Employment Today, June 2009 Unemployment is on the rise again after years of labour shortages. Does that mean as human resource professionals we can relax when it comes to introducing technology into key employee engagement processes like remuneration and performance management? The stark reality is that good people are good people in any sort of economic environment. A weak employment environment doesn’t reduce the risk of losing your talent to another organisation desperately in need of the same skills and committed resources. Now is the time to review and improve key processes that underpin your company’s employment offer, especially while there is less pressure in areas like recruitment. Technology can play a role in this improvement but it must be applied with care. As Bill Gates, someone who knows a little bit about software, once said, “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” Decision-making around HR technology is tough. Do you build or buy? What is the difference between a customised and a configured solution? What are these new buzz words like "Software as a service" and how do they apply to HR? Underlying this is the fact that the complete HRIS system has never really materialised. That complete solution that integrates seamlessly with other core information systems and is easily rolled out through the enterprise is largely mythical. While you can purchase the ‘vanilla’ version of an HRIS, the cost of adding any flavour to it, functionality that makes it useful for your organisation, comes at enormous cost. Even then you typically need to be an expert, or at least have to access to people with the technical expertise to understand the data structure ne able to extract the right data in the right format. The good news is there are plenty of options for implementing HR technology that makes a difference. Automating key HR processes can make an enormous difference, the critical question is how to achieve it. So how do you start to assess HR technology? First is usability – if you managers and staff can’t quickly and easily master a system they have to touch it causes enormous problems. Second is understanding the feature set you are being offered – and how neatly that fits with your own processes and how they made to work together without huge cost and effort. Finally service – unless your vendor is absolutely committed it just won’t work. If you have to rely on contractors who see you as lower tier priority you’ll soon enter HR manager hell as the project falls apart or grinds to a halt. Management will accept HR technology is they can clearly see how it will make their life easier. That means a system that is intuitive and clearly align to an organisations optimum process; there is no or limited downtime for training; and it provides accurate data for decision-making. So how can move forward with HR technology? There are several possible options: • Build your own system from scratch: this option is the hardest and riskiest. Strong business analysis skills are crucial – understanding how to translate HR processes into IT speak. This option is likely to only have a 5 year life span so must be costed accordingly, and it always costs more than you think! |
