Want to know the dirty little secret of HR education?

We do an absolutely horrible job of preparing students for the world of HR technology

• Pick up a general HR textbook and you'll find little to no reference to HR technology and its importance.  You'll see a passing mention of HRIS, but none of the 2013 textbooks discussed SaaS or CRM, and only one mentioned ERP.
• Do a search at Amazon.com for books on "Human Resource Technology" and the choices are limited at best.
• HR Technology is not a primary content area of SHRM's HR Curriculum Guidelines and Templates, and is, instead, relegated to secondary content.
• HR technology is given short shrift in earning your PHR or SPHR certification.  Those certified are only expected to have knowledge of:
• Data integrity techniques and technology (for example: data sharing, password usage, social engineering)
• Technology and applications (for example: social media, monitoring software, biometrics)

As a result, many students and HR professionals are unprepared to make the crucial decisions regarding the appropriate use of HR technology for their organization.  They are subject to the whims and asymmetric information of the provider.

So, what can be done to fill the gap in your HR Technology education?

1. Attend webinars on the topic.  For example, there is an excellent webinar titled, "Get HR Technology to Work Where the Rubber Meets the Road," today from 2-3 pm Eastern. This session is being led by Robin Schooling and LBi Software President Richard Teed, and moderated by Laurie Ruettimann.   
2. Attend the HR Technology Conference in Las Vegas, October 7-9. If you register for the HRevolution Conference on October 6, you will be given a code for $600 off the registration fee for HR Tech.

 

In a little over a week, many great HR professionals and thought leaders will be heading to Chicago to attend the fifth iteration of HRevolution.  This can't miss event continues to challenge attendees to look at human resources in a new way.  One of the companies that make such an event possible is Aquire.  Here are three things Aquire is currently doing that truly improve HR:

1. Hire the greatest employees with a passion to solve customers problems.  Aquire has a dedication to its employees that has placed it on several"Best Places to Work lists."  In addition, through initiatives such as the "Aquire culture club," employees can give back to the community.   This has enabled Aquire to not only maintain a strong retention rate, but serve the customer in a meaningful fashion.  Click here to learn more about working at Aquire.
2. Aquire InSight - Taking workforce planning and analytics to the leaders of organizations in a visual and powerful way, Insight allows individuals to determine the root cause of performance issues, without keeping that valuable information and knowledge in a back room with only the data crunchers.  Click here to learn more about InSight.
3. OrgPublisher mobility - Aquire's OrgPublisher has long been a leader in organizational charting and workforce reporting software.  Now, like the Who, it is "Goin' Mobile" by enabling OrgPublisher to be used in on the iPad and putting talent data in the executives hands.

In addition, if you are attending the HR Technology Conference and view a demo of OrgPublisher Executive or InSight Executive at the Peoplefluent/Aquire booths, Founders Ross and Lois Melbourne will donate $10 per company viewing to No Kid Hungry.

Note that tickets are still available for the HRevolution event on October 7th.  Register now and not only do you get to attend a great event, but you get a code for $600 off registration for the HR Technology Conference. 

Hope to see you there.

In a little over 2 months, the fifth iteration of HRevolution will take place in Chicago on October 7 at the McCormick Place.  Hotel rooms have been secured, and tickets have already been sold.

So, what's new?  The agenda has started to be released.  If you head to the Eventbrite page, you can see what some of the topics and who some of the speakers will be.

And, don't forget, after you register for HRevolution you get a whopping $600.00 discount off the HR Technology® Conference on-site rate. Look for the savings promo code at the bottom of your HRevolution confirmation email.

Check it out.