I attended an international meeting about a month ago with a mix of different nationalities. We Swedes spoke Swedish among ourselves while the Danes spoke English with each other throughout the meeting. This has made me reflect on how we should actually approach language at work. Additionally, you'll receive a report on the status of the HR Tech market worldwide, where investments and acquisitions are scarce. That is, the news in this newsletter will mostly focus on other topics in the HR, Tech & innovation field.
Have a great day ☀️
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As an HR Tech analyst, I continuously explore ways to improve our workplaces. Last month, I discussed what the world's most modern organizations are doing. They focus on the employee through an emphasis on Employee Experience. (If you want to learn more about it, you can join our webinar on May 7th at 12:30 👈)
Today, I'm addressing something very non-digital:
In Denmark 🇩🇰, English is the norm in professional contexts, facilitating integration and broadening the talent pool. Yet in Sweden, there's a lingering preference for Swedish, hindering our ability to attract non-Swedish speakers—a significant challenge in today's competitive job market. We have, and have had, an inclusive immigration policy, meaning we welcome many from other countries, but we generally struggle to change ourselves and do things differently to integrate all these people into our workplaces effectively.
Embracing English isn't just about linguistic convenience; it's about embracing diversity and having a globally oriented mindset. By adopting English as a common language in the workplace, we create an environment where individuals from different backgrounds can thrive, contribute, and participate in the dialogue every day. Both socially and professionally.
We often have English as the company language - "on paper." But in the office, we speak Swedish 🇸🇪
Imagine the possibilities:
Just as we've evolved in many other areas, it's time to evolve in our language practices as well. We are a small country with a small language.
I often find myself asking "Swedish or English" in my own office, thereby forcing several who don't have Swedish as their native language to speak Swedish. When I could just as easily speak English. Let's learn from our Danish colleagues and prioritize effective communication over language barriers. By using English as the language in our workplaces, we pave the way for a more inclusive job market
The number of investments and acquisitions in the industry is low right now. According to Venero Capital Advisors, which monitors the HR Tech industry, the entire technology sector is feeling the effects of a slowdown in venture capital financing, and HR Tech is no exception. After a record-low fourth quarter last year, $1.7 billion was invested in WorkTech during the first quarter of 2024, representing a 30% increase compared to the previous quarter.
However, this increase in value is due to a limited number of larger deals invested in later stages, rather than a broader recovery. Overall, the number of funding rounds remained unchanged from the previous quarter, hovering near a five-year low.
Artificial intelligence has been a significant driver of investments overall, but in HR Tech, most use cases are not yet transformative. For vendors, this means that funding may be hard to come by, especially since borrowing costs are still high. Although venture capital firms are still investing, it takes longer to complete funding rounds, business plans often need to be revised, and requirements are now higher at all funding stages.
On the other hand, M&A (mergers and acquisitions) are a bright spot with a steady and consistent flow of acquisitions every quarter. During the first quarter of 2024, 93 acquisitions were made in HR Tech, representing a 12% increase compared to the previous quarter.
For HR Tech companies in general, 2024 is expected to be a slower year than 2023 in terms of revenue growth. The median revenue growth rate is expected to be 12%, compared to 18% last year. Although it's still too early to say for certain, analysts expect 2025 to be similar to 2024, with a median annual revenue growth of 13%.
The companies with the worst growth/negative growth include recruitment tech, but they seem to bounce back with better growth in 2025 when the market economy is expected to improve.
We at HR Digi, together with Sapient Insights Group, are conducting a survey on how HR digitization looks in Sweden in 2024 from the users' perspective, as part of Sapient's global survey.
The survey takes different amounts of time to complete, but expect at least an hour!
Sapient's survey is answered by approximately 2,500 different companies worldwide each year, and the goal is to involve a larger number of Swedish companies answering the survey to then be able to share unique insights from Sweden, i.e., a Swedish report!
2024 marks the 27th year the survey has been conducted, so there's plenty of historical data to draw from!
The survey provides answers on which technologies and methods companies use and how it affects their operations. This means that the survey is independent of the provider and area. What you use, you answer.
The results of the research are then shared in early autumn at the HR Technology Conference. With enough responses in Sweden, we will organize a Swedish overview.
The survey is designed to fit everyone in the organization who has information about the HR tech being used. And there may also be more respondents from the same organization based on their own area of responsibility.
Everyone participating in the survey receives a copy of the comprehensive final report.
You can rest assured that all responses are confidential and used only in the aggregate results.
A Swedish report is the goal for 2024! 🇸🇪 >> Link to the survey <<
Swedish Happy at Work International, a provider of engagement surveys, is acquired by Finnish Webropol, thereby strengthening its presence in the Nordic region.
If you're curious about this, you can read more HERE.
Sana automates workflow processes in recruitment, training, administration, and content generation. Their new AI assistant makes it easier for employees to sift through the company's knowledge base, including past meetings, without the need for coding support. Read more HERE.
Joy at work has a direct positive effect on the company's EBITDA/net revenue. This is shown in a survey based on profitability data from 84 operations and 543 responses from employee surveys. Profitability is on average 20 percent higher if employees have fun at work, according to the survey. Read more HERE.
Swedish EQT Ventures has just secured funding for an exciting American company called Hume AI. According to EQT, voice control is the future of human-computer interaction, and I agree. Hume AI is a startup and research lab building the missing piece in AI - emotional intelligence. Ted Persson, partner at EQT Ventures, says: We believe Hume is building the fundamental technology needed to create AI that truly understands our desires and needs. Test it out yourself at the link HERE 💥
Sweden needs to maximize the value of using #AI. To accelerate this development, AI Sweden has developed an AI strategy for Sweden. The strategy includes a vision for Sweden, six starting points that form the analysis, and six strategically guiding principles for successful and large-scale use of AI. You can read more HERE.
And now a news item outside the HR area but surely interesting for those who want to help individuals understand what Generative AI can actually do. Spotify has introduced a new search feature jokingly referred to as "Spotify GPT". The feature's official name is AI Playlist (AI playlists) – and the point is that you can now ask the streaming service to create a tailored playlist for you, using simple written requests and prompts. The feature is currently in beta testing and was rolled out in the UK and Australia on Monday.
Spotify launches AI playlist (beta): creates personalized AI-generated playlists
Robotics company Boston Dynamics has unveiled a new electric humanoid robot as a replacement for the well-known Atlas model, which was recently retired. The new robot (also named Atlas) has a more friendly and appealing design. And how smoothly it moves 👏🏻
Curious about what it looks like? Check out this video.
Next Monday, April 30th, marks the season finale of the podcast. I hope you've enjoyed the content during Season 5. Now I'll take a break until after the summer, and it's time to reflect on the podcast year that has passed. What has been good/bad, which areas have received attention and which should get more focus. Most and least listened to, etc. To be honest, I don't prioritize what everyone wants to hear but rather focus on what you should hear to create the change in HR that is needed. And for those of you who don't like listening 🎧, you can also read the episodes 👨🏻💻 on our website.
The last episode will be about integrations 🕸️ That is, all these threads that need to go between different systems with HR data. And the difference if you use a spider 🕷️ i.e., an integration solution. Thanks to Stina Hauschildt for visiting my studio. Here you can find all episodes if you missed any.
Below are some of the most important upcoming HR Tech events. At the same time, there are a lot of webinars from various system providers, industry organizations, and magazines. But they usually don't fit here. Maybe if it's me speaking 🫣 I do have some self-interest, of course 😍
May 2-3 - will we see you at HR Tech next week? 50% discount on entry with code Anna50 👏🏻 More information about the event can be found HERE.
Starting May 14: Digital training at the HR Association Reserve your spot here --> HR 💜 tech and AI
June 12-13: Virtual HR Technology Conference & Exposition® Virtual More information about the event can be found HERE.
October 15 - 16: Digitalization and AI for HR Read more and book your spot here --> Basic course - digitalization and AI for HR 🤖
September 24-27: ✈️ HR Technology conference More information about the event can be found HERE.
Gartner Reimagine HR September 17-18 London
Unleash World October 16-17 Paris
And don't forget that you can apply for retraining support for the training courses and also for coaching.
Several participants in my courses have received support for participation from the restructuring fund.
The goal of the newsletter is to write about news in the HR Tech market and the field of digitization and innovation for management and HR, and also to tell about episodes of the HR Digitalization podcast.
Now remember to ► click subscribe ︎
My name is Anna Carlsson and I'm a curious HR Tech analyst with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of business, human, and technology. I believe technology isn't a side activity within HR; digitalization is fundamental to making room for a more human-focused workplace. My passion is leading the movement for future HR, by creating it together with clients and colleagues and by educating and developing organizations and individuals.
I run HR Digi, which includes the HR Digitalization podcast where I'm also the podcast host. Within HR Digi, we offer consulting, advisory support, training, and inspiration to create a modern digital organization
👉 Book a digital coffee with me so we can discuss how I can support you in your work.
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