HR Magazine, November 2008
By Philippa Youngman Philippa Youngman from Pivot Software says care is needed when organisations are looking to use technology to support their HR goals.
As the recession starts to bite, the pressure on companies to do more with less is starting to build. That puts the spotlight on human resources, with organisations wanting to get more out of their existing staff, and being able to attract and retain the best people.
That makes Hewitt Associates’ recently released “Best Employers in Australia and New Zealand Study” valuable reading for any HR professional.
Like most good research, the Hewitt study offers what appear to be common-sense insights into the best performing employers. The immense challenge HR professionals are left with is how to recreate them in their organisations.
Key insights from the Hewitt study showed that the best employers:
1. Delivered what they promised – Hewitt says the best companies in their survey “were clear about the employment deal.” That means promises made to candidates during a recruitment process become a reality, the standards articulated by leaders are carried out in practice and the employers monitored and responded to staff concerns.
2. Create meaning for employees – the overall goals of an organisation are effectively linked to the day-to-day activities of employees. Staff understand how their individual efforts contribute to the whole.
3. High performance is encouraged because employees are recognised – Hewitt says the best employers are good at identifying and rewarding the best performing employees. Done transparently and consistently this creates motivation right through the workforce.
All simple insights, but hardly easy to implement. That requires talented and committed general and HR management; well defined processes for managing key HR processes such as recruitment, performance management and remuneration; and the means to implement these processes consistently through often large and complex organisations.
Using computer software to help implement and manage a wide range of HR processes is increasingly common. These systems offer huge potential to improve staff engagement, but organisations need to be careful not to assume technology is the best solution to an HR problem.
HR is an essentially ‘human’ management function. It is about maximising a company’s investment in people, but also about relationships, communication, respect and lots of other human values. Too often people forget this when applying information technology to HR. It is not the same purely analytical process as an accounting or production management system.
Using HR software can actually create more problems than it solves if not used properly. A good example is the experience some companies have had with 360 degree feedback software. Although an excellent way of gathering feedback, they can be poisonous if an organisation is not properly prepared to use them.
Witchhunts to find people making critical comments, people who give positive feedback being overwhelmed with evaluation requests, individuals blindsided by negative feedback and so on. If a workforce is educated about how to use the system and not about the process it can create significant issues.
Another example is remuneration software. Implemented directly into an organisation that has not widely communicated the organisation’s approach to remuneration can cause confusion and concern amongst line managers and employees. An educational programme on the organisation’s remuneration policies and fundamentals regarding remuneration management is important to ensure a system, used to manage the process, is adopted smoothly.
Some technology available to assist with performance management has the potential to remove the “human” from human resource management.
Performance discussions between a manager and staff member are a critical element in the engagement of the workforce – it is the time both parties can share their assessment of each other’s performance, highlight strengths and look forward.
Too often these important interactions are undermined by systems that take away much of the human interaction, or make it so onerous for managers to participate they don’t bother. Effective performance management systems enhance the process and make the engagement a smooth and productive one. The focus remains on supporting the human interaction not replacing it.
So how do you find HR systems that can help you become a “Best Employer”. Anyone looking to invest in HR systems needs to consider:
• In the words of the late Sir Peter Blake “will it make the boat go faster”?
• Will this support the positive aspects of our company culture?
• Can it be used to automate existing processes, i.e. remove rework, improve productivity, process accuracy etc e.g. agreeing objectives and recording results, processing salary reviews, data management and reporting and issuing communications?
• Do the benefits of implementing this system outweigh the cost of purchasing it, training staff to use it etc? If you are confident about all of these questions, HR software could make a difference to your organisation. Then you will need to carefully contemplate how to implement the system. It is critical to invest sufficiently in educating staff and managers about how the software works and what it is designed to achieve.
Done well, software streamlines HR processes and provides valuable information for decision-making. Done poorly, it can exacerbate existing workforce problems.
The drive to become a great employer should grow as economic conditions worsen, and organisations are striving for the maximum productivity out of their workforce. Technology can help support that goal when you take a smart approach. |
