Humans have walked the earth for 20,000 years. One could argue that until the time of the Lascaux Cave paintings in France in 17,000 BCE, the only way for humans to communicate was to stand face to face and speak (grunt) directly.. We have a rich history – from cave paintings to tablet etchings, smoke signals, hieroglyphs, the Rosetta Stone, Gutenberg’s press, telegraph, telephone, and now the Internet, web browsers, SMS – with virtual reality on the horizon.
The 21st century has brought amazing new technologies –great advances, that have also hindered our relationships and interpersonal growth. It’s easy to make a Skype call. There is no risk to sending a broad email. This is where skills matter. The painter in Lascaus not only needed to know their message but had to understand the medium. Gutenberg didn’t craft his own message, he realized that the Bible would be the proof of his technology. Da Vinci and Michelangelo pushed the medium to convey existing messages, with their own message baked in.
As we enter the 21st century, communication channels abound. SMS, Skype, Facetime, email, Facebook, blog, website article, podcast, WhatsApp, Netflix, YouTube – as well as traditional media outlets – TV, newspaper, magazine, radio. Almost all of these give the individual the ability to publish their own message to large audiences. In this world, we have teenagers becoming YouTube stars –Bieber and others - who bring their own message to the masses using new technology.
This new era of communications has huge ramifications for HR professionals. The most obvious of which is to search these channels to learn more about candidates and employees. Doing a web search on a new candidate has been common practice for years.
These tools empower all of us to connect as humans. If the traditional interview process involves an applicant screening, background search, phone screen, and then flying a candidate for a face to face interview – these new technologies now enable a virtual conversation at every stage of the process.
As we enter 2018, it’s incumbent upon all of us to become savvy in the new tech and to learn and establish a presence on each of these new channels. The best and brightest 21st century talent thrives in these worlds – and when it comes to recruiting, retention, and engagement, the most successful HR professionals will be those who navigate these channels.
Ross Smith, FRSA Modern Workplace Engineering - Supportability Ross is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and blogger. Author of The Practical Guide to Defect Prevention and holds seven patents. He is currently a Ph.D. Scholar, part of University College Dublin's SmartLab program, researching the impact of AI, robotics, and automation on worker displacement. He has worked at Microsoft for over 28 years and is a member of the Leadership Council for the Anita Borg Institute, co-chair for Grace Hopper Organizational Transformation track. He is a co-leader of ABI Local in Seattle, and part of the gender partner LT and ”male ally” panel discussions at the IEEE Women in Technology and National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT) Summit and TechCrunch. Work with iUrbanTeen and Native Americans at Microsoft. He is a member of the board of Spreeha, working to break the cycle of poverty. Developed 42projects to promote cultural change, develop organizational trust and improve the lives of the managed. To help develop the next generation’s interest in STEAM (STEM+Arts), he works with Skype in the Classroom program and events like iUrbanTeen day at Microsoft. He was invited to the White House for discussion on women in STEM. Keynote speaker for the ARTBA’s Transovation 2014-2016. The work of his teams has been mentioned in Forbes, The Economist, the Wall Street Journal, PSFK, the American Journal of Play, Harvard Business Review, and the London School of Business. He has presented at SXSW, MIT Solve, Grace Hopper, Serious Play, Games for Change, and several other large conferences. His academic research papers are published on ResearchGate. He is a blogger for SHRM has worked on Skype Translator. He is an avid reader and loves to travel.
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