Five Reasons why Technology is Lost on HR
SteveNote: Today's post is from Tim Sackett, Executive Vice President of HRU Technical Resources in Lansing, MI. Tim can often be seen as a regular contributor to the Fistful of Talent blog (when he is not holding out for better terms and working conditions). Take it away Tim:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I’ve spent a number of years in the Corporate HR world in a number of large companies, across multiple industries – and in every stop I was amazed at how 90% of HR Pros just didn’t get technology and how it could help them do their job. In my experiences, I saw individuals who only wanted enough technology to help streamline some frustrating processes, but not enough where it would even come close to making them more efficient. Why? Because 
fLICKR - TOM CONGERefficiency equals possible job cuts, which means technology at its core is the enemy of most HR folks. This concept gets lost on most HR Pros who are following blogs, using social media (even newbies), have their work email on their Blackberry or iPhone, etc. This small 5-10% of the HR population knows the other side exists, but believes it probably is much smaller than reality.
This being said – I wanted to give you all a little refresher of how the other 90% are living today, and why technology just might be the anti-Christ to the majority of the HR World:
1. First and foremost – we don’t have an HRIS Dept. or an HRIS person (which is most companies in the world), so we have to rely on IT, which puts us usually down on the “When Hell Freezes Over” priority list.
2. We are a cost center (at least that’s what we’ve been told since forever) and don’t understand how to build the business case to add the expense of the next greatest technology tool to help us perform our job functions better.
3. We are the gatekeepers of employee communication and HIPPA which means paper files, signed forms and scrolls of birch bark. In no way could we do anything differently – it worked for our grandparents, and it works for us!
4. Social Media? No, no, no…I can’t trust that my employees can use Facebook, LinkedIn or even email appropriately for proper work purposes. Twitter? What’s that? Look – we struggle with giving them access to a phone – do you even know how many personal calls they make!
5. Our employees get all the communication they need through our Intranet site and their managers – I mean we update our intranet site each Year with our benefit updates!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Note : Tim Sackett, SPHR is the Executive Vice President of HRU Technical Resources in Lansing, MI. Tim loves everything talent acquisition, and believes every corporate recruitment department in America can and must get better. He has 15+ years of human resource leadership experience, across multiple industries, on both the corporate and agency side.
Reader Comments (9)
Good guest post Tim, and important to remember that there may be a variety of reasons why our HR peers may not be "embracing" technology. All these points are valid and definitely things I have heard from others, Personally, #1 is what leads to the lack of HR Technology innovation in our organization - people resources and time to "get things off the ground."
Definitely accurate observations and in line with many of my own consulting experiences. One nit to pick -- it is actually HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) and not HIPPA for the acronym.
I DO work in HRIS and have to deal with many of the same HR attitudes that you described above. I really don't understand the lack of trust that HR professionals have for their fellow employees. Yes, some will do things they aren't supposed to, but others will handle things just fine, as with anything else.
Great post. Just to put an alternate view on point 2. At some point the business will realise that HR have not been investing in the appropriate technology to engage better with employees and decrease costs. I would not like to be the HR manager explaining why the investment was not made and the potential positive impact on the bottom line never realised. It could be a very uncomfortable conversation.
Oddly, the EVP of HR was among the early advocates and thought leaders on getting our company and culture 2.0-ized. We started with LinkedIn, then Second Life, quickly followed by an internal social ("collaboration") network, and then on blogs and Twitter.
And yet, as you point out, our HR folks remain hesitant at best. The PR folks were in the same boat in year #1 but are well beyond that hesitation now!
Why the hesitation?
I believe it has something to do with their "official" nature. They are not used to being "normal" employees. Even executives are entitled to have opinions -- but HR and PR folks? They see themselves as "official" policy keepers and spokespeople.
The other major part? They fear taking on anything that will mean they have to do more. Especially the HR folks.
Of course, once people give it a try, I think it can soon become clear that social media allows them to do less of the noise and police work, and more of the strategic work that they crave.
-- Polly Pearson
Former head of PR; Former HR VP
Current VP of Employment Brand and Strategy Engagement, EMC Corp.
Great post. I live and fight these stigmas every day in my HR world, even in a technology company. Also, I think Polly Pearson made an excellent point about how embracing technology helps HR focus more on strategy and less on gatekeeping.
Robin S - I agree - resources are always a struggle - but get someone with exceptional drive to get the project over the goal-line and usally resources somehow aren't as big of obstacle
Ron - thanks for the edit catch - Jessica Lee usually grabs those for me on Fistful!
Catherine - In my first week of any new job/company - I made friends with the HRIS group right away - the unsung hero's of HR
Jerry - Oh, you're preaching to the choir - couldn't agree with you more - unfortunately we are in the minority of HR Pros
Polly - great insight - I always believe that HR rank and file are only as good as their HR Exec becomes an advocate for them to be - give them true empowerment, and some amazing cultural things can happen
Dave - Like Jerry above - I totally agree!
Thanks everyone for the feedback - I truly appreciate it.
Thanks to everyone that read and commented, and special thanks to Tim for writing such an excellent post.
For this reason, entrepreneurial-minded grownup males and females take place to be getting Australian ugg boots in bulk for resale at a acceptable markup inside the UK, Europe, US and Canada, but nevertheless a good offer much less pricey than regional stores.even although ugg is a good offer debate surrounding the fashionableness of uggs , everyone who owns a pair of genuine sheepskin UGG Australia agrees that focusing on how stylish they are is largely missing the point. after you've owned and operated a pair of genuine ugg cardy , you quite quickly overlook how stylish or not they may possibly be, and instead comment a amazing offer more on how amazingly cozy and comfy their sheepskin wool fleece is. And don't get me began on ugg cardy boots sheepskin slippers.