Tech giant’s HR director shares why it’s crucial to keep up with technology, trends and the competition
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As director of human resources for IBM Canada, Katherine Faichnie leads the tech giant’s HR functions, with a key focus on talent acquisition, employee engagement, innovation and agility.
Having held executive leadership roles across HR, finance and operations in the financial services and technology industries, Faichnie is a specialist in competitive and fast-paced global companies.
She shares why it’s key for HR professionals to follow tech trends and keep an eye on the competition, as well as her biggest industry concern.
If you could give your younger self, or someone entering HR for the first time, one piece of advice – what would it be?
As a company and as IBMers we aim to act with one purpose: to be essential to our clients and to the world. Be essential by learning how the business works, stay up-to-date on the external impacts and marketplace changes, and educate yourself about the competition.
Is there anything exciting in the pipeline for your HR department?
HR is in the cognitive era. We are capitalizing on IBM Watson Talent, our own unique cognitive technology, which has the ability to pull personality insights, predict how candidates will perform and succeed in specific roles based on structured and unstructured data. IBM Watson Talent optimizes our talent acquisition investments and builds a knowledge base that continuously learns and improves.
What’s the biggest professional obstacle you – or your team – have faced and how did you overcome it?
Changing the internal client view of us, the HR team, from process and policy drivers to strategic partners. We are overcoming this obstacle by introducing more self-service products for employees to leverage, including automated BOT and chat capabilities for routine queries and support. This frees a lot of our time to focus on creating and delivering strategic initiatives with tangible business outcomes.
What’s your biggest industry worry or concern right now?
Not seeing the next competitive disruptor soon enough.
If you could change anything about the HR industry, what would it be?
We need to create more rounded business HR professionals. Our job doesn’t stop at HR – rather, we need to shift the focus on a more fulsome cross-functional experience (finance, operations, client-facing roles etc).
What is the proudest moment or achievement of your HR career so far?
Anytime someone from my team advances in their career is a proud moment.
What is the most rewarding thing about being in HR?
Having a positive impact on IBM Canada through a focus on our exceptional employees. We are fortunate enough to have some of the most innovative and diverse employees that represent this company.
How do you predict the industry will change, if at all, over the next five years?
Technology is reinventing the entire HR experience. In the next five years, data-driven decision-making will be the new norm. With the help of cognitive computing, we will have more solutions with predictive capabilities and demands. Corporate culture is moving towards a “show me” versus “tell me” attitude and we need to adapt to this new way of working.
What would you like your HR legacy to be?
I want to be remembered for creating an environment that fostered creativity and innovative ideas that led to tangible solutions – not only for the HR team, but for employees across the company.
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Having held executive leadership roles across HR, finance and operations in the financial services and technology industries, Faichnie is a specialist in competitive and fast-paced global companies.
She shares why it’s key for HR professionals to follow tech trends and keep an eye on the competition, as well as her biggest industry concern.
If you could give your younger self, or someone entering HR for the first time, one piece of advice – what would it be?
As a company and as IBMers we aim to act with one purpose: to be essential to our clients and to the world. Be essential by learning how the business works, stay up-to-date on the external impacts and marketplace changes, and educate yourself about the competition.
Is there anything exciting in the pipeline for your HR department?
HR is in the cognitive era. We are capitalizing on IBM Watson Talent, our own unique cognitive technology, which has the ability to pull personality insights, predict how candidates will perform and succeed in specific roles based on structured and unstructured data. IBM Watson Talent optimizes our talent acquisition investments and builds a knowledge base that continuously learns and improves.
What’s the biggest professional obstacle you – or your team – have faced and how did you overcome it?
Changing the internal client view of us, the HR team, from process and policy drivers to strategic partners. We are overcoming this obstacle by introducing more self-service products for employees to leverage, including automated BOT and chat capabilities for routine queries and support. This frees a lot of our time to focus on creating and delivering strategic initiatives with tangible business outcomes.
What’s your biggest industry worry or concern right now?
Not seeing the next competitive disruptor soon enough.
If you could change anything about the HR industry, what would it be?
We need to create more rounded business HR professionals. Our job doesn’t stop at HR – rather, we need to shift the focus on a more fulsome cross-functional experience (finance, operations, client-facing roles etc).
What is the proudest moment or achievement of your HR career so far?
Anytime someone from my team advances in their career is a proud moment.
What is the most rewarding thing about being in HR?
Having a positive impact on IBM Canada through a focus on our exceptional employees. We are fortunate enough to have some of the most innovative and diverse employees that represent this company.
How do you predict the industry will change, if at all, over the next five years?
Technology is reinventing the entire HR experience. In the next five years, data-driven decision-making will be the new norm. With the help of cognitive computing, we will have more solutions with predictive capabilities and demands. Corporate culture is moving towards a “show me” versus “tell me” attitude and we need to adapt to this new way of working.
What would you like your HR legacy to be?
I want to be remembered for creating an environment that fostered creativity and innovative ideas that led to tangible solutions – not only for the HR team, but for employees across the company.
Related stories:
Why companies should invest in apprenticeships
Is this the most exciting thing in HR tech?
Want the latest HR news direct to your inbox? Sign up for HRD Canada's daily newsletter.