HR is currently in the midst of a transitional process—demanding an increased presence at the boardroom table as a fully-formed strategic entity. For HR practitioners, the correct utilisation of underlying data is therefore of critical importance, meaning that there is a growing need for companies to be using new, efficient methods of storing, analysing and accessing their data.
HR Magazine recently caught up with Ashley Clarke, Chief Operating Officer, FlexSystem, to discuss the changes that ever-improving technology will bring about, and the best practice for guiding companies through this process of change.
Redefinition of processes
Currently, many companies are locked into no solution or old solutions and have difficulty getting their data out easily, a problem which is compounded further by the data potentially being spread across different offices governed by different rules, often in different languages.
Clarke predicts that this whole interaction with underlying data is going to change over the next ten years, with some really exciting developments allowing for the metaphorical ‘knocking down’ of walls between offices in different parts of the globe. The area where evolution can currently be seen is operational processes, such as onboarding and recruitment, although at present it is still ‘very much an emerging area and not mainstream’.
New technology is also allowing for more intuitive data to be generated, which Clarke hopes will help to improve our work-life balance by cutting down on the swathes of information that HR practitioners often have to battle through. Rather than having hundreds of reports to wade through, they can be advised of exceptions. This way, the information received can be more proactive and more relevant, reducing associated admin costs. It can also help to bring attention to matters that might otherwise slip under the radar, such as employees who have not taken enough days off and are at risk of burning out.
Companies can enjoy a more proactive approach to reporting and an increased ability to explore the relationships between variables such as education level and performance, which can really open people’s eyes regarding KPIs and the underlying factors that play a role in achieving them. There are also strategic benefits to be considered. Workforce planning is dependant on a myriad of different things— newer technology allows us to bring them all together and analyse the potential effects of each in a more intuitive way.
Missing opportunities
Many systems in place today are around six or seven years old and—with all the underlying changes to technology in terms of increased speed, alteration to the user interface and the increased significance of mobile data, that have occurred in this time—there are several exciting processes that companies are currently not fully utilising.
Clarke believes that one of these areas is Employee Self Service (ESS). The successful implementation of ESS could provide significant reductions in admin costs relating to streamlined processes on leave expenses, procurement and travel and lead to more effective expense management in general. Underpinning the success of ESS needs to be a structured workflow—as processes need to work across applications as well as have a user-friendly environment for putting data into the system and retrieving it.
Taking the first step
Clarke states that as with any change management strategy, management buy-in is paramount, and it is necessary to nominate a steering committee, which can apply steady thought and a guiding hand to the procedure. He went on to stress the need to be on a modern platform that takes into account the emerging technology.
Prioritising is a vital facet of the change management process, with the core processes such as compensation and benefits being taken care of first, before moving onto the finer details: onboarding, recruitment, appraisals, performance management and training. This, Clarke feels, is one of the major perks of using modern technology: it can be rolled out in stages, with each one being an individual step on the longer journey towards total integration. Change will apply to all employees, meaning that a wide variety of ages and abilities are being catered to. This step-by-step method allows everyone to understand the new processes and to get up to speed, and should go some way to ‘demystifying the process’.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
