There has been a recent explosion in the number of executives working on AI, Big Data, IoT Machine Learning, Blockchain… whatever their core expertise is (Marketing, Finance, IT, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Legal), they say they are today « working on AI » (AI is the most fashionable concept).
And no question seems to be permitted to those working on these strategic areas such as AI and Big Data. You would not dare challenge such buzzwords.
As a recruiter, I have to say I sometimes find it difficult to understand precisely what these executives really do in their job. I might dare ask one day: “What are you really doing?"
WeWork and the tech buzzwords
The recent WeWork case is a warning and a relevant picture of what is going on. WeWork attracted prestigious investors and reached an unbelievable valuation as the company managed to use buzzwords.
Let’s quote WeWork website. WeWork helps you « boost productivity and innovation with data-driven design and workplace technology » (innovation is another buzzword these days). What does it precisely mean? Apart from connecting your office to the Wifi, what does WeWork really offer you in terms of technology? The buzzword converted a real estate company into a tech company.
In the technology revolution, there has been a tendency in corporate communication to focus on the new tech-related business versus the core business. Many « traditional » companies pretend they have evolved into technology companies. Behind the tech smokescreen, you may need time to understand what they really do. You might not realize they still have tens of manufacturing plants, shops, hotels… and thousands of employees over 5 continents.
The recent case of GE Digital revealed it is not easy to convert a conglomerate into a software and tech solutions provider. We also saw that Continental and other major automotive suppliers are still making a large part of their revenues with their « traditional » business, versus their connected and autonomous driving business, well reported in the media.
There is an urgent need to be cautious when talking about technology. Big data, AI, Blockchain, IoT… are unbelievable revolutions when applied to concrete use cases. But the awakening will be rude if these revolutions remain fancy words.
Your people are more sustainable than your data centers
When answering what your company do (I mean really do), I think it has never been so essential to talk about people. I am not only thinking of an HR communication explaining how you value and develop people. It goes beyond that. We should understand you still have a strong link with the physical world and you are proud of it. We have enough of those communications focusing only on the data and technology side of the business.
If you are a manufacturing company, a retail company, a leisure and hospitality company… we should know you still have plants, shops, hotels and people working there! We should also know you are proud of that!
« Traditional » companies and their physical world offer employment opportunities that the pure tech world will never offer. Poorly qualified people with little connections to the labor market may indeed not fit at all with our virtual data and technology culture. A « traditional » hotel company has an ability to develop people Airbnb would never manage to recruit. Here is something you should consider when thinking about your company’s sustainability. Here is also something you should consider when defining the purpose of your company.
Please, next time, be frank. Do not hesitate to tell us what you really do.