A glance at the HR departments shows that new technologies are slowly being introduced there. What is technically possible and what is actually used is growing into an enormous technology gap. Artificial Intelligence, automated matching or intelligent search are already available. At the same time, many companies are still struggling with basic HR systems, such as payroll accounting and simple HR master data. The creation of “job advertisements” is still being trained in PDF format, i.e. supposedly digital. Training is also lagging behind here.
In the meantime, HR could draw on the full range of resources: a wide variety of innovative solutions are available with which HR processes can be simplified and automated Although numerous start-ups and acquisitions make the digital HR map seem confusing, the solutions can still be divided into three areas:
- Numerous start-ups offer recruiting solutions, some with very different approaches. An example of this is the Swiss startup Lionstep which enables new possibilities in Active Sourcing using BigData.
- New onboarding and performance management platforms make a promising impression.
- Large market players such as SAP or Workday will gradually expand and improve their product range.
- JobCloud also offers an integrated applicant management system for smaller companies, which covers many needs.
- Entirely new big players are entering the market, especially LinkedIn with Microsoft and Facebook as well as Google. These will shape and influence the HR Tech landscape in the future.
Not surprisingly, “Adaptation to Innovation” and “Workforce Training and Development” are among the ten biggest challenges in the human resources field: Companies have to adapt quickly, otherwise they run the risk of being left behind by their competitors. The main challenge is to encourage employees to embrace innovation and learn new technologies. Communication plays a crucial role in this. With every change, the team must understand why, when and how.
Digitalization demands new skills
Perhaps the new technologies are not yet really mature or still somewhat unusual in handling. However, it is foreseeable that the technology will quickly become simpler and easier to operate. As a rule, people quickly learn how to handle new technologies.
However, the conversion currently being called for is far-reaching and can only be compared with past conversions to a limited extent: The current digitalization does not mean digitalizing analog processes, as was the case, for example, with the transition from applications submitted by post and fax to e-mail. Technologies based on artificial intelligence and social media are fundamentally changing processes and, in some cases, completely reorganizing them. They thus rely on a completely different awareness and demand new skills.
On a personal level we are already very experienced, as Kshitij Kashyap, VP of Human Capital at United Health Group, explains.
But what is the reason why HR is lagging behind technologically? One possible reason could be history. “HRTech was primarily based on technologies developed for the company and not for the employee,” argues Niel Nickolasien, Chief Technology Officer at O.C. Tanner. But that is about to change. The focus is on the employee as a person – with his or her experience and commitment. This is also much discussed in HR circles at the moment, for example at the Unleash event in October 2018 in Amsterdam, the DisruptHR or the HRTechClub Night on the topic of artificial intelligence in recruiting.
Most of HR technologies available on the market today are still organization-centric rather than employee-centric. While the HR department is often responsible for purchasing new technology, the end users of these technologies are the employees. HR technology is often implemented without questioning how these users normally behave, how they benefit and how they use the technology.
This is changing now that HR managers are increasingly taking a people-first approach. For companies, this is all about identifying the development potential of their employees. Nickolasia points out that employees want companies to help them manage their careers. In short, you expect to be treated like customers. That also means a change in awareness for HR.
What do personnel and coach driver have in common?
In my opinion, digitization with the numerous new technologies is a great opportunity in the area of human capital. However, on the one hand, companies must actively seize these opportunities and start their own digital journey. A change in cultural awareness that focuses on employees and solid change management in order to establish the new processes sustainably should be integral parts of this. It is well known that large market players, monopolies and structures in Switzerland know it very well for a few years longer, while it is already moderating under the lid. More human resources seem to be in a similar situation to the drivers of coaches around 1910: If we don’t learn to be clever with the new technical possibilities, we will soon be nostalgic. Because digitalization can hardly be stopped. There is currently no reason to hope that everything is just hot air and will soon collapse. Instead, the technical possibilities will continue to explode.
Related articles:
https://www.jobcloud.ch/c/de-ch/blog/2018/10/modernes-recruiting-richtet-den-blick-nach-vorn/