Gareth Jones discusses how digital technology has transformed the modern workplace and work-life balance. He notes that while technology has blurred the lines between work and personal time, many corporate policies and practices have not adapted. Jones also expresses that true digital transformation is a human endeavor that requires addressing people's needs and building trust. Overall, the focus should be on using technology to solve real problems rather than just automating for automation's sake.

1. Gareth
Jones
Fact or Fiction:
The Transformational Powers
Of Technology

2. Gareth
Jones Who am I…?
“Organisational freedom fighter,
tech nut and people fanatic. CEO at
Headstart, breathing new life into
talent acquisition technology.”
So twitter says... Fully Paid up HR Professional - I have my
30 years CIPD member certificate!
Worked in all organisation sizes -
global to start up
Led most core functions except
Finance
Worked in, grown, led and shut down
businesses. Run my own too.
CEO of Headstart.io

3. Gareth
Jones Who am I…?
Gareth
Jones
The softer stuff:
Low conformity – rules only in
moderation
Opinionated – I’m old enough to
have the right
Value – honesty, autonomy, fairness
and justice
Curious – I’m naturally nosey. I
love to people watch.

4. Gareth
Jones
Digital // Transformation

5. Gareth
Jones My digital life….
As a consumer, digital has
been transformative

6. Gareth
Jones Global productivity shocker...
Surely some
mistake?
Source: The Productivity Slump – Global Economy and Development, Bookings Institution. August 2016.

7. Gareth
Jones Global Productivity Shocker…
Source: The Productivity Slump – Global Economy and Development, Bookings Institution. August 2016.

8. Gareth
Jones
The reality of ‘Work’ in the
digital age

9. Gareth
Jones The impact of technology...
‘Digital’ (Technology)
has eroded the
definition of the
working day and the
notion of work
1 in 2
Of all working days
lost due to ill health
has been linked to
stress, anxiety or
depression
Source: ONS 2016
12.5mn
days lost to work related
stress, anxiety and
depression in 2016/17.
526,000 workers were
impacted
HSE, 2016/2017
£33bn–£42bn
cost to UK employers per year of poor
mental health as estimated by Deloitte
in a major 2017 report on mental health
in the workplace.
£8bn - Absenteeism
£17-26bn - Presenteeism
£8bn - Staff Turnover

10. Gareth
Jones The impact of technology...
Life at work 30 years ago Today
Getting to work
Commute in and out twice a day at peak
times
Place of work Office in town or city
Working hours 9 to 5
Working from home Almost unheard of
Dress code Suit
How we define a job/role Job description
How we define an individual CV
Primary communication medium Phone, Memo

11. Gareth
Jones The impact of technology...
Life at work 30 years ago Today
Getting to work
Commute in and out twice a day at peak
times
Commute in and out twice a day at peak
times
Place of work Office in town or city Office in town or city
Working hours 9 to 5
9 to 5
(Plus of course any time my employer
expects me to be online)
Working from home/Flex Almost unheard of
Rare
(Still rare for most white collar workers. In
fact, still largely unsupported in many large
corporates.)
Dress code Suit
Suit
(Still very much the required corporate
uniform despite the acceptance of casual
dress in business)
How we define a job/role Job description Job Description
How we define an individual CV CV
Primary communication medium Phone, Memo Phone, Memo (email)

12. Gareth
Jones What’s the upshot…?
The impact of Digital...?
Lower Productivity
Lower Engagement
Lower Trust

13. Gareth
Jones Who do we trust…?
Source: Edelmen Trust Barometer

14. Gareth
Jones It’s all about people...
Transformation is a human endeavour, it
doesn’t have a dependency on anything else
- tech or otherwise. The only dependency is
human will.

15. Gareth
Jones The AI Promise...
Gareth
Jones
Deja Vu…? Increased Efficiency?
More Meaningful Life
Increased Productivity?

16. Gareth
Jones ‘AI’ in HR and Recruitment…
95% 5%
Hype,
marketing
guff and BS Actual AI*
*Use of Data science and ML

17. Gareth
Jones
Scale
Auto
Auto
Auto
Auto
Auto
Chaos
Order
Simplify
Automate
Grow
The place for digital in transformation...
We are
‘automating
chaos’

18. Gareth
Jones It’s all about people...
Without data science, there is no ‘AI’
Without data, there is no data science
Without me, there is no data
Without trust, there is no me…

19. Gareth
Jones Takeaways…
AI is simply a ’how’, not a ‘why’. We have become so obsessed with the how, we have
forgotten about the why.
There is no such thing as a ‘digital workforce’. Only a Human one. Whilst we live in a
digital ‘age’, Humans are not defined by technology.
Don’t automate chaos. Technology will never be the answer. Ask “What problem are we
trying to solve?”
Nothing will change until the value proposition changes. Ask “what value are we
driving for the individual?”
We need a complete rethink in the way we design enterprise technology. The new
“customer/buyer” of enterprise technology is the employee

20. Gareth
Jones Lets talk…
Get in
Touch:
t: @garelaos
l: linkedin.com/in/garethmjones
b: garethjones.me
e: garelaos@gmail.com
m: 07880 742581