Workhuman Live returned to London for a second year.

After grounding the 400 HR leaders in the audience with a meditative sound gong bath led by former Gladiator James Crossely, aka Hunter, the HR tech giant’s CEO and Co-Founder Eric Mosley brought us all back to reality by asking “is it the end of work as we know it?

As Holly Ransom, Workhuman Live London’s MC and CEO of Emergent Global, stated in her introduction, HR are future-proof and they are part of the answer to creating an even better future of work. “Monumental change starts with you”, the HR leader.

Mosley then joked and promised to follow the rule of keynotes in the 2020s; they have to be about AI.

Workhuman CEO on AI, data and recognition

Workhuman is about to turn 25 years old, and its mission since day one has been to “make work more human; it’s in the name”.

“We exist to prove that human connection is the most powerful force on earth” – technology and AI just helps to deepen those relationships and the interaction between people.

For Workhuman, human connection is fostered through recognition and appreciation – “people see the full human, they see you for you”, not just in the context of the work you’re doing.

All of this drives more engagement, and lower turnover – as Mosley shared in this keynote, people don’t want to leave where they feel like they belong.

This recognition data is a “true honest representation of the working world” – it is a single source of truth and is “so much more powerful than any other place in HR”, stated Mosley.

Compared to data from places like surveys and performance views, recognition data is voluntary, authentic and honest – “when I say thank you to a colleague, I don’t have to do that. It’s not part of my job spec to do that. I took time out of my life to express that gratitude”.

It tells a story of your organization that might be impossible to capture through an org chart or as part of the job description. It gives managers and leaders insight about people’s skills, as well as how they are going above and beyond and collaborating with unexpected teams.

For instance, Mosley shares the example of Merck, which uncovered 150 sub-communities within its organization from Workhuman – this isn’t visible on the pharma giant’s organization chart but was identified by recognition data.

So, when this truly human recognition data is combined with AI – Workhuman is leveraging AI across its Workhuman Cloud product suite – you get true human intelligence, which “empowers everyone to be better and more productive”.

Mosley is clear that AI is just lots of algorithms – but “when you give them data, that’s when the intelligence happens. If you give them incredible data, you get incredible results.”

Therefore, for Mosley, if organizations can do recognition right (powered by AI), it could disrupt the HCM ecosystem – this data set can answer higher level, and deeper, questions, than traditional HR tech approaches.

“It’s like having a very knowledgeable consultant that has complete 100% total recall in your pocket at all times” – AI is a “rocket ship for the mind”, no-one in your organization has the answer to everything, but “with these types of technologies, now everyone has access to the answer at their fingertips at any time.

“That’s a profound change for work – this is an exponential change. Everybody is working off having all of the knowledge of everyone in the company – that’s a really incredible place to be in the future”, notes Mosley.

In fact, Workhuman is so confident in the statements above and that it can guarantee a return on investment (ROI) on recognition that if any of its customer don’t, the HR tech giant will give them their money back.

How to make the business case around recognition

In an exclusive interview with UNLEASH at Workhuman Live London, the HR tech giant’s Chief Human Experience Officer (another way of saying CPO) KeyAnna Schmiedl shares that her own journey to Workhuman was linked to the connection between humans and tech.

“It’s not just about your recognize me for what I am doing at work, but you see me as a whole person. And that being expressed in a platform, in a piece of software, captured my attention”.

This is central to why Schmiedl made the career shift from senior HR leader roles at big commercial brands (like Santander, Wayfair and Mozilla) to lead the HR function and become customer zero for Workhuman last year.

KeyAnna Schmiedl, Chief Human Experience Officer, Workhuman.

“The thing about dong people work at a company that’s focused on the human experience at work is that you’re part of the business strategy”, adds Schmiedl.

UNLEASH was keen to find out what that strategy looks like, and Schmiedl’s advice to her HR peers who are struggling to make the business case and find that ROI around recognition and engagement.

“There’s two different ways to approach this – one is the logical way, and the other one comes from a place of care,” notes Schmiedl.

Logically, “your organization is nothing without the people you hire”, “you don’t make the progress you’re looking for, and, ultimately, you don’t hit your financial targets”.

Yes, people can be unpredictable, “but the things that are unpredictable about them are the things that recognition can actually help you predict”. If you want to make retention, engagement, experience, satisfaction, a little less fuzzy, and become a bit more tangible, “recognition system can help with that”, and it’ll save companies money in the long-run.

Then there’s the argument for businesses that want to really take care of their people – “people want to work at an organization where they feel like their individual purpose aligns with the organization’s values”.

“That’s what recognition gets you. This is more than a job, you’re more than just a cog in the wheel. You feel connected, you feel like you belong – it’s not just your boss or your immediate team that sees you, it could be anybody across the organization that you can have an impact on”, adds Schmiedl.

Ultimately, however, Schmiedl makes it clear that whenever decisions are made based on recognition data, it is essential that companies ensure humans are kept in the loop.

The data is there to help inform your decisions, it does not make the decision for you” – the data is a tool, not the sole truth.

Keeping this top of mind helps to ensure that recognition programs remain unbiased and fair – everyone needs to have the opportunity to be seen by their peers and leaders.