How to Navigate Through the HR Tech Noise

In most organizations, human resource development (HRD) is the structured method of building up employee skills and knowledge. This effort strengthens teams and sets companies apart from the competition. The only problem is that many time times, HRD is complicated by overuse of technology that takes away from the experience, rather than promoting it.

A superior and ideal workforce is one that operates like a well-oiled machine. Every resource must be utilized to it’s fullest, including the collective brainpower of employees. There is no time for running into software problems. HRD comprises multiple activities, from career development and performance management to coaching and succession planning. Organizations have the obligation and the opportunity to transform average employees into high-performance future leaders.

The Connection between HRD and Employee Engagement

One area that plays a critical role in HRD is that of employee engagement management. It’s common knowledge that around two-thirds of the workforce is disengaged in some fashion. However, organizations that take the time to put human resource development plans into place tend to see the most engagement. The Society of Human Resource Management published a survey of 3,000 full time workers that was conducted by Randstad and Ipsos Public Affairs to uncover what factors keep them engaged the most. 28% of the respondents indicated that companies that encourage employees to share their ideas and opinions are important. Another 28% said companies that invest in the careers of employees through training and professional development matters. It’s clear that when companies invest in their most valuable people resources, engagement levels increase and the workplace becomes much more productive.

Overcoming technology barriers to HRD

Focusing company efforts on human resource development takes on many forms, as we discussed above. This opens things up for a variety of technology tools that may be used to perform, manage, and track certain aspects of HRD. The problem with this is that older software may not integrate well with new software, reducing enterprise systems to being obsolete in very little time. Trying to update products or force them to work together is a costly and time consuming prospect that defeats the purpose.

A solution to this problem is the use of cloud-based technology

As employee tools move to the cloud, and become easier than ever to deploy, there is the risk of overloading them with multiple monitor requests. For example, employees may be bombarded with too many touch-points, such as inquiries as to their well-being, engagement levels, feedback, pulses, assessments, and more -- on top of the traditional timesheets and other requirements put upon them by the company. All this, in addition to getting the day job done, can create the perfect storm for employee non-compliance. We call this ‘thunder’ that just gets in the way of daily employee productivity and over time, just doesn’t get taken seriously. Fortunately, there are simple tools that allow businesses to gather both implicit (surveys) and explicit (textual) feedback from employees. This data highlights areas that need attention, so that leaders can request further information where needed. In this way, employees are not overloaded with different tools asking them what they perceive as random and irrelevant questions at inconvenient times. In other words, with cloud-based tools, you can tailor the number of requests from your employees to suit their situation.  Like a tap, turn things up or down to suit each individual. This way, the data received can be better monitored and prioritised, while allowing each employee to get on with their job. All organizations must at least acknowledge, and then act swiftly in response to employee feedback to ensure continuation of the process, based on a meaningful exchange – the only way an employee will buy-in to the value of two-way communications. If the company takes it seriously, then naturally so will employees.

Find out how you can enable your employees to provide their anonymous feedback openly and truthfully by contacting Thymometrics; email info@thymometrics.com, call +1 646 760 9323 (US) or +44 (0) 1223 750 251 (Europe) or visit thymometrics.com. Image courtesy of dfrsce at FreeDigitalPhotos.net