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As a part of the WISHRM State Conference SMILE Team, I have the opportunity to engage with speakers and exhibitors, gaining insights into what to anticipate at the upcoming conference. I had a chance to connect with Tricia Shields and Chris Krause who will be presenting Unlocking Tomorrow's HR: Navigating the Tech Terrain of Software Solutions and Policies.
Q & A with Tricia and Chris:
1. Who should attend your session?
Tricia:
Any HR professional that interacts with technology, which is kind of all HR professionals at this point. So in really at all stages of their technology journey, we try to make the presentation focused on, you know, the very rudimentary level of I'm really scared of interacting with technology and I really want to stay very paper based and I'm not ready to take that initial step or maybe I'm ready, but I don't know how to do it to the other side or kind of the other, you know, side of the spectrum of I'm, I'm heavily utilizing technology. What else is available to continue to be innovative and everything in between. We'll look at lots of different types of technology that are relevant in the HR space.
So whether someone's, you know, a recruiter or they're an HR leader or executive or a generalist or a business partner, this session would be relevant to really everyone in the HR space.
Chris:
This is for anybody on their journey from new to the very experienced or down that road of their digital transformation.
2. What is something attendees might not know about you?
Tricia:
They would not know that even though I'm the CHRO at Naviant, my background and degree are in technology. And even though Chris is our executive over technology solutions, his historic education is within HR. So it brings kind of a cool mix because we get each other's worlds. It’s fun to be able to connect on that piece together.
3. What are some key factors to consider during a strategic planning session before seeking out a tech solution in HR?
Chris:
So obviously in any planning session, the first thing you want to know is your goals and objectives. What are you trying to achieve? Because that's obviously critical to design part of that. And of course, we always recommend having an outside expert coming to be a part of your planning sessions, but you also need to include subject matter experts. You need to include the people who do the task daily because they are the ones who are gonna be able to give you the deepest insights into the key pain points that need to be solved as a part of the solution.
Understanding any legal requirements/regulatory compliance requirements as a part of that potential solution also has to incorporate any growth into that solution. So where you're going as an organization? So having that insight can be really helpful in your designs if there are any existing systems that you need to integrate with, you know, integrations. We're not necessarily going to lift and shift or remove everything.
We want to make sure we play well in that sandbox and bring all the technologies together to give a seamless user experience.
4. With the rapid acceleration of AI in the workplace, with a lot of technology kind of booming in and especially I think HR professionals are getting nervous. What can HR professionals do to ensure that they remain adaptable and continuously embrace innovation in their roles?
Tricia:
I mean, one of them I think is what we kind of what Chris was alluding to or kind of directly said before about partnering with the right organizations, not trying to necessarily tackle and be a professional in all things technology when we need to be so focused on HR 'cause that's at the end of the day with our businesses. So I think finding the right organizations to partner with.
I also think it's just networking with other HR professionals, which is part of the reason that we're at the conference is, you know, HR professionals are on all, you know, lines of the journey.
And so partnering with people that you recognize or maybe doing things differently than you're doing them, utilizing technology and leaning into that and understanding how they're overcoming some of those challenges or how are they implementing things or how are they getting their heads wrapped around that. So I think that that would be the other piece for me.
Chris:
The three stays. Stay informed, stay in a growth mindset, and stay calm. I mean, that growth mindset, of course, and that's a cultural thing. So I would expand that beyond just HR, of course, but they have to be the leaders in that. And Tricia will have lots of examples of how she did that at Navient specifically. But you know, when you're informed, of course, you're much more comfortable with the different changes and adaptations that happened with technology. And so that makes it a little bit easier too. But staying calm, because you're absolutely right with all the changes that are happening, it's a little scary with everything that can happen and what it can do.
5. What are some of your favorite resources or media on this topic?
Tricia:
I mean, for me, I don't know, I'm so old school which is sad, but that's why I brought the experts. I guess for me, it's LinkedIn where I'm gaining a lot of my insights specifically about what other HR professionals are engaged in some of the HR publications as well that I track to kind of keep on top of that.
But I would say LinkedIn is huge, we have communication then I guess our round tables as well. We're involved with partnering with a lot of peer organizations, specifically in HR, and that's where we're gaining a lot of our insights for what you guys there let you go first.
Chris:
I do love AI, which is a great way to garner information, of course. However, I like podcasts a lot because it allows me to multitask.
Whether you're on a treadmill or the lawn mower, I can use the podcast and HR Tech Spotlight is one that I like a lot, along with Tectonic is another one that gives you a lot of just really good business and technology information and how people have leveraged it to become better, which is great.
And then the conferences, you know, as Tricia kind of alluded to, right, just the conference time and the real-life experiences that other people have to give you those breadcrumbs to go check it out for yourself and see how you could apply it.
6. Anything else that WI HR Professionals and People Leaders should know?
Tricia:
I think this is going to be a really fun, innovative session because we're kind of the professionals on the ground doing the work that they do. So I think that's one of the things that I'm looking forward to in the conference about, you know, sharing this and we plan to do it in a really fun way.
Meet Tricia:
Tricia Shields, Chief Human Resources Officer at Naviant, brings 20+ years of human resources expertise. Throughout her career, she has witnessed HR professionals across industries confront similar challenges: endless needs and a shortage of time, all while their roles continue to evolve rapidly. The answer: Adaptability and an innovative embrace of technology. Since leading her own HR department’s digital transformation, Tricia has been on a mission to inspire other HR professionals to use technology in new and different ways.
Meet Chris:
Chris Krause is a seasoned professional renowned for his strategic prowess and innovative leadership. With an illustrious career spanning three decades, he consistently spearheads transformative initiatives, across a variety of industries. His dedication to excellence and visionary approach to solutions continue to improve the HR experience for Naviant's clients.
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