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19 March 2024 HR Tech and Data
The world of HR technology is becoming more complex and challenging, almost by the day. While AI threatens to change the game entirely, there are other – perhaps less controversial – technologies ready for HR to use. But what can HR do to ensure such technology always drives maximum value? Moreover, as technology produces more and more data, how can HR make the most of this to drive further value into the organisation?
According to Peter Hall, Head of Customer Success at Cezanne HR, there are a few critical steps HR professionals can take to squeeze all the value they can from their technology:
Alyson White, Account Manager from emPerform says getting value means beginning the process with an end in mind. “When exploring how to achieve maximum ROI with performance management technology, having a clear vision of the desired output as well as being open to change for future requirements during the product assessment, helps create a sound process and outcome wherein the organisation’s goals and needs are met,” she says.
“Developing a product output, using the tools in emPerform, that aligns to the company objectives, that supports regular assessment, that promotes continual personal development, and that identifies and develops potential leaders within an organisation, is one of the best ways to achieve proper alignment and maximum return,” she continues. “After selecting the areas for assessment, providing ways to measure growth from the data entered will ensure that proper analytics are available to extract and provide insight in a meaningful way.”
White adds that HR should choose technology platforms which streamline existing organisational processes as well as promoting future opportunities for growth by offering multiple tool solutions. They should also unify existing technologies through software integrations within the platform, both supporting and optimising HR’s objectives to adapt to and change with business needs and technology advancements. “Without these crucial first steps in place,” argues White, “HR cannot fully support and implement their organisational requirements with technology resources and have a positive impact on the overall business success of their organisation.”
Chiara Camerada, Manager at LACE Partners, addresses the issue by first debunking what she terms as two common myths. Firstly, she says, technology isn’t a ‘magic wand’ – even the best solution won’t solve all HR issues without clear objectives. “It’s important to be clear on what the technology should enable and solve for,” she says. The second myth is that more data automatically equates to better outcomes. This is not the case: “Focus on collecting relevant data that tells a compelling story and supports strategic HR initiatives,” she says.
Camerada believes a good way to start is by assessing the current technology and data landscape. “Identify opportunities to simplify data flow, streamline integrations, and address manual data exchange pain points, which can compromise data quality and require excessive effort,” she says. “Next, align HR priorities with organisational goals. Define clear outcomes to establish relevant measures of success, informing the creation of KPIs focused on key areas like employee engagement, retention, and productivity.”
Camerada advises HR to consider their internal resources: to ensure adequate governance, roles, and capabilities are in place to maximise technology benefits. Data literacy remains a common challenge among HR professionals.
Finally, Chiara says HR should prioritise the employee experience. “Ensure that HR technologies meet the specific needs and expectations of the employees, providing the support and information they need in their flow of work,” she says. “Tech providers’ offering has developed strongly around to enhance adoption and employee engagement through self-service, automation and AI-powered features.”
Chris Moriarty, Director, Co-Founder at Audiem warns against viewing the presence of data acts as a ‘comfort blanket’. “You have to challenge how much of it really allows teams to make meaningful change,” he says. “The fact is that most teams will end up with high level numbers, percentages, performance against benchmarks that tell them ‘WHAT’ is going on but with the explosion in new technology, particularly around natural language processing, there’s a real opportunity for HRD’s to listen to the stories from their employees and draw insight from that rather than asking them to tick a load of boxes. It’s at that point that we move from knowing the WHAT, to understanding the WHY.”
However technology continues to develop there is little doubt that HR will be up to the challenge.
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