Some scenes from books and movies create lasting impressions. For example, a James Bond scene features him evading crocodiles in a gangsters’ den using a heat ray that comes from his watch, while a villain controls a console that can turn a boardroom conversation into a situation where someone gets handcuffed. A similar scenario can be found in a Bollywood film. Sci-Fi fiction and movies now often explore multiverse themes and alternate realities. Likewise, HR and HR Tech have evolved significantly.
Imagine a world where a recruiter can SWIPE RIGHT to recruit the perfect fit for the role. Flashback to a few years ago when a newspaper advertisement was issued in the national dailies, pink papers or regional dailies depending on the geography and industry. This was followed up by receiving resumes into a PO Box which was painstakingly sieved through by HR professionals. If the numbers were large, the filtration would be done by the junior most members of the team. Using an AI-powered Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can lead to quicker, more accurate hires and increase the Average Ticket Size (ATS) in the Life Insurance industry. The traditional process was time-consuming, error-prone, and biased.
Imagine a world where superior delivery is recognised in REALTIME by 8 levels of hierarchy instead of an MIS report or an email (or a memo in the Jurassic era!) which goes from one level to another resulting into a lag of at least a week and in most cases a month with dependency on several people to collate and refine reports? Apart from the time, cost and effort needed this exercise is also fraught with delays and miss outs (Ex. A high performer in the worst branch or unit could get overlooked).
Imagine a world where an aggrieved employee either voices his/her concerns on an anonymous chat or gives constructive criticism with an intent to improve the organisation instead of filling out an extensive feedback survey which takes a month to administer, a quarter to assimilate, another quarter to replay back and, another quarter to implement the changes. Some of the concerns may have lost their relevance by then.
Imagine a world where an HR Business Partner engages an employee just to lift up the spirits which is showing a downward trend in the mood-o-meter instead of a quarterly fun Friday catch up over the proverbial Rangoli.
Unlike the coin used by Amitabh Bachan in the movie Sholay, there are two sides to everything. HR Tech is no exception.
Imagine an automated hiring process for a frontline position: job description created from specs by the line manager, a search engine identifies candidates, conducts psychometric assessments, and performs interviews in Hindi. Video analytics prompt follow-up questions, and an offer letter is sent and accepted. On the new recruit’s first day, the manager is disappointed as the hire doesn’t meet expectations. Possible issues include poor prompt engineering, inadequate JD specifications, process bugs from malware, or API integration problems between HRMS and search software. HR Tech or Gen AI might make poor or incorrect decisions.
While HR Tech offers tremendous advantages, it is not without its challenges and potential pitfalls. Nevertheless, its impact on the future of employee life cycle management is undeniable and cannot be ignored.
