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A Peek Into Blockchain Technology — Human Resources Applications

by Bob BentOctober 29th, 2017

Too Long; Didn't Read

Director, Benefits Strategy and Administration at BAE Systems.

featured image - A Peek Into Blockchain Technology — Human Resources Applications

Robert Bent

Director, Benefits Strategy and Administration at BAE Systems.

In the last decade, Human Resources technologies have seen a significant amount of change. HR solutions have moved from company housed programs to cloud based platforms. Organizations are demanding more mobile applications and employees expect easy and simple to use applications.

The next several years will be challenging as the speed of development accelerates and a company’s need to innovate in order to simplify the customer experience and answer the increased demand for the integration of advanced data analytics and social media platforms.

At the same time, we face the challenge of integrating the next advancement in technology — Blockchain Technology.

Currently many Human Resources technology suppliers are exploring the advancements and benefits the integration of blockchain technology would bring to the HR technology space.

Some of the possibilities include eliminating the need for HR professionals to independently integrate and validate an assorted array of employee data such as an employee’s qualifications, position history, career experience as well as transactional data such as marriage status, number of dependents, mailing address and tax identification information and elections.

The integration of blockchain technology into HR technology will change the way in which companies perform their mainstream HR functions including recruitment, employee and organizational development as well as financial process like payroll processing and employee benefits administration.

A Blockchain Technology — Recruiting Example

Today employers maintain employee data on an internal HR system of record. Each employee has a unique profile that includes their salary history, mailing address, benefits information, beneficiary elections, performance history as well as training credentials, certificates, and university degrees. The data maintained within the internal HR system represents information solely based on an employee’s tenure at their current employer. As the employee leaves their current employer this data does not transfer with them and the process of building and verifying this information needs to be replicated all over again by the new employer. Given today’s mobile workforce these data replication efforts place an increasing administrative burden companies worldwide.

Moving to a blockchain based decentralized environment could eliminate much of the need to replicate and validate an employee’s basic information as they move from employer to employer. This information could be maintained in a secure digitized “employee profile” which an employee can carry with them as they transfer from employer to employer.

What’s Next

Once the “employee profile” record is created by the source and stored on the blockchain, an HR system could link to that record and digitally accept its authenticity. Thus eliminating the need for data collection, verification and input.

Recently the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took the first step in applying blockchain technology to its graduate transcripts by giving graduates access to a verifiable, tamper-proof digital version of their diploma that they can share with potential employers. Each diploma is assigned a digital key that is is inscribed into the digital copy of the diploma. When an employer wants to check that the diploma is legitimate, they can access a web portal where they can enter the digital key and receive confirmation of the graduate’s identity.

As you can appreciate the development of Blockchain technology is in its very early infant stage. Much like the application of the internet has evolved exponentially over the years we can expect the application of blockchain technology will gain traction and move us to simpler, more mobile driven Human Resources applications where advancements in the user experience and data analytics can be realized more quickly and easily.