Automatics for the people

IT has the potential to transform HR into a genuine strategic business partner. But only if those involved stand up and make their voices heard, says Jacqueline Kuhn.

People are the most valuable assets of a company

“Too many HR people are doing things for HR's sake, not for the business' sake”
-Jacqueline Kuhn of the Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM)

Technology is affecting every aspect of business and HR is no exception. Here central role it is playing is in helping HR understand what the workforce is, what they're doing, and being able to better leverage and manage that. We have gone beyond the basic of just tracking who the people are. Talent management is everywhere and applications are doing everything from screening people with assessments to tracking all their current and former job history. People are doing very thorough performance assessments and technology is allowing them to store it all in one place and report on it and get a really good picture of talent. Probably the biggest change is just how technology is helping HR manage the people assets of a company, which are the most valuable assets it has.

Recruitment, performance management and compensation management are the three key areas being reshaped by IT. Web-based, self-service manager/employee access analytics are really on the forefront in HR. Not just pulling out reports, but really giving HR the tools to be able to analyze and create the kinds of charts and graphs and information that senior management is looking for. It's gone beyond just the report list of who you are and what job code you have.

Technology aside, HR still has some way to go before it gets the kind of respect form management that other areas of the business command. It's getting better and the HR leaders that can talk business language are definitely being seen as more bottom line. But unfortunately I don't think that HR overall really has a business mindset. Too many HR people are doing things for HR's sake, not for the business' sake. For example if you're looking at implementing a performance management technology, too many HR leaders are trying to justify implementing the technology because it will help them manage the performance process. It would be far better to approach from the angle of helping business understand who their good performers are so it can make sure it’s leveraging the right assets.

An area that is very much on the increase and one which holds great potential for HR is Web 2.0 and social networking technologies. These tools can be internal or external, but they give people unparalleled opportunity to connect with each other. People can find out what their contemporaries are doing and share tips that enable them to get a head start on projects they are planning. I hate to say it, being a consultant myself, but there's a lot of networking you can do with your peers that may help you reduce some of your consulting overhead.

Internally too, this technology can really help the employees of a company. They can be much more efficient and effective and leverage some standards and best practices that much more quickly. I've seen a couple of companies doing this very effectively. Both IBM and OfficeMax are using these kind of technologies to create internal employee communities. Letting employees create their own social communities to feel connected has a big effect. Even if they are using company tools for things that are not necessarily ‘business related’, such as a company golf league, it gives them the opportunity to communicate with each other and really talk to each other and really feel connected.

HR embracing those tools and embracing communities that way, will go a long way in employee retention and satisfaction, even helping diversity in some areas. It gives employee groups like LGBT communities a place where they can share experiences and advice. Those are the kinds of things that HR can do to help the employee have a better experience not just productivity-wise but personally as well. And of course that feeds back into the company itself: if you've got a happier workforce who are more engaged and connected with the workplace and their colleagues that has a positive impact on the company. That is really important to the younger generation of worker that is out there. They don't want to work somewhere where they aren’t connected. They're used to being connected at all times and they want to work at a company where they feel that they're being treated well and that they're enjoying their work. If they're not enjoying their work they're just not going to stay.

The real downside is that HR is not always on the forefront of bringing in technology. Often the impetus is coming from operations and HR is almost just along for the ride. You can see this in the communication area, with Web 2.0 technologies and things such as Microsoft Sharepoint. I see a lot of corporate communications departments IT departments actually owning some of those projects where HR would really benefit from being in the driving seat. They allow you to reach out to your people and there are so many ways HR can leverage those kinds of tools for employee retention, education, training and communication. But I don't see the trend where HR is leading those charges. They may be a part of it but it often happens because IT wants to upgrade its overall portal for the company and then HR gets a piece of it.

Jacqueline Kuhn is Chair of the Board of the International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM). Kuhn has over 20 years in the Human Resources and IT professions with focus on delivery of HR solutions through technology enablement. Her scope of expertise includes HR technology strategy, software selection, implementation, application management, sales and account management. Kuhn has worked in management positions in HR and Technology for RR Donnelley & Sons, Computer Science Corporation (CSC), Moore North America, Sears and OfficeMax and is currently President of Kuhn Consulting Group, LLC a firm specializing in consulting services for HR Technology.

Understanding the human supply chain

At the root of it is a good understanding of exactly what your people costs are. If you can get even a broad brush understanding of what your human supply chain is, and then apply technology, that is going to help you manage the costs of that human supply chain. If you can improve that chain then you can definitely get real ROI. Let’s say you are a manufacturing company and you make a product. The human supply chain around making that product is the people who recruit the people to make the product, the people that market the product and the people who distribute and sell the product.

You need to know what all the human costs of running the business are. Then you can identify what those costs are, and then show how technology will help you manage parts of that supply chain. Maybe you can and either – and if you may not be able to reduce costs, maybe you can reduce time and time may reduce costs. Maybe it's a matter of getting a better person in that can do the job better and – one percent instead of two.

But what HR doesn't seem to take is a financial perspective on the human costs across the business, from an end-to-end cycle, and how much does it really cost us to do what we do with the people that we have. And that is what's going to take HR to be able to get real ROI from technology.