If you think new technology will solve that pervasive HR problem, you may be bitterly disappointed, warns one renowned expert.
If you think investing in new technology will instantly solve all your pervasive HR problems, then you’re in for a bitter disappointment – that’s the warning from one industry expert who says solutions must start with people.
“One of the most common misconceptions I see is people thinking that technology is going to fix their organisational problem but it rarely does,” says Ward Christman, founder of HR Tech Advisor. “If anything, it can make a problem happen much faster.”
Christman points to employee performance review templates as a way in which tech can actually make an existing problem much worse.
“For performance reviews, I’ve seen a lot of people sell a lot of software because the manager looks at it and thinks; ‘Great, I don’t even have to think about what to say when I’m reviewing people anymore, I can just pick from a list,’
“But guess what, when the employee gets their performance review and the answers all sound the same as they did in the last review, they think; ‘Wait a minute, are you even bothering to coach me or help me?’”
Christman – who has worked in the HR tech advisory space for more than 25 years – says HR professionals must identify the root cause of any issue before they throw technology solutions at it.
“The underlying business process or company issue needs to be resolved or at the very least identified before you put technology in,” he tells HRM. “Sometimes it just takes a knowledgeable consultant or expert to take a look and do an assessment of what’s going on.”
For example, if employee performance reviews aren’t being completed or aren’t seen as valuable, HR teams must figure out what’s causing it before investing in new tech.
“Maybe people want to get feedback every day and not once a quarter or once a year,” says Christman. “Somebody has to look at that and figure out how to change expectations and processes internally so that the company can provide more continuous feedback.”
Only then can HR identify which technology platforms will be able to offer the right solution that can be tailored to the specific needs of the company.
“At the end of the day, we need to focus on the human aspects and what’s underlying then we can leverage technology to enhance and improve life for people,” says Christman.
