“HR technology is going paperless, borderless, and wireless,” says Charles Liaw, MD, Times Software. That presents a whole new challenge to HR departments dealing with the tightened budgets that the current economic climate demands. Liaw says HR departments must become sophisticated in their approach to technology in order to keep up with the needs of the businesses they serve. Huge opportunities could be lost if they drop the ball, even for just a moment. But if HR can succeed in bringing in the right technology, it will be able to add more value than ever before.
Compared with other business technologies, HR applications are known to advance in relatively small increments. But there are still interesting developments. Technology companies are looking to help HR get past the simple cost savings mentality and focus on the strategic value of its human capital and the data it can create.
Web 2.0 trends
There are blogs, wiki-entries and MySpace pages – and HR has coped well with integrating each of these social networking phenomena into the work environment. But they only represent a few of the available internet applications that could be put to good HR use. Now, many technology providers are adapting their offerings to allow HR to directly interact with these popular web tools.
Employee Connect, for example, is working on software which will allow HR departments to recruit and headhunt through social networking applications like Facebook, LinkedIn and Yammer (a new short text updating service that works within single enterprise or domain networks). Ari Kopoulos, national sales manager, says potential candidates will be harvested through their online profiles, which now double as a portfolio of their achievements and character.
Systems integration
There is specialised technology available for a wide range of HR functions. You’ll have no problem finding tools to assist recruiting, succession planning, workforce planning or learning management processes individually, but HR is now beginning to see the need for programs that can work holistically across the full HR spectrum. Technology providers are also realising this goal.
Christopher DeFoe, a US-based HR consultant, acknowledges the trend for centralised talent management systems but says HR needs to do its homework before embarking on a technology overhaul. “The concept of (having) one vendor to do everything is a noble one, but unrealistic,” he says. “Organisations are trying to get there and the vendors have suites of products to sell, but they don’t always provide what the client needs.”
This trend to find the right kind of long-term integration strategy between the standard HR Management System and talent management databases is based on the need to find ways to accurately value human capital in the context of organisational goals. The next-generation workforce performance systems will therefore enable HR data to be juxtaposed with business data, to help managers make better decisions.
The challenge for software companies is making the strategies productive. “Some processes look great on paper but don’t work well in reality,” says Kopoulous. “Usability is very important in the design of the product. The rule is if there are more than three clicks required, customers won’t use it.”
Another challenge is the integration of actual data within the company. One way companies can handle their workforce data is to establish a single, central database that becomes the trusted source of information, not only for HR but also for other departments. Finance and risk management functions will be particularly enhanced. Another method for cleaning up data is to allow a number of HR applications or databases to continue exist, but to create a new “main” database using only the ideal information. That's the idea behind Aquire’s Unifi system, which works to aggregate data from multiple Oracle, PeopleSoft and SAP systems.
Managing all talent
Consulting companies use human capital management software to allocate the right staff for specific projects. Now this software is finding its way into mainstream business and helping HR to utilise the talents in their organisations.
“Most companies only use one third of their employees’ skills,” says Per Palmer, CEO of Swedish technology company 3S-Comaea. “With our suite of web-based and mobile tools, we are interested in helping companies maximise their human capital by creating searchable databases of their talents. This system allows companies to look internally for the skills they need.” Not only does the software help HR identify skilled employees, it provides opportunities for those quiet achievers who may often be overlooked by traditional sourcing practices.
Keeping the customer king
With richer technology elements now coming online, companies are also exploring ways to improve employee service and satisfaction. Incorporating online content into HR technologies, with embedded business logic, security and validation, has been one immediate goal for HR, and therefore software makers.
Kopoulous says any technology development must have the user in mind, particularly given HR’s unusual demographics. “75% of the HR market is female,” he says. “Understanding how they interact with the product is important to the delivery of the right solution.” He says customer communication and accurate feedback are essential to providing the right products.
Liaw agrees that looking at how the female market uses technology is important. He says that’s a key reason behind his company’s efforts to make its technology useable in both the home and the office. “All our products can be run at home, as far as the company’s information technology infrastructure is capable of supporting that. No changes are required.”
Technology providers are also considering how their products look and feel. Not only are companies creating high-resolution dashboards, they are also embedding relevant multi-media and data movements into the system – features that make technology products more interesting and engaging.
DeFoe says system developers and HR integrators need to build ‘fun’ into each project, or people will eventually reject the system. “We usually get everyone engaged early on and ensure that ‘fun’ as well as a sense of business purpose is created and maintained.”
Getting employees to use and embrace technology is one particularly important goal for 3S-Comaea. Palmer says that means products need to be both attractive and accessible. Comaea is currently developing software for mobile phones that will allow employees, managers and executives to access information directly from anywhere. “Many companies take websites and try to squeeze that content into the mobile platform. We are developing an application that takes data and puts it in the pocket of the people,” he says. “Our software line will allow employees to receive surveys and assessments on their mobile phones, and give managers the ability to instantly analyse and manage the competence and skills of their employees.”