People Analytics and NFTs - A New Innovation Journey

Why did I choose to write about NFTs?

Last year an Executive Recruiter sent me a position for a leader of Organizational Effectiveness. This position would manage multiple teams, one of them being People Analytics. Inside the description read something curious I have never seen before “Optimize workforce planning, insights and strategy through the introduction of innovation (i.e. AI, Blockchain, etc).” I thought about the main vendors involved in Workforce Planning - Anaplan, SuccessFactors, Workday, Oracle, and Visier. None of these vendors are using Blockchain for any Workforce Planning applications. I wrote back to the Recruiter asking why Blockchain was in the posting as I had never heard or seen of Blockchain being used in a Workforce Planning software. The Executive Recruiter stated “that’s exactly the point, the Hiring Manager wants people that can invent things that don’t even exist yet.” Translation-we aren't sure what we want but we love cool buzz words!

Fast forward to today and I am watching Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) start to gain traction which is occurring on the Ethereum Blockchain. I’m also seeing more articles and videos about Blockchain general uses in HR. Since I’m not an expert in the NFT or Blockchain I will provide information below from Gary V (a famous tech entrepreneur) and Andrew Spence (an HR Futurist). In addition, I will share detail on whether or not People Analytics NFTs exist and how People Analytics practitioners could use NFTs in the future.

What are NFTs? (From Gary V)

NFTs are best understood as unique digital assets, and they exist in a variety of industries from digital art and virtual real estate to collectibles, gaming and more. Basically, any type of media can be minted or tokenized and turned into an NFT: art, trading cards, memes, gifs, video clips, audio clips, tweets, this article — anything. Once tokenized, these assets can be bought, sold and traded using cryptocurrency.

It all starts with a piece of content. This could be a photo, a drawing, a video clip…you name it. It can be an original, like a drawing or doodle you make yourself, or something already in existence. Once created, that piece of content is “minted” on the blockchain — in other words, it is turned into an NFT. A blockchain is an official ledger shared by thousands of computers, in this case storing a record of NFT ownership and transaction history. Most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain.

Once you officially create an NFT, it now lives in your digital wallet. Technically, nothing is stopping anyone from downloading or replicating your NFT from the internet…we drag and drop gifs and memes all the time — BUT the blockchain confirms your provenance aka proves your ownership of the original and authentic NFT. A common comparison is the Mona Lisa. Just like the one-and-only Mona Lisa exists only at the Louvre, your one-and-only NFT exists on the blockchain, and no copy, however exact, holds the same value. 

Once on the blockchain, your NFT is accessed using a wallet. This digital wallet is just the software which decrypts a seed phrase to access the account or address. That account or address is then listed as the owner of the NFT within the NFT contract, and that contract lives on Ethereum. NFTs can be placed for sale within a Marketplace (such as OpenSea or Mintable) and then can be purchased.

Source: https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/what-is-nft-non-fungible-token-guide/

Additional information on how to create a wallet: https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/how-to-make-a-cryptocurrency-or-nft-wallet/

How could NFTs be used in HR?

Several years ago AIHR created a video of an interview with Workplace Futurist Andrew Spence where he talks about several different blockchain uses within HR: https://www.aihr.com/blog/how-to-use-blockchain-in-hr/

Although Andrew does not specifically mention NFTs, the Blockchain use examples he provides includes:

• Resumes users control in a wallet and share with parties such as employers or to obtain gig jobs
• Payroll verification and validation

Since that AIHR video was completed, resumes are now starting to be created as NFTs. Here is an example of an NFT resume on OpenSea (a NFT marketplace):

Source: https://opensea.io/assets/0xd07dc4262bcdbf85190c01c996b4c06a461d2430/82667

The individual Jack who owns the resume NFT is seeking marketing/business position in blockchain/emerging tech or sports. Users of OpenSea can purchase his resume NFT and unlock access for .0004 USD. Although resume NFTs are just starting to show up (I only could find 5 on OpenSea), I consider this the beginning of the possibilities for HR.

Do People Analytics NFTs exist?

As part of my research into NFTs in general and NFTs in HR, I set out to determine if NFTs have been created in People Analytics by reviewing various NFT Marketplaces such as OpenSea and Mintable. As I write this article, I have been unable to find any People Analytics related NFTs.

I then strongly considered creating the first People Analytics NFT (using a graphic I developed with a conference organizer for an HR Analytics Conference years ago). However, I determined that People Analytics professionals are unlikely to look for NFTs on the NFT marketplaces at the moment and that new ideas are still primarily shared using mediums such as LinkedIn or Twitter. My point here—is we are just not there yet.

How could People Analytics practitioners use NFTs in the future?

People Analytics has one of the most passionate group of practitioners talking about our field daily on mediums such as LinkedIn and Twitter. We are consistently developing new original ideas that could be placed into a digital medium such as a picture file, movie file, or other type of file then created into an NFT. However, that being said before this happens, we really need a Professional Exchange for sharing NFTs outside the current Marketplaces that exist today. One way to do this would be for LinkedIn to create an NFT Marketplace. Here are examples of potential People Analytics NFTs:

·        A new process for the intake of People Analytics requests

·        An optimal Org structure for People Analytics teams based on various company sizes

·        New HR metrics with definition and formulas, and

·        Fireside video chats with leading subject matter experts on hot topics

With the examples above, People Analytics Leaders could serve as NFT collectors purchasing a la carte People Analytics NFTs for knowledge they need to enhance their team structure, processes, technology, or governance. As more knowledge is shared the NFT community continues to grow. Lastly, I suspect that prices would be reasonable for these NFTs as a significant portion of the original ideas would come from practitioners themselves and not corporations.

With that said, I welcome your thoughts on the future of NFTs in People Analytics. We certainly have come a long way as a community but there is much further to go.

While I didn’t create a People Analytics NFT, I am still going to share the graphic I was considering for an NFT on the "The Top 5 Reasons People Analytics Initiatives Fail and What you Can do About It". Enjoy!