A common problem I see among some HR teams is getting too excited about the features of new HR technology when really the business needs and the employees should be the focus. There is a danger of being excited by the tool and thinking they need a new HR system without looking what value it will give the business and how it will support the business drivers. You need to focus on the right system, helping you build future capability to drive business growth and provide the insights that enable to manage your talent.
Equally, your people strategy isn’t just a “one pager” that tells the organisation what you are doing it should be a key component of the business and commercial plan. Having a good grasp of what this looks like will lead you to what new requirements you need from any new HR system or technology.
All the new technology in the world won’t improve your organisation if you continue running your business the way it has always run. Instead, you should be looking at a technology implementation as an opportunity to streamline and simplify your processes and putting the people experience at the very centre of everything you are seeking to deliver – a true HR/people transformation that will add value to your business!!
This brings us to one of the more common mistakes – thinking of it as a system for HR rather than for their people. While HR systems used to be a back-office system for personnel departments they’re now designed with the workforce in mind, to enable people to better do their jobs, grow their skills, understand organisational opportunities. They should make HR processes simple, not intrusive or distracting from core business activities. If we look too inwardly at what it’s like for us, chances are we’ll end up with a system that’s not fit for purpose.
This is a particularly big challenge for HR. Too often, HR wants to be in control – which means we often add ourselves back into processes to check and double-check – but in doing so, making things much more complicated than they need to be.
This means putting your people at the centre. It’s critical that you step into your employees’ shoes and look at processes with a view of their experience, rather than risk mitigation to maintain your oversight. How does it actually feel as an employee/manager with customer management or revenue generation responsibilities to go through a performance or remuneration review? How complicated and HR centric are our processes?
It’s critical that we step back, trust in our business, our people managers and put the employee experience first, and allow the technology we invest in to enable our businesses to experience a real transformation
Keith Wilkinson is the Principal Consultant at T2C Consulting - providing people centred solutions on HR Transformation, HR Technology, Rewards & Workforce solutions