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Back from HR Tech. Plenty of AI. Very little that made me rethink what is possible.
The people gave me more to think about than the products did.
1. "We have AI." Okay. So what?
We have gone from "AI is coming" to AI on every booth.
Show me what someone can do now that they could not before. Where the business gets better.
AI in your product is not the outcome.
2. We made applying easier. Now we are making rejecting easier.
AI screening tools were a dime a dozen.
Candidates use AI to apply. Companies use AI to filter them out. Everyone calls it progress.
Are we getting any better at understanding who will actually do well together?
Hiring is one of the most human decisions we make. We are getting very efficient at avoiding that part.
3. The deep conversations were there. You had to work for them.
Past the demo. Past the rehearsed answer. Sometimes one more question than felt comfortable.
Then you got somewhere real. People sharing what they had not figured out. Actually listening.
A few of those conversations were worth the trip alone.
4. I cannot rely on someone else to make it happen.
A lonely founder lesson I apparently need to keep learning.
People can mean well and still not follow through. They have their own stuff going on.
The follow through is still on me. That part gets tiring. Being honest.
5. HR leaders, demand more.
If the technology saves you a few hours but does not help you make a better decision, is that enough?
Humans and agents working together should force us to rethink jobs, management and accountability.
Push vendors on that. Including me.
We should have to earn your budget with more than a good demo.
6. Vegas caught me off guard.
My first time back since my Oracle days.
I could still picture us standing around. Talking, strategizing, laughing. Mostly good emotions. Some complicated ones.
You forget how much a place and its people shaped you. Then you walk back in and feel all of it again.
A few people who made the week
Himanshu Palsule, whom I met through the Sage channel years ago. I have followed his career since, and he still remembered me. That meant a lot. Says something about the leader he is.
Hadeel Al-Tashi at SHRM. Finally meeting in person.
Jon Lowe. One of the brightest CHROs I have had the pleasure of getting to know. Data-driven, understands ROI, and connects people decisions to business outcomes. Finally meeting in real life was a highlight.
The question I came home with
Am I being too harsh, or are we mostly using AI to speed up processes we should be questioning?
