HRE Column: Some common questions (and even a few answers) about HR Tech

Here is my semi-frequent reminder and pointer for blog readers that I also write a monthly column at Human Resource Executive Online called Inside HR Tech that can be found here.

As usual, the Inside HR Tech column is about, well, HR Tech, (sort of like I used to write about all the time on this blog), and it was inspired by the recent presentation that Trish McFarlane and I gave at the SHRM Annual Conference, (note, you can find those slides here).

I once again kind of liked this month's column, (I suppose I like all of them, after all I wrote them), but felt like sharing this one on the blog because it touches upon what has been in the past a pretty popular topic with HR leaders today - how to make the most of their HR technology investments.

Here is an excerpt from the column, Common Questions About HR Tech:

At the recently concluded Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference in Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to co-present to a very large audience along with my HR Happy Hour Podcast co-host Trish McFarlane on the topic of HR technology implementations, and more specifically, on some of the most common myths surrounding the subject of HR technology more generally.

But rather than use this column to run through these myths and our ideas of how to “bust” them, I wanted to take some time to share and try and dig into some of the common questions I get when presenting on HR technology to HR audiences, in hopes that the questions that Trish and I received during and after the session are indicative of the broad questions and concerns that most HR professionals have about HR technology. And, by the way, if you are interested in the HR tech “myths” themselves, you can check out the slide deck that we used here.

Question No. 1: Is it better to have a single unified system for all of my HR processes, or should we look for the “best” solutions for each area and then integrate them later?

Our take: This question, whether a single system is preferable to several so-called “best-of-breed” solutions that support different process areas has been asked for about a decade now, perhaps longer. And the “answer” is still—unsatisfyingly—the same: “It depends.”

There are numerous and company-specific factors that influence whether the increased capability that many “best-of-breed” solutions say for process areas such as recruiting or learning are offset by the ease with which data is shared, if the user experience is common to all and the vendor-management process is simplified when using a single, unified system.

Each company has to think about how their workforces create value, their business strategy and then how these influence what kinds of technologies can support them. So there is no single “right” answer, but only a “right” answer for each organization, and this can only be found by prioritizing systems needs in light of where, how and through whom the organization drives value and results.

Read the rest over at HRE Online 

Good stuff, right? Humor me...

If you liked the piece you can sign up over at HRE to get the Inside HR Tech Column emailed to you each month. There is no cost to subscribe, in fact, I may even come over and wash your car or cut the grass for you if you do sign up for the monthly email.

Have a great Wednesday!

Call for nominations: HR Executive of the Year #HRExec

Quick break from the regular content on the blog to share an announcement and an opportunity for you or for the HR leader at your organization.

Each year over at Human Resource Executive magazine, (where I have a monthly Inside HR Tech column), the publication's editors award the prestigious HR Executive of the Year award to one HR leader that is recognized for making outstanding contributions to their organization and who exemplify the increasingly strategic role of Human Resources in business today. (You can skip the rest of my description and jump straight to the nomination form if you like).

Past HR Executive of the Year recipients include Google's Laszlo Bock, Mara Swan from Manpower Group, and last year's HR Executive of the Year, Mark James of Honeywell.

For Human Resources leaders, being recognized as the HR Executive of the Year is probably the most prestigious honor that an HR leader can receive - something akin to HR's version of the Academy Award, or for my sensibilities, the MVP of the NBA.

The qualifications needed to be considered for HR Executive of the Year are pretty simple - candidates must have overall responsibility for the entire human resource function in their organizations, three or more years of experience in their current positions and five or more years of experience in the field. 

One individual will be named HR Executive of the Year; up to four individuals will be named to the HR Honor Roll. For the HR Honor Roll, companies will be divided into two categories: those with fewer than 7,500 employees and those with 7,500 or more employees.

The 2014 HR Executive of the Year Nomination form can be found here and the call for nominations for this prestigious award closes on May 5, 2014.

I encourage you to submit your HR leader for this fantastic honor, and heck, if you are your HR leader then I encourage you to submit yourself!

At HR Exec, I'm on the road to find 'Awesome'

Over at the day job one of the things I do is write a monthly column for Human Resource Executive Magazine called 'Inside HR Tech'. The column is meant to try and highlight innovative and interesting HR Technology solutions and help HR leaders, (particularly ones at small and mid-size organizations), learn more about what is happening in the HR tech industry.

The latest column is up over at HRE Online, and is titled "The Road to 'Awesome': The process for selecting HR's most 'Awesome New Technologies' reveals an industry that continues to innovate", and features a number of the more interesting and engaging HR tech solutions I have seen recently as I work to program the 'Awesome New Technologies for HR' session at the upcoming HR Technology Conference.

I figure since this blog is still called 'Steve's HR Tech' there are probably some folks interested in the Inside HR Tech column, and then I realized I have not ever mentioned it here previously. So in a shameless example of self-promotion...

Here is a little excerpt from the latest column:

One of the tasks I have as co-chair of the upcoming HR Technology^® Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas this October is to program and select the participants for the 'Awesome New Technologies for HR' session, a general session meant to showcase a half-dozen of the most innovative and exciting new products and solutions in the HR market. The largest part of this process involves seeing product demonstrations and talking with a wide range, (and high number) of solution providers from across the HR technology industry. And while, at the time of this writing, I am still in the middle of the process, and no 'Awesome New' participants have been selected as yet, I certainly have seen about 40 or so solutions, many of which, whether they become 'awesome' or not, definitely fit the criteria my CHRO friend described.

So rather than wax philosophical once again in the column about some major 'mega-trend' in the industry, or offer some highly subjective interpretation of the 'future of HR technology' in this month's column I'd like to simply recognize a handful of really interesting and innovative technology solutions that I have seen recently, and that are indeed the kind of solutions that are accessible and (more importantly), deployable relatively quickly by organizations of all sizes. And most importantly, meet the CHRO's need to solve a problem she has right now -- and not in some future, robot-dominated, Google Glass covered world.

You can read the rest over at HRE Online, as well as sign up to have the monthly Inside HR Tech column delivered right into your email Inbox.

Regularly scheduled programming here will resume tomorrow.

<self-promotion done for the day>