experience through Data & Design. We’d love your members to join and weigh in. You can register here: https://bit.ly/3sfVvS
And of course we’ll see you all live in Hollywood, Florida, in August! Can’t wait for this conversation, Janice. Designing workforce solutions to meet people where they are NOW is a critical business imperative, and we’re here to help.