Human resource experts have urged organisations to put people at the centre of workplace technology, warning that digital systems and artificial intelligence should not be allowed to turn employees into mere data points.
The experts made the call at the latest edition of HumanManager Limited’s Corporate Catalyst Conversation, themed “Work Well. Live Well: How Smart HR Systems Create Healthier, More Productive Workplaces,” held virtually on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Mariam Gbajumo-Sheriff, Lecturer, Department of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management, University of Lagos (UNILAG), challenged organisations to look beyond conventional wellness programmes and examine the conditions in which employees actually work.
She questioned whether organisations were measuring genuine productivity or simply tracking activity, and whether workforce data was being used to identify burnout and disengagement before they developed into larger workplace challenges.
According to her, technology can provide organisations with valuable insights through data generated across HR processes such as attendance, leave, payroll, performance management, recruitment and training. However, she stressed that the use of such technology must be guided by fairness and responsibility.
She also emphasised that employees should be able to meet organisational expectations without sacrificing their wellbeing, describing the goal as enabling people to “work well without sacrificing the ability to live well.”
The discussion also examined the role of communication and storytelling in shaping employee experience.
Bemigho Awala, Chief Storytelling Officer, Storywoxs54, said organisations must ensure that workplace systems do not become so focused on management and control that they lose sight of the people they are designed to serve.
“We need to bring back the humans in Human Relations,” Awala said, stressing that how organisations communicate and tell their stories can influence how employees experience the workplace.
He added: “The world is made of stories, and how we tell the stories matters to the employee as well as the growth of the organisation.”
From the HR technology perspective, Temitope Obidike, Lead Product Manager, HumanManager, said people should remain central to how organisations design and implement workplace experiences, ensuring that digital transformation continues to serve both organisational goals and the needs of employees.
“People should be at the centre of your decisions – your technology, the solutions, the customer experience, and all,” she said.
Obidike also highlighted the relationship between technology, employee experience and employer brand, noting that employer branding extends beyond external perception to the everyday culture and experiences created within an organisation.
She pointed to HumanManager’s expanding capabilities, including its competency management offering, as part of the broader evolution of HR technology from simply managing employee records and administrative processes to helping organisations better understand, develop and deploy their people.
The speakers agreed that the value of smart HR technology should not be measured simply by the number of processes an organisation can digitise, but by how effectively technology helps create workplaces where people can perform sustainably.
Moderating the conversation, Tosin Areo, of the Brands & Marketing team, SystemSpecs, explored issues around workplace wellbeing, productivity, employee experience, HR technology, communication, culture and the human implications of increasingly digital workplaces.
In his closing remarks, Jerry Adeyeri, Brand & Marketing Lead, HumanManager Limited, said building healthier and more productive workplaces requires more than technology or HR interventions in isolation.
“It requires the right people, culture, leadership, communication and systems working together,” he said.
The Corporate Catalyst Conversation is part of HumanManager’s efforts to facilitate conversations around the changing nature of work and how technology can help organisations create better experiences for their people.
As organisations increasingly adopt digital HR systems and AI-powered tools, the discussion reinforced the need to ensure that technology remains a means of improving work and not an end in itself.
About HumanManager
HumanManager is a leading African HR technology and human capital management solution, providing organizations with simplified workforce management, payroll processing, employee administration, performance management, and HR operations through technology-driven solutions. HumanManager is a subsidiary of SystemSpecs Holdings Limited.
