It's Time for a Revolution in HR Technology

Leadership has become even more difficult in the complex and dynamic environment of the past several years. The quantum shifts in the workforce, fueled by the pandemic, economic uncertainty, and rapid technological innovation, require transformational change in how business leaders manage talent, our most important asset. 

To better understand further, SHRM India hosted the 'SHRM India Tech Conference & Expo 2023' partnered by AdvantageClub.ai on 11-12 May 2023 at HICC, Hyderabad. It was the perfect opportunity to discover all that's trending in HR Tech and likely to be the 'next big thing.

Experts worldwide gathered for the conference, discussing technological solutions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning that will enhance the scope and efficiencies of HR management and professionals. 

The conference brought together global thought leaders and experts to provide practical solutions that participants can apply in their work lives.

The event covered tech-enabled employment, everything as a service, ethics in technology, digital dividends, multi-identity HR, hyper-automation, quantum conundrum, and predictive to prescriptive preselection. 

It was the most significant HR gathering of the year; #SHRMTECH23 hosted more than 4,000+ HR & Tech Leaders, 500+ CXOs, and 120+ Speakers and participated in over 60+ Sessions. 

The event highlights for the two-day conference include a range of session formats, including Keynotes, Expert Masterclasses, Fireside Chats, Start-up Showcases, Demos, Tech Talks, and many more.

At the opening ceremony, Achal Khanna , CEO of SHRM India, APAC & MENA, said that HR leaders should incorporate technology into their workplaces to stay up-to-date with the latest innovations in the tech world. 

Addressing the keynote session titled 'Flexi-benefits Reality Check: Acing the Tightrope,' Smiti Bhatt Deorah , Co-Founder & COO of AdvantageClub.ai said," Today you need a scalable benefit solution, personalized to the employee's needs and something that is branded just right. That is why you need something flexible with many choices to help retain your employees."

Raj T. , CSO & Head HR, Advantage Club, moderated the discussion titled, "'Employee benefits that matter: Dividends for all"

"The history of employee benefits and laws governing employment conditions goes back to 1803. Fast forward to 2023, and we see the benefits of helping organizations become employers of choice. But, unfortunately, one cannot have a one size fits all science for deciding the benefits because the ecosystem in which we operate is highly diverse", Tanwar added. 

Joining him in the panel, Salil Lal , CHRO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited , said, "The entire perspective of benefits has undergone a sea change, depending on the nature of the industry and the workforce composition. Retiral is an untapped area that can be integrated and designed into a lucrative benefit."

In the words of Richard Lobo , Executive Vice President, Head HR, Infosys , "Technology is playing a crucial role in terms of how benefits are designed and deployed."

"Today millennials are unsure of what they truly want," exclaimed Avantika Susan Nigam , Senior Director & CHRO India, PepsiCo .

"There has to be a balance between what they want and what is best for them regarding their well-being and health. So wellbeing and Wellness are areas which can be built on for designing employee benefits", Nigam added.

Addressing the next panel on PeopleTech - Power Panel, Vinutha Rao M.S , Senior Vice President, HCL Technologies Ltd , said, "From the IT perspective, some changes are happening in both Macro and Micro Trends. AI, ML, and deep learning are driving microdata analysis. The biggest challenge is who you hire when technology changes daily."

Ratnaker Anakal , Head HR, Hetero , said, "Indian pharma sector is expanding, but globally, because of the war, I don't know where my people are. But because of the war, people need pharmaceuticals. So these are critical challenges we are facing."

Nagraj Shriyan , Senior Director, Providence , said, "34% of skill sets will get disrupted in the next five years. Only 66% of the work will be done by humans. So that means organizations will need to be very careful about who they hire."

Another power panel titled "Talent Acquisition Evolution: Being Contingency-ready was discussed. 

During the panel, experts shared valuable insights on how organizations can restructure work and redefine jobs to include transversal skills. The panelists also emphasized the importance of collaboration between the government and organizations to bridge the talent gap and the need for continuous skill-based training to keep up with evolving talent.

Discussing disruption of definitions and boundaries of traditional learning, skilling, and talent management systems, Dr. C. Jayakumar , Executive VP and Head CHRO, Larsen & Toubro and Nathan SV , Partner Deloitte India in an engaging discussion focused on how to hone skill GPT at Work? The need for multi-skills and keeping pace in learning.

Another Power Panel on Employer Branding: Attracting the Digital-first Audience brought forth ideas and thoughts on how brands can create new roads to present themselves in front of an audience that believes in doing multiple things at once while focusing on anything that helps them add value.

Addressing other panelists, Harshvendra Soin , Global Chief Officer & Head of Marketing at Tech Mahindra , said, "When we started, we said we would be the number one company for women and careers. To create employer branding, you have to be honest with yourself. So we don't look at their scores when people walk into my organization. Instead, we hire people who can innovate, which has helped us create an employer branding that has led to the lowest attrition rates in the industry."

"We have a philosophy of building your timber. We make things that make India proud. We give our hires assignments in Metros, Airports, and other projects that challenge them and provide them with growth opportunities. Then we get into personalized employer branding', added Dr. C. Jayakumar , EVP & Head- CHRO, Larsen & Toubro .

From a branding strategy point of view, Gajendra Menon , Senior Director of HR, Global Talent Acquisition, NTT DATA , continued, "We are very clear about what we want to do. But if we look at the Gen Z, their priorities are different. So we incorporate those priorities with gamification."

As computer-human interaction advances, multi-experience technologies are increasingly popular to create zero-friction, customer-focused experiences that blend the digital and physical worlds. 

On these lines, Dr. Swatee Sarangi Sarangi, Head HR Global Generics India, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories 's said, "As an HR, we have to be all in one and many in one."

Similarly, Amaresh Singh , CHRO, GE South Asia said, "The ease of navigation is important in adopting technology."

Another power panel on Employer Branding & Insights-driven Storytelling: A Match Made in Heaven was organized to address how to perfect the art and science of creating a genuinely differentiated employer brand. 

Akash Jain Associate Director, Talent Acquisition PepsiCo , said, "How we look at our jobs has completely changed. We used to think about hierarchy. Now we don't. The job has stayed the same, but the USPs of the job have to be better communicated."

"I'm not too fond of the word talent acquisition. We need to automate the coordination job of Talent Acquisition and sell our organization to talent like marketers", added Rajshekhar Bhide , Head Talent Acquisition, Infosys BPM .

Satish Manne , Head of Talent Acquisition, Zensar Technologies , said, “The value system has completely changed. Earlier, the system of work was simple. Someone doesn't want to come to the office today and get reimbursed. And it is okay. That flexibility needs to be communicated through branding.”

Another insightful panel titled: 'Will ChatGPT make us Lazy?' was moderated by Pranjal Sharma, Economic Analyst, Advisor & Author - The Next New. 

Addressing the panel, Harshvendra Soin , Global Chief People Officer and Head of Marketing, Tech Mahindra , said, It's a question that was asked in an earlier era, will Google make us lazy, or will it make it easy? I think it will make life easy."

Upasna Nischal , Head of HR India, Fidelity International , added, " I think people have a fair understanding of its limits. I think people like to stay in their comfort area. ChatGPT will not make us lazy if we have the right incentives."

"Earlier, if I wanted to complete a task, I had to learn something. So I had to educate myself. Now you can put something in Chat, and you get the answer which is also dangerous because ChatGPT without context is flawed. So if you give it the wrong instructions, it fails", said Rajesh Dhuddu , SVP & Global Business Head - Emerging Technology, Tech Mahindra .

HR Tech is changing faster than ever, and we witnessed this from the enlightening panel discussions led by the thought leaders at SHRM Tech Conference 2023. A revolutionary era of innovation is emerging, people practices are evolving, and cutting-edge technologies are being explored that will cause a 'Quantum Shift' in all that shapes the world of work. Implementing most or even some of the suggestions from this thought-provoking discussion will help build a happier, more engaged, tech-driven workforce!

Overall, it was a delight to have thousands of HR professionals and industry stalwarts gather together in person for the insightful SHRM India Tech Conference 2023.