Recently, a friend and I were discussing how to tackle a difficult transition. We joked about how you can repudiate an issue, rebuff responsibility and refute the consequences, but when you’re all alone… and you look into a mirror… the problem, and often the solution, are crystal clear.

Ready for the HR Tech Transition… Look in the Mirror

At her nursing school graduation, the instructor gave each of the young graduates a small hand mirror to keep in their pocket. If they were having a hard time with a physician, or unsettled by a patient encounter, she encouraged them to go to the bathroom, sit down in the stall, take out the hand mirror and have a conversation… with themselves. “You are a highly skilled and very capable nurse, you can handle this situation, you are good at what you do, etc.” She chuckled that she still has conversations with herself in the bathroom.

This week’s HR Tech Conference is smoking hot! There are a plethora of products, enterprise software and awesome technology to automate every part of HR. Options to drive HR productivity, enhance the candidate experience, develop talent pools, streamline the employee experience and implement collaboration tools to harness the power of communities for explosive results. There are so many slick options! However, the real issue is not the technology, but the changes in your processes and people that will be required due to make the conversion successful.

When was the last time you had a brutally honest conversation with yourself about the state of your HR technology? Do you have the project management and change management skills to make the transition successful? Do you have the facts and pricing prepared to discuss with your senior leadership team?

When faced with a difficult transition, I find its best to “get really honest” with myself first, before I have a conversation with my colleagues. (And yes, standing in front of a mirror and talking aloud actually works!) You may need to admit to gaps in functionality and inefficiencies in your current system, a system that you convinced them to purchase three short years ago.

How do you plan to take what you learned at the HR Tech Conference and apply it to your company? What practical tips and tricks can you take back to the office? Are you ready to change? I look forward to your comments.