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Last week, company leaders shared that basic human-resources tools that don’t function properly can have far-reaching consequences, including employee burnout.
The solution for HR departments isn’t necessarily to purchase fancier technology, but rather to integrate the tools already on hand, implement point solutions wisely, and collaborate with cross-functional leaders and their employees.
A PwC survey of 688 HR leaders based in the U.S. showed that while the technology tools are meeting expectations and creating value for both HR and businesses, people teams still struggle with adoption and buy-in across the organization.
PwC suggested that HR teams have incentives for usage and gamify the process while providing mobile capabilities to “play” the game anytime and anywhere. Employee rewards can be another potent tool to boost adoption, the report said.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Before we get to adoption, here is guidance on what to keep in mind as you embark on digital changes, however big or small.
United front. Brian Kropp, distinguished vice president of research at Gartner, cautions against throwing money at the problem of HR technology inadequacies. “As an HR executive, you have to put your IT hat on and work on getting the systems on the back end to talk to each other. It’s less sexy, but if the basics aren’t easy, employees won’t perceive value in the bells and whistles,” he said.
While the latest point solution may be a great tool to resolve a specific issue, leaders need to find a way to unite these tools in a way that is seamless to the HR customer.
Sometimes, automation can help tie together point solutions used in the recruitment process, said Jon Walden, a chief technology officer with SS&C Blue Prism.
“Often, talent acquisition systems like LinkedIn aren’t internal and may not be integrated [with internal systems]. While using capabilities like Calendly offer more flexibility and clarity for the recruiter and the recruited, we need automation to provide a single view from a variety of back ends,” Mr. Walden said.
Long-term view. HR leaders should realistically assess how viable a solution provider is, because even if a new technology sounds great, you don’t want to implement a system from a company that might not exist next year.
Startups that resolve specific management problems are drawing a lot of investment, but not all of them are likely to succeed.
As an example, what happens if your top-performing salespeople don’t receive their commissions because the vendor went under? Fair or not, the responsibility to fix the problem will land on the HR team. That’s also why the next point is so important.
Collaboration. Whether you’re implementing new software for HR processes or reconfiguring existing ones, dialogue with IT and other cross-functional leaders and workers should be open and continuous.
IT should be brought in at the beginning, suggested Brenda Leadley, a senior vice president and head of HR Americas for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. “The most perfect HR system will be for naught if you have a data breach,” she said. “Also, we need to involve our local worker’s council in discussions of data access and storage.”
Freshworks CIO Prasad Ramakrishnan said he typically has a select group of employees test out new HR workflows and features to provide feedback. Not only does this strategy inform the path forward, but it also ensures employees are partners in the technology’s success.
Communication. Finally, always communicate to the workforce what is being planned and when. If an HR solution won’t meet people’s needs, you will want to find out as soon as possible.
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