Understanding Technology: Leveraging on Technology to Deliver Results
This panel was part of the Hacking HR event: FORWARD II
We all know how technology can help us deliver business results especially when we know how to maximize its use. In this article, we will talk about how we can leverage technology to deliver results. We invited Leticia Gasca, Chiara Bersano, and Manisha Singh.
To start off the conversation, we asked them to introduce themselves and asked them how would they address the fear that people have on the impact of technology.?
Leti kicked off the conversation by saying that technology is only a tool and the impact that a tool depends largely on how it is used. We need to understand how technology is going to impact your specific line of work, it is not going to transfer or replace a job but rather it is going to impact specific tasks. The impact will sometimes replace the tasks but in many other cases it is going to enhance human beings, it is a tool that can make us more productive.?
Manisha went next and shared that she looks into the power of AI blockchain digital as sequential as it accelerates data analytics predictive which is a big tool in hand for HR professionals for us to enable the same conversations of diversity, equity, inclusion and belongingness. She wants us to see this as a larger tool not just for automation but it is shifting the practice and creating something for the future. For many people, it is an unknown territory, the rate at which data and ai is accelerating and business value chain is disrupting companies. All of our jobs is changing and it is getting more automated. Therefore, we must not be afraid of the future but rather we must remain in touch and flow along with it.
Chiara shared that technology fits in the history of HR like in no other function making itself. You cannot do HR today without technology. She advices those young HR professionals to get on board because it is inevitable to face it.?
For the next question, we asked the panelists where technology can deliver the most value? The question is separated into two parts: what are the low hanging fruits and where we can bring technology to deliver not just the great value but immediate value given all the challenges we have in the workplace today?
For Chiara, the key part is really the core of HR is the data because we’ve seen changes and there are huge crisis in different areas with different vendors whether it is about time management or some other parts. The changes in the ability to manage data within the enterprise and the ability for us to put the employees in charge of their own data. Cloud environments also allows companies to bypass a problem related to emergencies. The long term fruit is the world you can with that data which is analytics. Artificial intelligence blockchain are coming to HR that is the vision because when you have your data and that data is correct you can run with that which you can do a world of predictive.?
Meanwhile for Manisha, there has always been a battle between securing the present by getting ROI on those low hanging fruits and then talk about this visionary shaping the future. During the peak of pandemic, the bandwidth of HR have become the safety health keepers. With this, HR bandwith is under a significant pressure. One of the low hanging fruit is most of us already have SAP or other core HCM but our processes when we have automated them in global organizations is so custom and complex. We must look through the data through the employees’ lens and run a simplification project to see what we can standardize and optimize.? We must look into automating those workflows. It is also equally important to focus on automation of reporting.?
Leti agrees to what has been said so far and she thinks that data is at the core of the strategy driving value for HR. It is important that data governance should be at the core of any HR activity to understand who owns the data and how are we going to manage and protect that. Predictive analytics can definitely be a low hanging fruit because in order for HR to build internally predictive analytics tool it would take months or years just to write algorithms and put the machine learning in place. We want to position HR as the strategic partner so we need to speak the same language that leadership is speaking which is the language of numbers.?
The next question is how can technology help us overcome challenges that many organizations are facing today.?
For Manisha, it would have been impossible to continue without the help of technology especially in the way we collaborate with each other. Teams are now becoming IT driven collaboration tool which also becomes an HR tool. In the context of COVID, we can use data to understand and plan for contingency. Getting ready for contingency is very important aspect. Furthermore, we must use data to guide our management decision on a regular basis. All our organizations have uncertain financial future in on way or another so there is an undeniable pressure on margins to render pressure on HR. But at the same time, we have a pressure to innovate so we need ot make our HR smarter, faster, and efficient with the same resources, this where technology can make a huge difference.?
Meanwhile for Leti, it is important to be able to understand for each one of the roles in an organization is the level of remotability and interactivity to make decisions. We must make decisions that is science-based. It is a fantastic use of technology when we know and understand what work can be done at home or remotely.
For Chiara, we have to accept that a hybrid workplace because there will always be ‘dustless workers’ who can’t work unless they are on location and these workers are often most exposed and at risk thus we must not dismiss nor forget about them. She also believes that none of us work only for the paycheck since most of us are lucky enough to work also for personal fulfillment but in some cases it can’t be fulfilled by a remote environment. There is a mix of items we have to keep in mind when we design the remote workforce. The hybrid setup gave light to diversity because it made it easier to include some parts of the workforce that were not naturally part of it but it also introduced the complexity of creating a team of? in-person and remote people. You have to make sure that the people who are not in person can also get the right amount of your time as a leader. We have to be mindful of the design of employee experience going forward.?
?Moving forward to the conversation, we asked the panelists to share the skills we need in order to be better at understanding the impact of technology in the workplace and how we can leverage technology to deliver better results.?
For Manisha, now that technology has evolved the problems we are trying to solve can be addressed by technology and it all has to go hand in hand for something disruptive or innovative to come so that you are solving for the better. It is also important for a digital immersion for HR leaders to see what HR technology can do and what benefits it can give for the future. For leaders, be part of the conversation , go to forums and be strategic. HR professionals need to embrace the knowledge of technology to understand the whole ecosystem of tools that is available to them so they can make informed decisions. Product management is also one capability that is important in the talks of technology. Data literacy and analytics skills are becoming increasingly necesesarry to embrace rhe potential of technology in HR.?
Meanwhile for Chiara, it is about a mind shift change. It is not entirely on technology but it is in the process. Embrace process design not based on what we have today but on what we want to do tomorrow. It is important for HR function to embrace change management in a way they can drive change for the whole organization and become the driver of digitalization. By becoming an agile function, HR can make themselves bigger but also help the organization grow. Technology transformation can be a trigger but it cannot be the end of the process.?
For Leti, HR leaders need adaptability since the world is ever changing. Also, during these times it is equally important for leaders to channel empathy with the workers.?
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For the last question we asked the panelists to share what capability program they want to design for HR to be able to redesign the processes and deliver the best value possible.
For Leti, the first thing come to mind is how we can utilize the power of technology to predictive analytics for scenario planning. We can’t plan for the future with only one scenario.?
Manisha suggests looking into the various HR operating model because it has been so long that we are stuck into one big operation model and that is why we are not able to put enough impetus on organizing our data or optimizing our technology. Data literacy is another thing to look into.?
Lastly, Chiara agrees with the emergency planning that was mentioned by Leti. HR should focus on using what they have. Use the many data available, and improve that. The information and databases are already there so we must use them first before implementing new processes.?
Ultimately, you can start small with what you already have, begin from there, and create the case. Technology is a helpful tool that brings many of our visions to life, when we know how to maximize and understand its use we can bring better results.??
You may also check out the other articles on our Forward II Series:
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