But what about the workplace and, specifically, “listening” to conversations? This is where I believe the widely-used phrase of “Employee Listening” is a misnomer. Sentiment Analysis is better, yet for many it lacks gravitas and actionability. Even so, conversations is where real life happens. Conversations promote feelings of safety, empowerment, inclusion, and belonging. Conversations can also compromise these things. As such, if insights into the sentiments of these conversations can be gained, is there not a responsibility to do so? Through insight-based communication, policy, and process improvements, positive, beneficial sentiments can be perpetuated and even propagated. Through these same means negative, high-risk sentiments can be addressed before the lagging indicators (voluntary turnover, disengagement, etc.) highlight their presence.

Digital HR is just one among many business trends fuelled by rapid advancements in technology. As a business owner, you may also be wondering – is digital HR worth the investment?

Well, to answer this question, we need to understand what digital HR is in the first place.

Digital technology is transforming how companies can use data and analytics to optimize environmental factors such as light and temperature levels, traffic flow, and floorplans. Similar technologies can help them optimize another critical resource: the people who work there―both how they feel and perform. Combining traditional HR data and performance metrics with these newer data sources reveals workplace dynamics that were invisible to them even just a few years ago.

One of the most promising applications is in measuring inclusion and tracking its progress over time. But before companies can leverage these capabilities, they must first define what inclusion means. 

We each are thus responsible to actively NOT consent.

Intention and appropriate response. If our intention is to have a safe, inclusive, harmonious society then appropriate responses will entail not allowing space for bullying, intimidation, disrespect, shaming, and unjust violence. This means speaking out. It means holding family and friends accountable. At times it requires courage to intervene. None of this is comfortable. That said, if we’re truly working towards forming “a more perfect union” and ensuring “domestic tranquility” then each and every one of us must act accordingly, and do so without compromise every second of our lives. This is hard. It takes self and social awareness. It takes engagement, learning, and action.

The America of my youth was defined in stories of courage, kindness, creativity, connection, and the commitment to learn and improve: helping allies in Europe, the Marshall Plan, the civil rights movement, our adventures in space, our super cool music, sports, barbecues in the park, etc. I also saw a country dealing with and/or healing from Vietnam, Watergate, the Cold War, ongoing racism, oil crises, inflation, and numerous other challenges. In the end, though, this young boy saw a country, however imperfect, that was working to make things right, to make things better, to improve the lives of its citizens and many other peoples around the world.

People interact. We communicate. It’s what we do. Over eons, we as humans have improved the means and effectiveness in which we’ve conversed. We’ve needed to do so to perpetuate our species… to survive. In more civilized times and situations, we’ve needed to converse well in order to thrive. This is true in both personal and professional relationships. Regarding the latter: Most organizations — whether they be commercial, governmental, non-profit, or other — conversations about goals, processes, resourcing, development, rewards, etc. have remained esoteric and, in many cases, have proven personally deflating.

But, why? And what’s being done to improve these dynamics?

Organizations are comprised of people and the assets they use. They are formed at the outset of a business and, over time, to get work done. Employees do some of the necessary work. Other work is done by contractors, consultants, outsource providers, and alliance partners. Still, other work is done by hardware and software – machines – and increasingly smart machines that leverage robotics, sensors, predictive analytics, machine learning, AI, and a host of other innovative technologies and analytical techniques. In this way, over time, an organization changes form – ebbs and flows – much like an amoeba. It might stretch to use more employee-centric power during one period then shrink that capability to leverage third parties or technology during another period. It might then split, acquire, layoff, hire rapidly, outsource, automate… any number of things to change into an appropriate form to meet market and environmental conditions.

But, is the form an organization takes truly the appropriate organizational form or is it merely the one the comes into existence at a certain point in time?