This was all I could think when I hit the conference expo floor. I was blown away how much this industry has grown. I’ve been amazed at the evolution of this industry since I first entered this space. The expo floor was an explosion of technology fighting for my attention. Once you get past all the tchotchkes and colorful swag, there is some really interesting tech going on here. Obviously that’s no surprise, but the sheer amount of HR technology options was. While flashy software is nice, it doesn’t always add value.
As the owner of a learning and training management software company, it’s exciting to be around other people who are passionate about making HR processes more efficient and effective through the use of the right technology. Because I’m a software guy I appreciate the actual technology, but what drew me to HR Tech was to see how HR technologies are changing business processes and how they can be used to drive success.
I mean, we all knew the industry was booming, but for real…the industry is booming! It seems there is a new technology for every process, and the time you invest in it, there is an even newer technology. Something that we have done at Visibility Software since our advent is to always add new tools and make updating easy. I’m glad we put an emphasis on the need to grow and improve early on, because it seems like that is the only way to stay relevant in this space. No one wants to be a flash in the pan, but if you aren’t investing in making your product or service the best out there, you will fall the wayside quite quickly.
Additionally, I saw a big disconnect between the caliber of technology that many were offering and the support (or lack thereof) that came with it. What good is a shiny new Corvette if no one ever taught you how to drive a stick shift? Sure, you have some great swag, but can your products or services grow with my company, what kind of technical support or services really comes with this package and how much or how often do you update?
Don’t get me wrong; I was insanely impressed with a lot of vendors, namely Hunite. It seems like everyone is on the hunt for new HR technology or on the fence about their current systems and software. Although I would love to sell you some great software, I think it’s great when a company can save time and money improving upon what they already have. I liked what I saw with what Hunite does for companies pulling in data from all of their separate system into a secure mobile platform. This means that you can now unite HR, payroll, scheduling and more. I thought this was a pretty neat way to make the systems that are already in place work together in a sleek and easy style.
With so many “Why didn’t I think of that?!” moments, I left the hall full of ideas and inspiration. I can solidly say that you can expect some exciting new features from Visibility Software in the very near future.