Buck Bond Group

“Vast and vague”: How is new technology affecting your HR business?

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There’s a small discussion going on over at Toolbox.com on the impact that new technology tools is having on HR. One contributor pointed out that, while the new tools have made HR systems rich and efficient, they’ve also become “vast and vague” and hard to work with effectively. “It takes too much time to understand the technology.”

Others in the discussion point out that HR doesn’t always fully populate the systems, leading to information that’s inconsistent or unavailable. Acquisition and implementations are not clearly thought through in some cases, while in others the technology is chosen by IT or Finance with no understanding of HR’s real needs.

We’ve looked at technology project failures before (see our paper, Why Tech Fails) and explored the reasons things go wrong and what you can do to get them right. But that was before the emergence of mobile technology, the need to streamline systems and platforms, and the challenge of pulling your data together towards data-centred HR strategies.

We’d like to know what your experience has been with new technologies, and what your current headaches are.

In particular, we’d like to know:

  1. Who has the biggest influence in the decision to acquire new technology for your HR operation – or does HR have a say at all?
  2. In making that decision, are HR’s requirements coordinated with other systems? Can they talk to each other, or is everyone siloed?
  3. Is adapting to various platforms and devices a priority for your organization?
  4. Do you have enough data to use it to help drive business strategies? Do you have the ability to get at it and use it in your HR systems?
  5. What new piece of technology would make your life in HR better?

We’d be interested in hearing what your experience has been like with new HR technologies. Use the comment box and let us know.