Founder and CEO at HR Geckos, growing and nurturing HR-Digital ecosystems.
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The future of work is here and now. The impetus to rebrand our work cultures, strategies and codes of conduct is clear and present. No other crisis in the history of humankind has led to such mass adoption and acceleration of an HR digital transformation. Today, organizations are leading remote workforces that require digital HR tools. Virtually managed workflows, workforce planning analytics, AI platforms for candidate screening and onboarding, and using chatbots to respond to employee FAQs are not things of the future — they are here, and HR organizations that do not adopt quickly will fall behind their competitors.
According to a 2019 survey, 17% of work is now done through automation. That's up from 8% three years ago and is expected to hit 30% in another three years, perhaps even faster due to the pandemic. Digital disruption is transforming HR at a much faster pace today due to the abrupt shift to a blended workforce model, where a remote workforce is more the norm than the exception and employees are more tech-dependent than ever before. They expect employers to provide a consumer-grade experience in the workplace. Virtual reality, chatbots and artificial intelligence are emergent technologies that are exponentially enhancing employee experience and productivity. Organizations that have only automated a few HR operations or have not automated at all will miss out on the benefits automation brings, including the competitive advantage of using HR data and analytics to boost the bottom line.
When planning to introduce HR automation to your organization, begin by gauging your team's mindset and upskilling your HR department. A digital-forward mindset and technical literacy are imperative to ensuring the success of your move into the cloud. Once your team is confident and ready, start with the fundamental processes before moving to more complex operations.
As your organization moves toward automation, it's important to keep in mind that the adoption of any new technology needs to align with an organization’s priorities, people and culture. In this digital-forward "now of work," while HR shifts from systems of engagement/experience to systems of intelligence — from integrated user interfaces and cloud computing to AI and analytics applications — it is essential to be conscious of how new technology ties into the business’s vision, customer satisfaction goals and employee engagement targets. Putting the "H" back in HR with an increased focus on empathy is critical to making work better for all workers.
As we fully embrace the digital revolution, we must be mindful of "automation bias" when choosing technology — subscribing to the notion that technology is better than humans at various functions. Be sure to establish robust governance of the automated technologies you implement so that bias isn’t encoded into algorithms and perpetuated through automation bias. After all, HR is in the people business more than any other department within an organization. How we use technology to build meaningful human connections digitally in the workforce is the tightrope we must purposefully walk if we are to remain at the core of the business.
Human resources, “the people function,” exists to enrich and enable responsive and adaptive services and processes. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a significant shift in mindset. In handling the contingencies arising from this global crisis, HR has validated, embraced and quickly adopted digital innovations. Direct feedback from employee populations will help HR organizations endorse and promulgate the best-in-class services. As HR professionals become savvier and swift consumers of analytics and information systems, the people function's digital transformation has come out of hibernation, and a long summer awaits!
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