Tell us about you, your experience, and your time in the Middle East.

I grew up in Botswana and was schooled in and later moved to South Africa, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics. I first engaged with HR technology as part of an Optimisation Team, focusing on Workforce Management, at Africa’s largest apparel retailer.

Later, in the UK, I completed BambooHR, Dayforce, and PeakOn employee voice implementations for a consulting firm and a health-tech start-up. This enabled integrations and improved business processes to be built out, upgraded IT security, and unleashed people insights through people analytics. Since moving to Dubai in 2022 I’ve focused on project management, leading multiple global Workday implementations and setting up a PMO to oversee the workstreams.

Over the years I’ve essentially been involved in rescuing HR technology implementations that, for one reason or another, are not bringing the expected benefits to businesses. With this, my mission has become one of simplifying processes, fostering collaboration, and building a robust foundation that allows businesses to truly elevate their people and operational efficiency. 

Rather than simply configuring or implementing systems, I see my role as that of an embedded partner - working closely with teams to bridge the gap between business and technology. The goal is to ensure that technology doesn’t just get implemented, but actually transforms the way a company operates.

How does HR tech transform the way a company operates?

HR tech has an impact on people, processes, and strategies. If implemented well it transforms daily operations, leading to cost savings and longer-term changes in organisational dynamics

When a company implements an HRIS (Human Resource Information System) the primary goal should be to automate and streamline administrative work, by doing this companies experience a significant improvement in operational effectiveness, and free up time for HR to focus on more value add activities, such as talent management, employee development, and strategy.

These systems also generate data; this can be used to enable data driven decision making. Companies can get a view on employee turnover, performance, absenteeism, and more in real time. This allows them to address any gaps in performance through targeted strategies, watch them play out live, and adapt and respond quickly.

How big should a company be to invest in an HRIS?

This is dependent on the company and its growth plans. Generally speaking, a fast-growing startup wants an HRIS from day 1 so that they can build out effective processes while they scale, whereas a smaller established business should get one from roughly 50 employees. 

That said, I’ve done an implementation for a small business of 11 employees; they saw value in an HRIS as the founder was managing the HR admin himself, we automated 80% of the work so he saved himself a lot of time for around AED450 per month.

What does the next 5 years look like for HR tech in the UAE?

Everyone is talking about AI in HR, this will happen at the enterprise level first as we still need to see greater adoption of HR technology by mid-market companies. The amendments to the labour law mean companies need to be much sharper on compliance and in time the mid-market will realise how an HRIS can support this. Traditional enterprise players such as Oracle and SAP will push into this mid-market as they seek revenue sources outside of large organisations; we will also see increased penetration from international mid-market players like BambooHR who are more competitively priced and offer solid functionality local solutions lack.

Where will AI help HR?

The biggest area we will see AI helping HR is in recruitment. Job posts often have hundreds of applications against them. Chatbots can enhance candidate experience and AI can scan CV’s, quickly shortlisting candidates with the right skills, qualifications, and experience. Interviews can be conducted via AI powered video platforms, which can scan candidate's facial expressions, tone of voice, word choice, and more to assess confidence and communication skills. Ultimately this should reduce bias, reduce costs, be faster and more efficient, and lead to a greater quality of hire.

Linkedin.com/in/ryanshawza