Q&A with HR Tech Influencer Michael Krupa

 

Michael Krupa
Senior Director, Digitization & Business Intelligence
Cisco

 


What area of the HR function will be most impacted by emerging technologies, and why?

Diversity and inclusion will become fundamental to who companies are and how they will succeed in this age of digital transformation. Emerging technologies will help create uncommon D&I solutions and will scale impact by driving innovation, digitization and adoption of D&I solutions.  These solutions will leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, data and analytics.  AI/ML solutions to help reduce bias in recruiting and job descriptions and the use of advanced analytics to provide intelligence to business leaders as they create their diversity and inclusion strategies.

What’s the single most dramatic shift you see happening in the HR tech space today?

The single most dramatic shift today is the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning in both HR Technology and technologies that make decisions that impact the workforce. Every vendor in the Talent Lifecycle is looking to add AI capabilities to their solutions.  The challenge for vendors and for companies creating HR technology solutions using AI/ML will be explainability in the algorithms and to reduce bias in the datasets and algorithms.

In acquiring and implementing new technologies, what’s the one or two most common mistakes HR organizations make?

One of the most common mistakes when implementing new HR technologies is failure to explain to the employees and leaders the value or ROI of the solution. This should be tied to a thoughtful communication and change management strategy that not only prepares the workforce for the new HR technology solutions but clearly explains how the new solution will address a problem or gap that exists today. That problem or gap should use the language of the business and not the language of HR.