Devil called HR Technology

I know the headline will raise lot of eyebrows, but the fact is adoption of Technology in HR is often the last in "Digital Transformation" for any organisation. Reasons for this could be any of the following:

• Importance HR is given when the organisation is scaling from 0 to 1 OR 1 to 10
• Capability in our teams to understand the difference between "Automation" and "Digital Transformation" - Will detail this further below
• Quality of Technology available at a reasonable price
• Fear in the HR Team of "What Next" - Will my job remain if a new HR system is implemented well

A CFO of one the renowned start-ups once told me, "Quality of adoption for a new system is not dependent on the end user, but the person who is implementing it - Because he is who is deciding the Consumer Journey"

Some of the common questions on table when you are starting your technology adoption journey are:

1. Who is more important - Employee or HR?
   While this might look like an obsolete question, decision on this impacts lot of downstream decisions you will take. Think about Banking app - Where you want to create an Fixed Deposit, but the request for it goes to your RM for approval. Similarly, if I have leaves and I am planning well in advance, why should HR / Manager approve it?
   
   
2. Can one system solve all my problems?
   
   Honest answer is "No". At best any HR system will solve for 80-90% of your needs, for the remaining part you either need to let go or adjust your processes
   
   
3. What to Customize - System or Org. Process?
   
   Most systems have been built based on best practices across industries / organisations; thus offer efficiency and enhanced customer experience. Just because someone in your organisation created a process 10 years ago, we should not change is a recipe for disaster. When you ask your technology partner to customize the system as per your need, you are on "Automation" journey not "Digital Transformation"
   
   
4. Transaction Vs Control Vs Analytics - What is most important?
   
   I am certain, all of us agree Analytics is the most important thing to focus on. However, the ground realities are different - During this "Digital Journey", our focus is on; 

• who is doing the transaction 

• how many layers of control / approval should we have, 

• what are those exception scenarios (Less than 05% incident rate) which are not getting covered

We invest so much time on this part that we forget about Consumer (in this case employee) needs. We are fine if an employee has to do 4 clicks to apply for a leave but we are very uncomfortable if as an admin we can't do bulk approval for resignations (if you are doing bulk approval, it means you don't need to approve it)

The fact that if HR Tech. is one of the first investments organisations makes, the focus will move from Transactions to Employee NPS. Said that, how you implement is equally important.