Wow, can you believe it. In just a few short days we will be ending yet another year. Taking a look back, so much has occurred since January 1, 2011. Especially in the HCM space.
As in years passed, we have watched a number of consolidations take place that are changing the game and how the players play in this space. Will 2012 continue with this trend? From what I see so far, it absolutely will. Speculation is already out there on what the next acquisition will be. Will Oracle make a move and go after a powerhouse full of integrations like Taleo or go after a company who has organically grown into an HCM leader like Conerstone OnDemand? I guess only time will tell.
Not only will the acquisitory nature of this space stay alive, I foresee other changes coming in 2012. Just a few weeks ago Naomi Bloom, Jason Averbook and R "Ray" Wang spent an hour with Bill Kutik discussing their predictions for 2012. A few of their points really stuck with me and I have continued to think about them and how we all need to change to move forward. Naomi started with a prediction that "rip and replace" will be happening at a very noisy pace in the market. Jason furthered that idea with the concept of "rip and create". Replacing the same old experience with a new technology still yields you the same outcome. As Naomi said, you either get in front of change or get ran over by it. AMEN sista!!!
So here's where it gets a bit tricky. There are many of us in the HCM, TM, HRMS space. Thousands of us to be more accurate. Not only does HR have to change to make this shift but so do we. For years, we have been the enablers IMHO. We have continued to allow HR, our solutions and the market to be stuck in a revolving door (thanks Mark Cuban for that analogy). I personally have been an enabler of this behavior. Not by choice but because we wanted to give our customers exactly what they wanted. Well it's time to stop that behavior. I am taking the late Steve Jobs approach from here on out. We are going to create solutions our customers don't know they need until the use it. Then, they simply can't live with out them.
So, how do we get there? Well for one, we need strategic thinkers in HR and in our businesses (thank goodness we have them already). We have to stop listening only to what our customers want and start developing for the future. We are not going to successfully "rip and create" if we don't innovate and take risks. We have to be comfortable embarking on territories never traveled before. Following the happy path may be the easiest way to go but it won't take you into the future.
So here's something to think about....in three years we won't say mobile first. Mobile will be the only way to go. Can your existing solutions really go fully mobile? And no, I am not talking about just being accessible via a browser on your mobile device. I am talking about providing mobilized content, driven to the user on any device of their liking. No one is there yet. But it's where our users are going so we have to get there before they do.
So just as there are predictions, we all have resolutions for the New Year as well. Rather than focus on personal improvement (those never stick) I am going to focus on how I can change to help you. So hear it goes.....My New Year's resolution is to challenge everyone I engage with to think differently about people and technology. To take risks that make me uncomfortable and to stop letting others drive us in our journey. Now this is one I can stick to. I guess we will see at the end of 2012 how I did.
Thanks for your support this year. Get ready for 2012, it's going to get very disruptive!
Happy Holidays to you and your families.
