Musings from my 20th HR Tech Show

As I sit on the plane on my way home from HR Tech, it’s hard to sit still knowing the momentum I am feeling around the Employee Experience space. This phrase has been thrown around for a few years, but it has never been more apparent than now who is going to own this space for the near future- ServiceNow.

HR Tech is a reunion of sorts. This being my 20th in a row. There are always old faces and new faces. People over 20 years that I have either worked with or for, competed with or partnered with, sold to or tried to sell to, and in many cases a mix of them all. The first thing that happens when you run into each other, usually after a hug, is “what are you doing now?” Two years ago I answered with a pretty deep explanation and got the proverbial “good luck stare”. Last year, the chat went a little deeper but people seemed to get it...or at least act like it. This year was very different. More times than not it was met with “WE need to talk”.

Next was our experience on the expo floor. When we were presenting in the ServiceNow booth, the crowd got bigger as time went on. For those that have never presented in a booth, it’s like being the opening band at a concert. There are people there only to save a spot for something following you. Usually, people come and go as the entertainment is not worth the wait. Always a great confidence booster when you are presenting. After all, I believe that speaking in front of people instills more fear than even the fear of death according to polls. Instead, they wanted to hear what we had to say. I was asked real questions..and follow up questions. Engaged. What a relief.

Finally, there was the demo hall. When it was time for ServiceNow’s mobile onboarding demo, it felt like Bono (not Jeremy) had entered the room. There was a buzz. People were grabbing their lunch to go and heading into a packed room. It was standing room only. Not only that but once the demo started, people were taking pictures of the demo screen. Clearly they were seeing something very different then they had seen before. Time to bring that home to the boss! This is what people have been asking for when they say onboarding for years. It’s finally here.

It’s certainly an exciting time here at The Anti. We are ¾ of the way through another record-breaking revenue year. Pretty amazing as we remain the only partner 100% focused on the Employee Workflow modules on the ServiceNow platform. That focus has led to some pretty awesome client satisfaction scores.. 9.2/10! The scores are one thing, but the more important thing is the “client for life” pattern I’m seeing. Phrases like go-live being replaced with go begin. Let’s improve on that first deployment. The employee experience has to always get better, otherwise, complacency kicks in. Adoption wanes. ROI disappears. Sound like a pattern? It’s our mission at The Anti to continuously improve upon the employee experience. Alongside our amazing partner, ServiceNow.