May 14, 2025

"Wait, You Still Make People Fill Out HR Forms?" with Josh Novelle

52 minutes

Many teams don’t realize how much time their people are losing to repetitive tasks and clunky systems. From filling out HR forms to bouncing between platforms, what’s called “employee experience” often adds up to unnecessary friction. The real problem? No one’s questioning whether those steps need to exist at all. There’s an unspoken assumption that better design means more interface, more features, more engagement. But what if the most valuable tech quietly solved problems in the background, no logins, no dropdowns, no disruption?

Josh Novelle, Global Head of People Solutions at Convatec, argues that it’s time to rethink how we define value in HR tech. In his world, the best tools don’t ask people to step out of their workday to interact with them, they fit invisibly into the flow. He points out how incentives from vendors often run counter to what organizations need, and how this misalignment quietly drains productivity. From nudging employees to use their leave before burnout hits, to questioning why booking time off isn’t already embedded in your calendar, he challenges long-held assumptions with clear, practical alternatives.

This conversation goes beyond tool choices. It raises a bigger question: what if your systems could work together behind the scenes to deliver support without demanding attention? As the boundaries between work, systems, and experience blur, the teams that win won't be the ones with the flashiest platforms. They'll be the ones who make their tech nearly disappear.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

(00:00) Redefining employee experience beyond HR systems.
(08:50) Choosing tech partners and surfacing vendor misalignment.
(18:00) The rise of headless tech and middleware's quiet power.
(27:10) Subtle interventions that reduce burnout.
(35:00) Where AI fits into employee experience.
(44:30) Why leadership development fails without operational alignment.

Resources & People Mentioned