HR has a key role to play in the digital transformation of companies. Alongside other professions (IT, Marketing, etc.), Human Resources is an essential link in the success of the digitalization. Indeed, when we talk about transformation, we're talking about culture, organization and resistance to change. These are all key issues for an organization's HR department.
What role can HR play in the company's digital transformation?
We should write this title in the plural, because there are several roles that Human Resources must play in the context of digital transformation. In a context of hybrid workdigitalization has accelerated at all levels of the company. This is why we speak of a "Digital Mindset" to define the digital culture that companies must now adopt.
In a previous article, we stressed the importance of corporate culture of corporate culture in a hybrid mode of working in which telecommuting is becoming widespread. However, corporate culture always takes longer to evolve than the deployment of new digital tools.
Changing everything and digitizing everything quickly is not viable. Because transforming your organization takes time, and the cultural reorganizations involved even more so. Once the upheaval phase is over, it's time to sort things out, to understand the mistakes made in the rush. But you also have to draw the right conclusions, value certain initiatives and understand everyone's needs. Indeed, the needs and maturity levels of business lines, departments and employees differ when it comes to digital. That's whythere isn't just ONE digital strategy, but rather a number of digital strategies adapted to each individual need, context and target.
In this context, Human Resources have a central role to play in providing human support to employees and in their own digitalization.
Accelerating the digitalization of HR
Before talking about its role for other professions and the company as a whole, Human Resources must continue to accelerate the digitization of its tools and processes. But let's go one step further than simply digitizing HR. The employee experience (from candidate to employee) in the age of digitalization and hybrid work must be at the heart of our thinking. Take, for example, the digitization of pay slips. This action needs to be thought through and placed in the more global context of the employee experience.
The answer is not 100% digital, at the risk of creating an employee experience that does not correspond to the real needs and expectations of employees in certain situations.
Looking beyond the digital transformation of HR
The employee experience can no longer be separated from digital tools. But when we talk about digitalizing practices, we often forget to think about the other side. We're talking here about the physical part of the employee experience, and how it integrates with the rest of the digital processes that are disseminated throughout the organization. This means we need to think in terms of hybrid solutions to make telecommuting and office work more comfortable for everyone.
The central role of data for HR in the age of digital transformation
The explosion in employee data now makes it possible to monitor, identify and potentially predict engagement. This kind of engagement management is within reach, and doesn't require as much investment as it might seem.
This control can be implemented gradually, by aggregating collaborator data source by source for ever greater reliability.
The data collected or reported to HR can be as diverse as :
- best practices identified in certain departments;
- internal performance indices ;
- clear, department-specific contact sheets;
- regular, systematic analysis of feedback from employees/candidates on specific topics.
To explore this subject further, let's look at a few specific examples.
Using data to identify employee skills
Firstly, let's look at how data can be used to continuously improve employee skills.
Companies can no longer rely solely on experts. To react and adapt more quickly, companies need to identify more cross-functional profiles. Indeed, these profiles must be able to create links between different subjects to implement action plans more rapidly.
To identify these profiles and their skills, we need to look beyond their position and evaluation to better understand who they are, and the possible areas of intervention.
To achieve this, it is necessary to use data and weak signals to make the most of the company's hidden strengths.
Use survey data to improve the employee experience
Next, let's look at examples of surveys and the usefulness of the data they provide. Social climate barometers and surveys have become essential levers for obtaining feedback on the employee experience. As such, they are necessary to better manage team commitment in support of business strategy.
While companies generally pay particular attention to the creation of questionnaires and the statistical processing of data, two others frequently represent a real challenge for them:
- appropriation of results ;
- the production of action plans with tangible effects.
However, it is the analysis of data and its use a posteriori to initiate transformation actions that remains the priority challenge.
Adopt a digital mindset and accelerate the adaptation of corporate culture to a digitalized world
HR people and managers are often in the habit of referring to their company and the team they recruit for as a "family". It's a common enough metaphor. Yet:
- they sometimes choose to lay off some of their employees;
- they make recruitment mistakes and must correct them;
- they have "resources" they no longer need and need to let go.
So the family metaphor clearly has serious limitations. Patty McCord, former head of human resources at Netflix, argues that HR professionals should use the sports team metaphor instead. In so doing, they embrace the transient, project-based nature of all professional relationships.
She goes further, listing a series of fundamental practices and ideas that support the company's digital mindset.
- Open, clear and constant communication about the work to be done and the challenges to be met;
- Radical honesty in the workplace because adults are equipped to hear the truth;
- The CEO is the creator and guardian of the corporate culture;
- All actions are based on what' s best for customers and the company...
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