Who are the people that are taking the lead in disrupting the future of work?
TheyÛªre the official Disruptors (Organizers) of DisruptHR events held in cities around the world. Each week, weÛªll introduce you to one of these intelligent, inspiring, and beautiful people (okay, pick two) who have stepped up, and volunteered to organize a Disrupt HR event in their city.
Robert Bromage of DisruptHR Brisbane (Disruptor #67 )
LinkedIn ÛÒ [ Rob Bromage ]
Who are you, and what do you do in your ÛÏday jobÛ?
I am the Founder and CEO of intelliHR a People Management SaaS platform. My day job has been building from ground up a start-up software business in a very competitive and confused HR software marketplace. Outside running the business, my main priorities include R&D, product development and customer consulting.
How did you first hear about DisruptHR?
I met Jeff Waldman at a HR Analytics conference in Toronto in 2014 and he spoke about it then. I saw one in the US in 2015 and just loved it. I then saw Jennifer McClure speak in Melbourne and she inspired me to get involved.
Why did you decide to raise your hand and become an organizer for DisruptHR events in Brisbane?
I am passionate about helping business look at people differently. Everybody wants to look after their people, sometimes they just need a little inspiration to help them think differently and then most importantly, go on to act. I see DisruptHR as a great tool to not only inspire but generate new ideas and thinking in our community.
How many events have you organized?
So far just the one ÛÒ July 2017 and we had roughly 180 people attend.
What types of people/industries have attended your events?
We had a wide range of people from HR Practitioners to HR Directors, Consultants, People Leaders, CEOÛªs and some entrepreneurs. Industry were wide ranging including Legal, Technology, Consulting, Education, Utilities, Government, Retail, Manufacturing, Mining ÛÒ you name it, I think we had it.
What are you most proud of that has come out of being involved with/organizing DisruptHR events?
I was just really excited that we had 180 people attend and a lot of people stay talking for almost 2 hours after the event. Our speakers were all awesome and really made the event the success it was. Afterwards, a lot of people advised that they were keen to see 2.0. We also proudly donated all ticket sale proceeds to 3 local Charities ÛÒ Endeavour Foundation, Mater Foundation and Centacare.
What kind of feedback have you received from those who attended prior DisruptHR Brisbane events?
People were not sure what to expect and were genuinely and pleasantly surprised how awesome the whole event pulled together. There was a great vibe through the entire night and when we advised all ticket sales were being donated it just gave everyone a great feeling.
One person posted on LinkedIn ÛÏLooking forward to the next event! Such a unique format, varied content, and the added bonus of donating proceeds to charity.Û
What is your favorite DisruptHR Talk, and why?
I thought all of our speakers were brilliant and the topics covered a lot of ground from WFM to Leadership to Personal Workspaces and Augmented Reality. I personally loved Glenn DonaldsonÛªs talk on Augmented Reality.
Augmented RealityÛªs Effect On HR & The Workplace | Glenn Donaldson | DisruptHR Talks from DisruptHR on Vimeo.
It was very entertaining but also showed people how consumer technology is changing the workplace and business can be left behind if they donÛªt pay attention.
Based off of the Talks and conversations at your events, what do you feel are the areas with the biggest opportunity for disruption?
I still think the biggest area for disruption is business giving HR the permission to disrupt, innovate, experiment and change gears away from compliance and administration. I firmly believe HR getting closer to the customer is the way they can do this.
Every business should be a people business, but they are in business to satisfy a customer. When HR builds its strategies to directly support the customer, the business will not only recognise HR as a strategic partner but the driver of financial performance.
What excites you or frustrates you about the future of work, your career and/or DisruptHR?
Having had 20 years in this space and the last 8 years focused in technology as an enabler, I think now is one of the most exciting periods to be in HR and People Management. We are entering an era that is ÛÏall about peopleÛ driving organisational success.
We are talking about powerful insights from analytics, Artificial Intelligence helping to bring important information to the forefront, contemporary thinking about employee experience and treating staff as knowledge value adding contributors and not battery hens, flexible working arrangements that see the melding of personal priorities with work but winning, and finally the realisation by business that their HR organisations are the keys to competitive difference. So much to be excited by and a part of!
Follow WhatÛªs Happening With DisruptHR Brisbane City:
ÛÒ DisruptHR Brisbane Community Page