Work Tech Will Consolidate and Displace the Traditional HR Tech Stack
Designed without ego, Work Tech is employee-first and experience-driven.
In our “New Technology Shaping the Future of Work” report, we found that the current shift away from legacy HR tech to Work Tech is resulting in a consolidation of interfaces across the tech stack. Work Tech is augmenting and extending HR technology into the flow of work with innovation from new tech providers and market incumbents. Work Tech will ultimately displace traditional HR technology from the market as businesses adopt new models over old.
Work Tech unbridles productivity by meeting the employee where they are in the flow of work. Work Tech features and data are found where work is getting done, and workforce decisions are being made regardless of which interface gets it there. Work Tech leverages existing communication and collaboration systems like MS Teams, Slack, or Zoom with embedded features, data, or listening.
Designed Without Ego
Work Tech leverages APIs to move data to where the customer needs it, in and outside of the HR or Work Tech stack. Products may exist only as an API, extending the value of existing systems. Work Tech is designed without ego for users across the enterprise.
Getting users to log in to the user interface is less important than ultimately serving their need. Traditional HR technology is more concerned with getting users and “owning” the screen. Technical debt and pure ego keep legacy HR tech from existing or enabling this in the tech stack. On paper, this isn’t a big technical challenge. Based on user feedback, however, for incumbent market leaders, it remains a struggle.
The Customer Won the Platform vs Point-Solution Battle
The platform vs. targeted solution argument is over. The customer won. Work Tech platforms embrace integrating with the apps and suites that their clients need. Open APIs supporting partner marketplaces and an immediate path for those apps not yet in it are table stakes in the customer-first world of Work Tech. Work Tech’s targeted applications enhance their go-to-market by integrating into their customers’ platforms and suites. Traditional HR technology is more selectively integrated and partnered, limiting the options for their customers and themselves. This is more of a cultural challenge for traditionalists than a tech challenge.
Work Tech buyer, beware.
Don’t minimize data access for the future of work
When you’re selecting your platform providers, understand that the “ecosystem” they represent to you should not just be a list of partners on the spectrum from logo-sharing to deep integration where the platform tells you who to integrate with. Your Work Tech data strategy requires your selected tech partners SUPPORT YOU with YOUR DATA needs. Today there is no valid technical reason for an HR or Talent team to be struggling with getting access to their own data when and where they need it, in what frequency, format, or interface.
Our “New Technology Shaping the Future of Work” report illuminates the six core themes we discovered that define Work Tech and differentiate it from HR tech.