Gap between importance of technology and the amount of attention given to it
Let’s start with the essential question — where does HR stand with regards to technology and innovation? In his 1962 book Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers divided adopters of new technology into five groups: innovators (first 2.5 per cent), early adopters (next 13.5 per cent), early majority (next 34 per cent), late majority (next 34 per cent) and laggards (last 16 per cent).
According to the Pulse Survey, 37.7 per cent of organizations fall in the early groups and 62.3 per cent fall in the late groups. These results support the idea HR has been relatively slow to warm up to technology.
With respect to the amount of time or effort devoted to thinking about technology, and the challenges and opportunities it may bring, 29.6 per cent spend a significant amount of time and effort, 51 per cent dedicate some time and effort and 19.4 per cent spend very little or no time or effort in doing so.
As for an HR technology plan, 32.1 per cent say their function or department has one, 57.6 per cent say they do not and 10.4 per cent simply do not know. Interestingly, the proportion of organizations with an HR technology plan hovers around 30 per cent for organizations with up to 5,000 employees but jumps dramatically to 76.8 per cent for organizations with more than 5,000 employees. Given the importance most ascribe to technology, the above numbers suggest there is room for improvement.
There seems to be a widespread recognition we should move forward with the technology agenda for HR — 81.5 per cent of respondents indicate it is either essential or very important for HR professionals to be tech-savvy.
There is also a strong interest in technology applied to HR: 46.2 per cent indicate HR technology is a topic that is of great interest to them and 86.3 per cent indicate there should be more emphasis on technology-related topics in HR professional development.
Nonetheless, a number of respondents say the focus of technology knowledge and skills for HR professionals should be on making smart technology decisions. Some say the technology knowledge and skills HR professionals should have haven’t been well mapped out or standardized and this should be a starting point.
Others note some challenges. HR functions are often required to work around systems designed to meet the needs of finance or some other function. Some also note that only through increased use of technology will HR functions be able to deliver with the required level of efficiency and effectiveness. Others feel HR functions simply do not have enough time and resources to spend working on HR technology solutions.
As well, some respondents note there are real dangers when HR processes are reshaped to fit the technology, rather than the other way around. Others express the concern interpersonal skills may be de-emphasized and the human touch might be lost while others think a move away from the soft skills would benefit HR.
The survey results suggest there is a gap between the importance of technology for HR professionals and the amount of attention that has been given to the topic — more discussion and focus are needed to look at both the role of technology in HR and the kind and level of technology knowledge and skills HR professionals need to have.
Claude Balthazard is director of HR excellence and registrar at the Human Resources Professionals Association in Toronto. He can be reached at [email protected].
