Five and a half things I’ll be looking for at HR Tech

Today kicks off the 2019 HR Tech show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here's what's on my radar the next few days...

1. How are buyers, users and influencers responding to the increased industry chatter around automation, A.I. and M.L. solutions? And are they making vendor selections accordingly?

I expect to see CRA’s at the TOP of their game. After all, it’s the HR TECH show. But this business is a mix of art and science. Science is easier to automate. I have zero bias against it, of course. And I don’t think all manual, all the time, is the answer, either.

After all, faster, better, cheaper are desirable goals! You just got to get it right because, well, nothing stops that report if the machine is wrong.

When done right, computers make less errors than humans. Ands that's the benefit. So it comes down to tradeoffs employers accept. What kind of mistake does man make? What kind of mistake does machine make, because of man's programming, or while it's learning? What's the percentage? Severity? Cost savings? Cost premiums?

After all, highly automated, more tech savvy CRA’s need to cover past, present and future tech costs. Less automated, less tech savvy CRA’s need to cover present and future human costs. Do employers even notice the differences?

Finally, frequency is the single, under-discussed pain point that could render everything else moot. 0.5% wrong is 1/200. For a small employer, that’s every other year. For a larger employer, that’s once a week. At that rate, everything else matters less. Once a week is still once a week.

2. Do buyers, users and influencers feel differently about automation, A.I. and M.L., in the trenches?

Those are three different groups, with varying levels of participation. Let’s say influencers relate to these concepts in a more general, “what’s next?” sense. HR buyers can be users, but they’re probably responsible for many facets of HR procurement. Users use. How do their experience align or contrast with what salespeople, buyers and influencers gravitate toward?

3.    Are buyers, users and influencers unhappy about their provider’s lack of automation, AI and ML? And are they unhappy enough to make a move?

Change is difficult, time consuming, and expensive, especially if employees need to sign new forms (a little background check and HR humor there!)

If you’re unhappy with your current CRA, I definitely can see the attraction to a sleek, shiny object. But what if you’re reasonably happy? Say a 6 out of 10. Is it worth it switching? And what’s the tipping point? I really don’t know. Can’t wait to ask.

4.    Is this the year Continuous Monitoring takes off?

To paraphrase my friends W. Barry Nixon and Les Rosen, this is a new name for an old concept. Seems to pop up every 5 years or so. What IS new in 2019 are increasing and more frequently updated data sources, assembly and filtering capabilities of providers, and perhaps most importantly, global facing companies in a 24/7 world whose brands are better protected by screening more frequently than just time of hire.

But in two decades of doing this, I’ve found a LOT of companies hesitant to spend even $25 on a semi-comprehensive background check on 10% of employees (turnover rate + new positions). They’re even LESS excited spending $10 per employee, per year, for the other 90%.

For the math nerds like me, that pre-hire screening program costs 28% and the continuous monitoring costs 72% of the budget. Even though they know they’ll find things, do you know a lot of companies excited to spend 72% more?

Public facing companies protecting billion-dollar brands? Yeah, I can see things shifting. For everyone else, I’m not so sure. I want to be. Because there’s value there. But I don’t see it. Yet.

5.    Are people thinking of and/or preparing for an economic downturn?

On the heels of some mediocre economic news, it’s a good reminder we are 10 years into one of the longest economic expansions in modern history.

The financial crisis was a long time ago. But we remember how painful it was. Is that memory forcing us to think of how to plan to adapt to shifting economic conditions? Or will most roll with it and figure it out when it hits?

If you plan for it now, it’s a waste of time, vis a vis, the opportunity cost. But your solutions become more plug and play when conditions change, and you probably move faster when they do.

If you wait, you get the benefit of all the things you did today and tomorrow instead. But when things change, you probably wait a bit validating it's really happening, then begin playing catch up, making decisions in a much more stressful, emotional environment.

5.5       Is now the time to save, or is now the time to spend?

Spending on technology can reduce human costs today but comes with a bill tomorrow. If the economy turns downward, would you make the same decision?

A quick hypothetical…a one-time $60K tech solution solves an annual $30K problem because there’s a shortage of employees. You’re in the green after two years.

But if the economy turns downward, that $30k problem doesn’t exist anymore, because internal employee capacity recalibrated. What decision do you make today, based on what you infer about tomorrow? I don’t work for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But I think about it when providing capital investment solutions for my clients. Are your competitors thinking about this? Are you?

Can’t wait to dive in. See you at the show!

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Kevin Bachman is The CRA Doctor, a background check executive providing financial, strategic and operational counsel to owners and senior management. He also helps employers create optimal screening programs and find the right CRA to fit their needs and budget. He is also available for speaking engagements and onsite training sessions. Kevin can be reached at [email protected] or 216-509-2108.