# HR Tech Trends: Navigating Today and Shaping Tomorrowv | Tomorrowist ## Метаданные - **Канал:** SHRM - **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLFivdrmWbw - **Дата:** 11.05.2026 - **Длительность:** 18:39 - **Просмотры:** 76 ## Описание In this special episode of Tomorrowist, Cal Engstrom, Senior Researcher at SHRM, and Kenny Pyle, HR Technology Lead Analyst at SHRM, explore the HR technology trends reshaping the future of work — and what they mean for organizations navigating rapid transformation. From the evolving role of AI and automation to the growing need for connected HR and IT strategies, this conversation unpacks how leaders can modernize responsibly while building more agile, future-ready workplaces. 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In this podcast, we'll bring together authors, researchers, executives, and non-traditional experts to help you take on the challenges others haven't yet considered. Because you don't need to be a futurist. You need actionable insights now. You need to be a tomorrowist. Hello everyone and welcome. Uh I'm Jerry Juan, host of Sherms Tomorrow's podcast and thank you so much for joining us today for a conversation that couldn't be more timely. The HR technology landscape is evolving at an incredible pace. I think we all know that and we feeling it. Uh it's already a $40 billion market and it's projected to become more than double that in the next decade. But what's really driving that growth goes beyond technology. It's a fundamental shift in how work happens. AI is changing how HR teams operate, how employees experience work, and how organizations think about talent, skill, and culture. So today, we're unpacking what's really happening beneath the surface, what it means for leaders today, and how you can stay ahead of what's coming next. Today, I'm joined by two experts who spend their time analyzing these exact shifts. Kenny Pile, HR technology lead analyst at Sherm, and Cal Langstrom, senior researcher on Sherm's thought leadership team. Kenny, Cal, great to have both of you here. — It's great to be here. Thanks. Happy to be here. — Before we dive into these specific trends, I want to zoom out and level set for our audience. Uh from your vantage point, what are the biggest forces reshaping HR technology right now? And then why are they accelerating so quickly? Uh Kenny, we'll start with you and go to Cal. — I'd say that there is AI there, but maybe too much of a focus on AI. We're seeing our vendors really zero in on trying to put AI in everything. and HR professionals just want their systems to work. So there's this kind of tugof-war between how far can we push AI, but what the people who are using it really want is just a good UX. They want something that's intuitive and is reliable. So we're seeing that have a pretty fascinating dynamic right now. — Yeah. I mean AI is obviously around. and it's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. But honestly, I think it's the increased collaboration that we're seeing across HR departments and IT departments, even finance. Um, I think one of the biggest forces is as these departments start to integrate and as they start to work together more, we're all needing to see more collaboration come down in the future. — And then we've seen a massive surge in HR tech adoption post pandemic, right? both of these things uh trends are handinand um what's different about this wave um especially with AI not even just in the mix but being you know the forefront of the driving leaders of change uh compared to some of the different waves of HR transformation for this one Cal we'll start with you and then go to Kenny — sure um I think it's the changing of the role so you know pre- pandemic HR professionals they it's payroll talent management performance management recruiting those like the four core Um and we see HR systems and HL software reflect that and after the pandemic we're seeing a lot of HR reps having a more uh I guess engagement based learning opportunities when it comes to their employees. So rather than this silo approach like this is HR this is administration we're seeing a lot of uh employee focused roles that are starting to pop up and it's like really grab a foothold in the marketplace in general. Yeah, and I add to that we just saw a huge inflow of cash after the pandemic. And so all these platforms, it started out kind of in a one-to-one relationship with I'm working with uh payroll. So I'm going to have my uh payroll system work with within total rewards. They're all kind of starting to branch out a little bit. No one's really staying within their swim lane. So what were very clearly defined uh segments it's now a blurry boundary that we're having to navigate. — Excellent. Uh looking forward to everybody learning and also engaging with us. uh Cal and Kenny have been researching the key trends shaping the future of HR technology and although it's just not limited to seven, but we will cover the top seven today and then hopefully um uh spark some really great conversation and so I'll introduce each one and then we'll unpack what each of them mean. Uh number one is keeping up with HR technology. Uh one of the biggest challenges we hear from organizations is simply keeping up with the pace of change. How are HR leaders feeling about this moment right now? Yeah, I mean that's a great question. Um, we and talking with HR leaders and HR professionals in general, a lot of what we see is they all feel like they're falling behind. Um, but as that trend progresses and as people feel like they're falling behind, you start to wonder, well, is anyone falling behind? ### [5:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLFivdrmWbw&t=300s) Segment 2 (05:00 - 10:00) Um, and a lot of uh I guess to keep up with HR tech and those that are falling behind, we have to not modernize without intentionality. So a lot of it is uh when you modernize and when you try to keep up you have to make sure that you stick with those that you serve rather than those what even the market's showing in some way. — On that note um you know we talk about keeping up with things and things are changing so quickly that you know people are asking well how do I get ahead and how do you make it so that one you stay ahead of it and then two that you don't get left behind and make sure that it's timeless regardless of what the actual technology or the impact of those things are. — Yeah. Um I mean as uh as like automation and as like you stay ahead of that kind of uh of where modernization is going, you always have to ensure that ethical, transparent, fair use is first and foremost. You have to make sure that there's always intentionality behind what you do and what you want to do. Um and I think that that's you're going to hear that a lot from me today. — Yeah, I think Cal absolutely put it right. I think if there's a difficult time we're having right now where we're not making AI transparent and we're confused why there's a lack of trust that's driving this. So I think the foundation needs to be laid before the house is built on top of this and that foundation is pure trust. — One person at Sherm26 brings back great ideas. A whole team brings back a strategy. Register by May 15th before rates increase and make this year's investment count for your entire organization. — Let's talk about skills, right? Uh we're seeing rapid change in what's in demand. That's obvious. We're seeing it and we're being asked to do things that we didn't know existed months ago, not even years ago. And um what's fading on the other side of things, right? what is not being in demand and what are not what things are not being taught anymore expected and so in your opinion uh what stands out in the data right now whether it is a uh bunch of skills that are in demand or things that are not being asked for — so for me it's really about what's changing it's about what's growing fast because what's fading will happen it's something that we probably already are getting a sense of by the time we start to see things fade we've already moved on to the next thing so for me it's really about focus on what are what is the next thing are those new skills that are going to jump into everyone's consciousness that aren't on our radar but are going to be all we're thinking about in the future. — Um I have a follow-up question for either you or Cal, you know, when we you know AI is the buzz word, right? But it is such a big umbrella and so you know and then it needs to be disagregated to a certain degree to talk it about to talk about it in the proper context. Are there specific parts of AI that um HR leaders should be more mindful of and picking up as skills and teaching younger folks or is it just a broad understanding of how it is used and deployed so that you can have um you know u subjective uh capabilities input into the processes. So when we're looking at these job postings, this is looking at job postings from across the entire country, big uh really progressive organizations, organizations that are not terribly progressive and everything in between. When AI is coming up as a buzzword, it's just there. It's just present. And I think that's a reflection of just there are so many different aspects of AI that we need to be keeping track of. That's part of the reason why it is growing so quickly. I do think if we are going to be focused on what are those skills that you need to really help this next generation understand it's going to be those human skills that we talked about of how do I have a strong presence how do I connect with someone and how can I network across the organization so when I have a cross functional responsibility I have a strategy and I have a foundation for making the most out of that it's not the technology technology. This HR technology team here and we're telling you it's not about the technology. It's about how you get people in the best position to relate to each other in this environment that technology has created. — Cal thoughts on this one? — I think you covered it, Jenny. I I think it's beyond technology. It's that value. It's what can you create with it that matters rather than what it is. — Waiting for your career to take off? Well, don't. With Sherm certification, you earn more, get promoted faster, and lead with confidence. This is your sign to act. The best workplaces are led by SHM certified experts. If it's a work thing, it's a sherm thing. On the other side of the growth and the excitement, uh let's talk about talent development and specifically the areas that may ### [10:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLFivdrmWbw&t=600s) Segment 3 (10:00 - 15:00) be falling behind. Um our own research here at SHM reveals that some traditional development pathways are under strain. Uh what's happening and what macro forces are driving that shift? Yeah. So, building on what Kenny just talked about and what skills are trending, we're also noticing that like modernizing comes at a cost. Uh these priorities shift amongst talent development, amongst HR, amongst employees, leaders, etc. Um, and it's about what happens when we look at AI and when we want people to modernize learn how to use AI properly and how and like great benefits and all that AI could have is what's being forgotten about. Um, and that that's what makes this trend so interesting. I think it's really hard for us when we think about development or we think about how do I need to improve to go anywhere but AI because it is so new. There is so much I've been genuine reason to believe that it is just going to so dramatically alter our future. But we've been so overwhelmed with it and I'm sure if we did a poll in the audience, we'd have a fair amount of AI burnout going on. It's important to look beyond it. And it's important to remember that life did exist before AI and that we were concerned about uh things before AI and we don't let that focus, the immediacy, the almost frothing at the mouth approach that is happening here. We don't let that derail what we would be doing without it. So, I'd encourage everyone to ask yourself various times throughout the day, what would I be doing if I didn't have AI? What would how would I solve this problem if I didn't have AI? How what would be part of my development plan if AI wasn't in the picture? Make it part of your development plan. It needs to be there. You need to embrace this, but don't do it at the expense of everything else that you could be focused on. — That's a good suggestion, Kenny. uh as my kids say, you know, think as if you were in the 1900s and then we can sort of think about how we did things manually. Um there is a lot of conversation and we've seen it and we're seeing trends about it. Obviously, there's a lot of other macroeconomic factors uh now that are impacting the job market as well, but AI seems to be the larger driving force. um how are they being impacted and you know what what's really happening beneath the headlines of the perceived decline of entry-level job openings. — Yeah, it's a great question, Jerry, and I was really excited to look into this because I'll be honest, I've been a bit skeptical about a lot of the headlines and there are a lot of ulterior motives happening now. We've heard about AI washing when it comes to layoffs and like is this really happening? Is this really a thing or is it just maybe people are companies are a little more hesitant to go and hire more and so it's just compared to way things were just a few years ago in the postcoid boom maybe that's what we're seeing there's a hint of that going on I actually looked back a decade when we the when reliable job posting data was really being collected and actually the ratio of new hires people with zero to two years of experience versus the rest of that occupation. It's almost the same actually. We It's about the same level. So from if you want to call a decade a historic perspective, it's not that different. But when we look in more recently over the past couple years, we do see a steep decline. — It seems like we're constantly uh changing the goalpost of what the present is, what the future is, and how quickly things are changing. Uh but as we look to the future and there's a lot of different directions that this could go obviously from a technology macroeconomic and just cultural shifts. Um let's dive in. I'd like to hear from each of you. We'll start with Kenya and go to Cal. What are the broad signals that you're seeing out there in the marketplace and then uh get a sense of where things are headed? — So it's hard to hear over the AI signal that's out there. If you walk around any expo hall, all you're going to see is about agents this and agents that. Even just saying AI isn't going to cut it anymore. Um, I think the broad shift that we're going to see is more interconnectivity. We need data to talk to each other. This anything that is siloed and not easily connected with each other, anything that doesn't have great protections when it comes to regulating if any um confidential data is shared, they're just going to lose. That's just not going to be viable at this point. So that is the big trend. I don't know if this ### [15:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLFivdrmWbw&t=900s) Segment 4 (15:00 - 18:00) organizations are and vendors are seeing this but we we're definitely moving in that connected direction. — Thank you gentlemen so much for your expertise your knowledge and and sharing. You know I want to uh just you know frame this. We can have all the AI we want, but we need uh researchers like Kenny and Cal to really give us the contextually and expert and experience-based analysis to how to interpret this data. Right? Even if we were to feed all the data points and the research that we covered today into an AI or an LLM, we're not going to get these insights because it's at the end of the day that uh that nuance and that subjectivity that comes with being in the room and being at these tables and human conversations that AI can't create on their own to be able to have these conversations today. And so, um, would love to, uh, leave our audience with a practical tip and a to-do list, if you will, uh, and homework assignment. Um, we we'll start with Kenyan, go to Cal. Um, if you each could give one, um, tip or one thing to do, one assignment to our HR leaders that they can do today uh, to better prepare for the future of HR technology. What would that be? — I'd say it's remember who works for who. And there's two different ways you can interpret that. First of all, when you're working with your vendors, make sure they remember who they work for. If you're not happy, be loud. There's a big power asymmetry between you, but speak up. Make sure they know what you like and what you don't like. Don't let them design something that doesn't suit you. There's also just the broader question about HR and technology in general. Do we work for it or does it work for us? I think we get so focused on getting into the weeds and defining our work and our strategy potentially by the technology that is around us. We don't remember that we need to be catering and adjusting the technology to fit our needs. So remember who works for who. — I love that. I think my advice is on the internal side. It's and Keny's going to laugh at me again, but it's that intentional modernization. It's don't do things for the sake of doing things. Don't like implement something because it's needs to be implemented according to what others are saying. You it's a lot of focusing on how to make your workplaces better without removing that human element. And that that's where I'll leave it. — Awesome. Uh it's been so insightful. Learned a lot. uh Kenya Pal technology lead analyst here at Sherm and Cal Langstrom senior researcher on Sherm's thought leadership team uh thank you so much for joining us and again sharing only what you can share which is insights and interpretating the data not only from a human perspective but also how we the humans running our businesses and leading our teams can really use it to better our teams but also be prepared for the future and so to Kenya and Cal thank you so much for your contribution today and for the many of you joining across the country um wherever you are thank you for joining us today and we'll see you next time. If you enjoyed today's conversation, please subscribe to Tomorrow is wherever you get your podcast. We also publish a weekly newsletter with in-depth articles and the latest Sherm research to help keep you in the know about the trends shaping the future of work. You can subscribe and find all our episodes on our website at sherm. org/toist. Thanks for listening and remember, the workplace is changing rapidly. You don't have to be a futurist, be a tomorrowist. Sherm. --- *Источник: https://ekstraktznaniy.ru/video/50587*