¿Qué ocurrió en HR Tech? IA, productos e información desde adentro

Hey, everybody, it’s Gene Marks and welcome to another episode of the Paychex THRIVE Week in Review podcast. Now, you know, if you're a loyal listener and I hope that you are, I know that every week I take some items from the news and talk about them and how they impact our business and whatnot. But we're going to do something different this week, mainly because there was big news. 

Just very recently last week, there was a huge HR technology conference that took place in Vegas and our own Rob Parsons, who is Manager of Brand and  Content, visited Vegas – was there – and he conducted interviews with some people in the HR tech world that we're going to be actually, you know, broadcasting or publishing over the next few weeks so that, you know, you're really up to date on the things that are going on in HR tech.

So, first of all, Rob is joining me today. Rob, thanks for being here. I'm so glad you were able to take the time. 

[Rob Parsons, guest]

Fantastic, Gene. Thanks for having me. It was so many great interviews, a lot of great content. So, I'm looking forward to sharing it with your audience.

[Gene Marks, host]

Okay, good. So, you've recovered from Vegas. I'm glad to hear that. You look fine. Everything is good. Tell me a little bit about what you saw, what was exciting about the show?

[Rob Parsons, guest]

You know, the show was really interesting, and it really was a nice follow on to last year's show, at least with the main thing that we saw was AI. Last year everybody was talking about AI. Of course, it was all the news, but all they were doing was talking. It was very much, “Oh, we have it.” “We have it, too.” “Oh, me too.” Maybe some people were bolting to large language models on top of existing apps, but there wasn't any real gains. 

Well, this year we started seeing some real gains, some real specific use cases, some real positive outcomes coming from that. So, that was very interesting. There's also, an it’s no surprise, a real focus on employees still and empowering employees via technology. I think it goes to the fact that it's so hard to find people to keep them, to keep them engaged. And tech, how can that play a role? How can it make people feel more a part of the businesses where they're working?

[Gene Marks, host]

So, yes, So, Rob, you know, you bring up some really good issues. And obviously it is a big concern for businesses to attract and retain good employees and also leverage tech to make them as productive as possible. So, give me a little insight as to what you, what you saw and what we can expect to hear in the coming weeks about how something like HR tech is helping us be more productive and making life in the workplace a little bit better.

[Rob Parsons, guest]

Yeah, well, there's a couple layers that I think and a lot of it starts with the challenges that businesses are facing. That's what really motivates people in the tech industry to try to deliver solutions. You know, first of all, we know finding people, keeping people, upskilling people. Huge challenge, especially in light of the multigenerational workforce. Back when we were kids, one size use to fit all. That's what they offered. That was what was there. Things are very diverse now. A lot of different opinions, a lot of different needs. And businesses are really trying to meet employees where they're at now and really trying to serve the needs of all these different workforces with all their different places that they're at in life. So, that's that was very interesting to see how tech can come into play there.

Another area, you know, we talked about AI, kind of the back side of that is this concept of data governance and data management and understanding your data and having good data and having clean data. The best AI in the world is only as good as the input: and garbage in, garbage out. We know the old adage. So, it was really interesting to see people talking about the importance of an all-in-one platform, and maybe the platform doesn't have to do everything, but that platform is going to help you manage that data. Have one single place of truth, so to speak, and really help you then start to get the most out of AI, other tools, the employee empowerment tools that we've been talking about, a lot going on there. 

So, those were some of the big, deeper currents of challenges that companies were looking at and trying to exploit.

[Gene Marks, host]

So, finding employees, retaining employees, you know, cleaning up data, having good data governance, you know what HR technology did you find or actually how are they going to be addressing these kinds of issues?

[Rob Parsons, guest]

Well, I'll use Paychex as an example, because there were some great products launched at the show and they were very interesting. One was called the Paychex Recruiting Copilot in partnership with Findem. And John Phillips will be one of our guests in one of the podcast episodes talking about AI, in general, and how it can come into play.

But this solution really leverages AI to find the people you need, even if they're not looking for a job. So, the days of posting a job and hoping somebody who's good is going to find your breadcrumb. Those days are gone. Now, we're going to go out. It's going to find them for you and find exactly what you want in terms of culture fit, skill fit, location, all the things you're looking for. So, that was a really interesting solution to the whole challenge around finding them. 

We also found the, you know, the Paychex has a new solution. It was actually an award-winner called Perks, Flex® Perks, and it's like a benefits marketplace and it's free to business owners to use and it's all voluntary benefits, but a wide range of benefits that employees can take advantage of.

And this was really interesting because this is how tech was coming into play to help that diverse workforce. Not everybody wants pet insurance. Not everybody's down with retirement. Not everybody needs tuition assistance. But if you put that whole package together, now, people can pick and choose what they want, what they need. And it gives businesses the opportunity to really offer that whole range of benefits without breaking the bank. So, that was a real interesting technology. 

Another one that was great. We all we talked about, okay, we want to find them. We want to keep them. They got to work when they're there. They've got to be productive, and Paychex Engage – Flex® Engage – was a great tool for that. That talks about everything from collaboration, kind of like a social network for your company, for people to interact, recognize, celebrate wins, connect, see teams, see where you're, where you're connected to other people. And that was that was just the part of it because it ties into performance management and tying you into the goals of the company and the goals of the business and what they're trying to get to with your individual goals. And how do we measure that, how we track that? 

The days of the once-a-year review are long gone. You know, people want constant feedback. They want to know they're doing well. They want to know they're lined up correctly. So, that comes into play. 

And then finally, compensation management, that last tour, that last part of the puzzle; I did well, now what am I getting paid? How am I managing that? So, that was a great tool in terms of retention.

And then finally, the last piece of the puzzle was the insights. Paychex has an analytics, an HR analytics tool with insights that surfaces really important information. So, you can see people who are a flight risk. You can see if your compensation strategy is competitive in the marketplace. And that was like that last, that last piece of the puzzle, so you can see how everything's working and how it's all working together.

So, it was really a robust solution set throughout the entire employee lifecycle. That was really a nice microcosm of what we were seeing at the show overall.

[Gene Marks, host]

That's great stuff. I mean, this and Paychex is one of the country's leading HR platforms. So, you know, by leveraging tech it's enabling employers not only recruit better, to compensate, better performance management, better leverage. It's all, it's all really good stuff.

Now, you were there for a few days. You were walking the floor, you were interviewing people, you're checking out some other companies that are doing some cool stuff. And we've got some of these interviews coming up, right? So, tell me a little bit about what our audience can expect to be hearing and seeing over the next few weeks as we roll these interviews out. Who'd you talk to?

[Rob Parsons, guest]

Yeah, I'm really excited about this, Gene. It's just some really. I love talking to really smart people and yeah, there were some just some great interviews in place. We've got Stacey Harris, Cliff Stevenson from Sapient Insights Group. They've been doing an annual survey of HR technology for years now. It's really well-regarded in the industry and it's great insights and great information into what's really happening with our technology. What are the trends? What are people buying? What are people using? And their talk was just really a lot of great information, a lot of great insights around what's happening in HR tech overall. 

Then I talked to Steve Boese and Trish Steed from H3 HR Advisors. Now, they're an analyst firm, been around for years, but Steve and Trish are both – they've been practitioners, analysts. They run their own HR Happy Hour podcast now At Work in America. They brought a real people-centric view to what's happening. You know all the technology in the world's great, but if people aren't adopting it, if people – if it isn't addressing people's real needs – it's just another whizbang. It's not getting you where you need to be. That was a very, very enlightening conversation, very human. 

Then we had Pete Tiliakos. He's the founder of GXT Advisors. He owns his own podcast HR and Payroll 2.0. Pete gave me a great quote and it plays into the employee empowerment, but I use this quote in many of the interviews afterwards. He talked about people are getting tired of the Jetsons at home and Flintstones in the office, and talking about their technology. That's like, I've got my phone, so why am I using this archaic platform to check in my time? It's just it was it's ridiculous. 

Pete had a lot of great thoughts, a lot of great insights, and a lot of the reasons why we have to take this tech seriously and thoughtfully with the employee in mind. 

And then finally, John Phillips, who I'd mentioned from Findem. He did talk a bit about the Recruiting Copilot. You know, it's a great new solution. But I thought it was really insightful how he talked about AI as a broader solution. AI, what its place is, what its role is, where it's going, how you can use it, how you should not use it. Really, a lot of good information there that I think your listeners are going to find valuable.

[Gene Marks, host]

These are some amazing interviews and I'm really looking forward to listening. I'm going to be introducing these interviews as we do this every week and then turning it over to you so that you can run with the show and, you know, just give insights to our audience. Where can we look for these things, right? You know, tell us where we can find these podcasts?

[Rob Parsons, guest]

Well, these four interviews are going to be on the THRIVE podcast and you can listen to that anywhere you listen to podcasts. We also have the YouTube channel for that. We also did – and they'll be posted on our YouTube channel – a lot of interviews with different partners, different product partners, different Paychex personnel, giving their own perspective and their own insights on employees, on the workforce, on the marketplace at large right now. Talking about issues like financial well-being, holistic wellness, how to adopt technology, how to buy the right technology, how the human element comes into play, and the importance of the HR professional in this equation, and working with the IT and being cooperative and not using technology to replace the human element, but really to empower and augment the human element. So, there's just a lot of great information on YouTube. It'll be on our paychex.com, and of course on the Paychex THRIVE podcast.

[Gene Marks, host]

You heard it here first. We are going to be publishing some great interviews over the next month that Rob conducted with some really smart people on the floor of HR Tech, and if you go to Paychex YouTube site, you'll see a whole bunch of other great videos that will be highlighting a lot of the technologies that will be changing your business in the not-too-distant future.

So, this is definitely stuff worth investing your time. Rob, really appreciate your time. I'm excited to see these interviews and to listen to them. I know I will be learning a lot that I can take back to my company and also to my clients. So, thank you for everything that you're doing, and we're all set to go Look forward to it.

[Rob Parsons, guest]

Awesome. Thank you, Gene, and thank you to your listeners, as well. This was a lot of fun.

[Gene Marks, host]

Everybody, we've been speaking with Rob Parsons. He's the Manager of Brand and Content at Paychex who is going to be sharing with you guys some great insights on HR tech from the HR Tech show in Vegas. I look forward to it and so should you. 

My name is Gene Marks. Thank you so much for listening or watching. We I'll see you again next time on the Week in Review. Take care now.

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