The Red or the Blue Pill...Digital Disruption in HR
Bernadine Symonds, Group Head of People, Meridian Group
Bernadine Symonds, Group Head of People, Meridian Group
This is your last chance, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill; the story ends and you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes…’ (you guessed it, the Matrix)
In a world of digital disruption, we can bury our heads in the sand and hope we keep up or we take the red pill and find out exactly how deep the rabbit hole goes and… the hole is deep and getting deeper.
Businesses need technology and access to data insights just to be competitive.If, as businesses we need not only recognise that digital is here and here to stay but also embrace it, implement it and make it work for us where do we start?
We start with strategic intent. Asking the right questions. Why do you want technology? It can’t simply be to have an HRIS system in the name of modernity.
What information are you wanting to see and why? This needs to be closely linked to the strategic intent of the business. Have a clear picture of what reports and data you would like to see and why and reverse engineer to determine what inputs will need to be required. From there you can determine what platforms and resources and processes you need to obtain that data. Having said that, however, it is not a perfect science. As you move along the journey you have to have the appetite for incremental discovery and adapt.
Let’s consider company A. Their strategic intent is to grow. Their number one measure of success is ‘are we growing?’. So what information would they want from their HR data? Do we have the right talent in the right roles? Are our people sufficiently engaged to achieve growth objectives? Are our staffing ratios to revenue correct to ensure healthy profit growth (sustainability)? How do we maintain credibility and efficiency as we expand i.e. multiple acquisitions with shared service synergies in terms of data processing? Are our people learning fast enough with ROI?
Company B wants to maintain current market share and maximize profit . Their number one measure of success is ‘are we making profit as defined?’. So what information would they want from their HR data? Cost to staff. Managing liability (absenteeism, contracting). Cost to hire. Remuneration and benchmarking. Efficiencies in data processing.
Lastly company C is a start up wanting to innovate and break into the market. Their number one measure of success is ‘what did we disrupt?’ So what information would they want from their HR data? Can we collaborate with track and trace? Are we attracting talent? Do we have ambassadors or employees?
The Global HR Technology MarketIs Projected to Grow by at a CAGR of 7.5 Percent from 2022 to 2029
Without carefully considering the above, you are simply jumping on the digital train without gravy or direction (disclaimer: the above are neither exhaustive or definitive).
So, we assume we know why and where we are going, now what? Well, it’s a five- day game. Do not allow vendors; IT partners or anyone for that matter tell you otherwise. Do not sell your Board a one-day game – you will simply end up sunburnt and cursing your wicket outcome (get it…?). Transitioning to a full digital solution is an arduous journey and must be treated with respect. Eight steps define implementation. For the sake of space, I have included a table below which I am hoping will help but call me (maybe) if you would like to unpack further (again disclaimer: there are dependencies related to your baseline).
