(upbeat electronic music)
>> Live from Washington D.C.
It's theCUBE.
Covering Inforum D.C. 2018.
Brought to you by Infor.
>> And welcome back to Washington D.C.
We're in the Washington Convention Center here
for Inforum 2018, continuing the coverage here
on theCUBE, I'm John Walls
with Dave Vellante, we're joined now
by Anne Benedict, who is the
S.V.P. of human resources at Infor.
Anne good afternoon to you.
>> Thank you, thanks for having me.
>> You bet, thanks for being here.
Now, 17,000 employees,
so obviously you've got a lot
of responsibility there.
You're not only an Infor Executive,
but you wear the hat of being
an Infor client, (laughs) as well.
Tell us about that, and how that works out,
and, I guess, how you can test drive a lot
of different services on your own
before it goes out to the market.
>> I like to joke that I feel like I have
the best HR leadership role in the business,
or in the world perhaps, because I get to
not only lead a great company
full of great people, 17,000 employees
around the world, I'm so proud of them,
but then I also get to be a customer of one
of the greatest products in the HCM world
that there is, and I have a direct line
to the product managers, to the developers,
to the consultants who can really help us
to use our product to it's fullest advantage
internally for our selves.
So, it's like a toy box that every H.R. executive
dreams of, and it's right there at my door step
to test, to use, to innovate with them.
They're always open to our ideas, our feedback internally.
We're often a beta customer for the features,
and functionality that are coming out to our customers,
so it's a great position to be in.
>> So what about the relationship,
because there is a great give and take.
Obviously, because you are a tremendous resource
on the development side.
What is that exchange like,
and how does that work in terms
of what's working, what's not,
what you think others would want instead,
or what they'd like to tweak a little bit.
How does that work?
>> So, you know, we're trying to
sort of straddle a balance between
using the product as it's intended to be designed
for the breadth of our customers,
no matter what industry they're in.
We're obviously in a technology industry,
but we have a lot of health care customers,
government customers, services customers
who have their own particular needs.
So, we like to experiment with the technology
the way it's designed for other industries,
but then also I can make adjustments
for use for our own company as a services company,
as a technology company, and a good example
of that for example is I'm working
very closely with product management right now
to help them design the next iteration
of what our talent management suite will look like.
So, we have a design concept for how we want
to give performance feedback, for example,
internally at Infor, and we're
sharing that design the product management team
to help them create the next version
of the product that will meet the design requirements
that we've set out for ourselves,
and that I think a lot of other companies
are moving towards.
It's a modern approach to talent management,
and we're working very closely hand in hand
with product management to make sure
they're designing something that we,
we're co-designing it with them really.
So, what I'm expecting is for us
to have a really great next iteration
of that product that is very modern,
and up to date on what science
is telling us about performance feedback.
>> So, you're a pioneer, in a way,
but you probably don't want to mess with
with core H.R., that's table stakes.
Talent management is something that,
frankly, not a lot of companies do well.
So, you may be more receptive to experimentation there.
Is that a fair assertion?
>> Yeah, I would say that's true,
and also my background is,
I grew up in H.R. with quite a breadth
of experiences, but my depth of expertise
has always been on the talent management
and leadership development side.
So, that's been sort of where I've been wanting
to play with the product,
and give my point of view on where
I think it should evolve.
It's just my particular strength
that I bring, I think, to this role
and to the product as well.
>> How do you see the role
of the Senior H.R. Executive evolving?
How has it changed in the last several years?
How is, maybe, digital transformation,
this whole big data, the data movement?
How does that factor into that role,
and your vision of where that goes?
>> Yeah, I think companies are looking for
a different type of H.R. Executive
than they have in the past.
And I was fortunate that this wasn't by design.
It was very serendipitous, but my career path
led me, I think, in the exact right direction.
So, I started my first 10 years of my career
as a consultant at Mercer doing H.R. consulting.
So, I was consulting the companies how to make,
how to create the best H.R. department possible,
how to create H.R. strategy,
how to operationalize that.
And, it was that consulting mindset
that I've taken with me throughout my career.
After consulting I moved internally
to various companies, and that skill set
of just being able to identify a problem,
come up with a solution,
and measure an implementation,
I've taken with me in my role.
So, I think companies are looking
for H.R. executives who bring that
sort of mind set to the role.
And, I think that's what I've been able to do at Infor.
And then, I think also when I was a consultant
I was also advising customers and clients
on technology, and how to use technology for H.R.,
so that's why I'm so thrilled to have this role,
because it's the best of both worlds
where I get to play with the technology,
and also be a cutting edge H.R. leader.
>> Alright so-- >> Hopefully.
>> How do you asses the Infor HCM capabilities?
Come on, give us the good, the bad,
what's on the to do list.
You know, give us the rundown.
>> Yeah, I think it's a phenomenal product,
and I'm not just saying that.
>> Okay, what makes it phenomenal?
>> When I walked in the door a year
and nine months ago we were just about to go live with
the multi-tenant cloud product.
We were one of the first to do that,
and we did it in over 65 countries
with 17,000 employees, and since then
we have subsequently rolled out
more functionality, benefits enrollment,
absence management, compensation planning, LMS,
and each time we learn a little bit more.
I can't underestimate the importance
of getting the process right before you get
the technology in, and the change management
that goes around it.
If I would say, I would give us a B
it might have been around those areas,
but the product itself is really
it has the perfect balance of coming out
of the box with some functionality
that you can use right away that's best practice process.
>> So you get value right off the bat.
>> Yeah, and not a lot of configuration required,
easy to get in.
We implemented it with that broad scope
in a very, very short amount of time,
which is almost impossible with our competitors, so.
So, I think for that it's fantastic,
and then for the specific needs
that we've had it's been very easy
to build that in as well, so it has
best of both worlds I would say.
>> So, we saw some pretty cool demos yesterday
around talent science, and it struck me
as an audience member.
There were all kinds of different kinds of attributes
of, you know, ambition and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera,
but you know the one that wasn't on there
was like performer, but it struck me
that these attributes lead to performance.
I guess that's the basic philosophy,
but I wanted to test that with you.
Just give me the bottom line.
>> Yeah.
>> But it really is more complicated than that, isn't it?
>> It is, yeah, and that's one
of the most exciting things about H.R.
right now too, I think.
And this comes back to H.R. Executive
of the future is,
I come from an IO Psychology background
where data, we used to have to do experiments
on subjects with, and collecting data
was always the hardest part to studying work,
and studying personalities, studying behavior,
and now we have all this data available
to us that we've never had before.
And, talent science is a perfect example
of how data is really empowering our decisions.
And, to answer your question
about how it is predicting performance;
A particular attribute doesn't necessarily lead
to performance in any role.
So, in one role, ambition, really high ambition
is actually not a factor for success.
In another role, it is.
So, it really is, there is no right personality profile
that can predict success in any role.
It's very role specific.
And what talent science is able to do
is really find the science behind
what is the specific role that will lead to success,
and what are the attributes that will
lead to non-success, also in a role.
And, that's such a powerful thing.
What we've found with talent science
is that depending on the role
we can reduce turnover by 20 up to 70%
by choosing people who fit a role profile
versus those who don't.
>> It's interesting it's like, you know, those books,
like the seven attributes or-- >> Or Covey--
>> Of highly successful people, but essentially
you're codifying that by role.
And, that's true.
It doesn't just work for any role.
Sales person may be different than an engineer,
may be different than a an operations person et cetera.
>> So, this is really fascinating,
because you have the human science, right,
we're all imperfect, we make crazy decisions,
sometimes irrational, we act wild,
or predictably, whatever it is.
And, now you're taking data science,
and overlaying with that,
so you're trying to come up with some kind of
predictable markers, or whatever,
for imperfect beings in a way.
How's all that merging, I mean,
how is technology being the glue in that process?
>> Yeah, well I think there's no such thing
as right and wrong, or perfect and imperfect.
You know, I could get into a leadership speil,
but any strength that either of you might have,
if you use that to an extreme
it becomes a weakness, actually.
And, like I used in the example
of ambition, high ambition in certain roles,
may not be a factor toward success.
Where as other roles it might be.
Whatever particular DNA, behavioral DNA,
that you bring to a role as an individual,
it's incumbent upon us as a company
to figure out what is the right role
for the personality that you bring,
and the behavior, and the strengths that you have.
And, that's what we're really able to do
with talent science, which is,
so, if you apply for a role where
you don't match the profile I may
be able to propose to you,
hey, you have really high ambition
that's not right for this role,
but it may be right for this other role.
Have you ever considered that?
And, that way we can really, you know,
we talk about human potential here, at Inforum.
That's the real tool, real tangible way
that we can really find the human potential
in every single person, no matter
what their profile looks like, or strengths,
or weaknesses, or faults, as you say.
Whatever-- >> Whatever it is, right?
>> Whatever they come with we can find the right fit.
>> Does technology, generally,
and say artificial intelligence
or machine intelligence, specifically,
can it moderate or adjudicate human bias?
Or, does it actually reinforce it?
>> Yeah, that's a very good question,
and obviously very pertinent to today.
I think, a couple of things.
So, the assessment I'm speaking of,
we would never rely on the machine to make a decision.
So, it's telling you, as a manager,
here are some of the gaps
that a particular individual has
towards the role that you are planning to hire them for,
but we suggest that you ask these interview questions,
and make a decision for yourself.
So, you really can't replace
that human intervention in the process,
that human judgment, their sense from an interview,
but it really helps them hone the interview
in on the things that they really should focus on.
Figuring out, are we comfortable with those gaps?
Does the person realize they have those gaps?
And, really, for both the candidate and the manager
to make the right decision.
So, in the assessment it's always,
we never rely on the machine to make a decision.
But, it is incumbent on us to make sure that
as we're designing these tools,
as we're designing the technology behind them
that we have as much diversity in the people
who are designing them as possible.
To make sure they're being designed
in a way that doesn't have bias built into them.
And, that's why it's so important
for us to have diversity in technology.
Why we're doing SB code.
Why we believe in bringing up people
from all backgrounds to participate in technology,
'cause it's so important to have that diversity,
as we're building this stuff.
>> Can't take the humans out of the equation, yet.
>> There's still some gut check, right,
there's still some intuition that has
to come into play here.
>> Yeah, absolutely, and that's one
of the attributes of humans that we,
machines can't replace yet.
So, that ability to empathize, the ability to show
all the emotional skills, we know machines can't
do that today, maybe someday they will.
But, today they can't, so humans will bring that.
But, I really think that the power comes
in the combination of AI, and machines, and humans.
And, that's what we're talking about here
around human potential.
It's the power of the combination of the two.
And, I think we will see that that combination
will be required for a very long time,
before machines take over the world (laughs)
>> I always tell the story,
John and I interviewed Garry Kasparov.
>> That was great.
>> The great chess champion. >> Chess master.
>> When he lost to the IBM supercomputer,
instead of giving up he said,
"I'm going to beat the supercomputer",
so he took machines plus humans
to beat the supercomputer, so to this day
the greatest chess player in the world
is a machine and a supercomputer.
So, that is a great example of augmentation.
Now, it probably doesn't work so well
for autonomous vehicles, but--
(all laughing)
>> Well now, thanks for being with us.
Thanks for sharing the story.
We appreciate that, the time.
And, if you see our application come down the pike--
>> Okay (laughs)
>> Flag us where we're deficient, if you would, please.
>> You'll be welcome, you're welcome.
>> Excellent (laughs)
>> Thanks for having me.
>> Thank you, Anne Benedict,
thanks for being with us.
We'll be back with more here on theCUBE.
We're live in the nation's capitol, Washington D.C.
>> That was awesome.
>> Thank you.
(upbeat electronic music)