Of the 15 innovations we highlighted in our summer survey with HRN, the lack of awareness and ignorance of one of the potentially most transformative technologies should be a worry to us all.

Block chain – the much hyped, but clearly the most mysterious of all the innovations for HR, is not on the radar for a massive 84% of the survey’s respondents. With only 1% are already using it and only 4% actively engaged in how they are going to use this technology.  This rating places Blockchain at the bottom of league in HR’s innovations.  But through the eyes of technology experts, Blockchain is potentially a revolution in HR waiting to happen.

Now, if you are still scratching your head about what exactly BlockChain is, here’s a video that might help.

Essentially, Block Chain is a network of trust that enables us to instantly transfer value, or information, within what is claimed to be an unbreakable audit trail. In the HR world that has implications for the payment of individuals, the maintenance of qualifications, the exchange of intellectual property and the rise of completely virtualised operations –  which some claim could out uber Uber.

To be fair this is one of the most hyped and immature IT topics. But, why our research again highlights is the lack of structured innovation planning conducted by HR. In our research into HR Realities in Europe last year less than 25% reported having a specific innovation plan. And for over 40%, the only answer for innovating is to either do nothing or wait for their solution providers. The issue is that, at best, only one third of customers see their providers frequently innovate – so that strategy is safe but not the most competitive.

Now you might think does it matter? 

The simple answer is – innovate or die. If you don’t evolve at pace you are only playing catch up. And you will become a side note in history, rather than a leading player.

So, whilst Blockchain may only be on your list of ‘ones to watch’, not actually knowing what it is, is a bad answer, and not knowing its potential for HR is equally as dangerous. It shows you’re not effectively scanning your future horizon, for where the next iceberg might hit or where the next destination should be.

The results of this year’s survey covering essential HR trends and HR innovation will be presented at HR Tech World on 24th October in Amsterdam. And we’ll be sharing the findings here too. Don’t miss it.