People are at the heart of any business. Yet it often feels that the way we support those people has more to do with tradition, processes or systems than it does with the people themselves.
Technology should be an enabler to support HR departments to provide a better service
a better service for those using it
a better service for those being managed through it
a better service for the business itself
The issue can be seen clearly even at the outset of employee engagement; focusing on the on-boarding of staff, a company will likely manage two systems to serve the different needs of HR and Technology.
While this may be inevitable, there is scope here for proactive IT departments to develop solutions which bridge this gap and enable systems - and therefore people - to work smarter.
Designed for People, Designed for Success
This article from Sapho.com shares positive stories from hugely successful companies who made strides in their employee engagement by using design thinking to refocus their HR processes.
The piece states:
‘Design thinking can transform routine HR activities into automated or self-serve processes that save time and increase productivity. On a more human level, design thinking has the power to transform how employees get work done and increase employee happiness when they have the right tools.’
Design thinking allows companies to step away from ‘how it’s always been done’ to embrace solutions with the person – or their pain point – at their heart. An IT department which supports such developments will make themselves a valuable asset to the HR department they’re supporting. It benefits both IT and HR to step away from the status quo and focus on the design.
Let’s Stop Repeating Ourselves
While employee happiness is certainly a worthwhile goal, this is certainly not the only benefit a user centric solution can provide your HR department.
Many of the siloed tasks undertaken by HR and IT staff are repetitive manual processes which could be automated; for example, onboarding and offboarding employees. Automation of these processes improves efficiency benefiting the new recruit, the HR and IT employees managing the processes and, again, the company as a whole.
To ensure a thorough understanding of employees and their pain points, the IT department needs to work closely with their HR peers. By doing so, it will be possible to develop solutions which streamline and automate these processes so that employee provisioning and deprovisioning becomes a smooth, minimum effort transition.
Security First Thinking
As well as improvements in the speed and ease of processing provided by the right technical solutions, automation will reduce the risk of mistakes which are inherent in predominantly manual processing.
And avoiding the risks of bad data is only part of this piece, as automation will also ensure greater security. Imagine having solutions which work together seamlessly to manage the user lifecycle - from recruitment, onboarding and systems access, through to deprovisioning.
These systems will ensure new recruits are welcomed into their role with the right security access, applications and permissions. Intuitive systems should ensure this access can be switched off as easily as on, providing better security and accurate information management.
That’s a better solution for everyone
The role of IT within any organisation is to provide solutions which support people. Working closely with HR means this will be achieved across the board. Providing optimum solutions for HR staff means providing optimum solutions for employees throughout the organisation.
With time and effort saved allowing both teams to focus on other strategic initiatives.
About the Author
I'm Terry Chana. I am an innovation strategist that connects customer, employee and brand experiences. My passion lies in building ecosystems to solve business problems by combining creativity and technology.