The more technology impacts the way employees interact with their work, the more important it becomes for HR and IT departments to work together. Both areas work to have a positive impact on business outcomes, on overall productivity and both contribute to the EVP by providing the tools and the support to help individual employees achieve success in their roles.
According to Josh Bersin’s review of the hottest HR Technologies last fall, disruptive technologies are changing the face of every aspect of Human Resources from talent engagement and candidate interaction; all the way through training and development, and performance management; playing a larger role in defining the employee experience.
How HR could benefit
Innovation
A team with more diverse experience can bring more creativity to solutions by drawing from each other’s knowledge. Many IT people are very innovative thinkers. IT people tend to be early adopters of technologies and are drawn to the possibility of incorporating new ideas into their work environments. Creating this larger idea base can help implement strategic initiatives, like Employer Branding, in a more cohesive way throughout the company.
Process Improvement
Success in any technical area generally requires a methodical approach towards the end goal, with each step of the process building on the last. When HR collaborates on projects with IT, there is a huge benefit in applying that perspective to streamline any internal process. If a company can use process improvement to help create a clear line of sight from an employee’s work to the company objectives, it can result in stronger employee engagement.
How IT could benefit
Change management
Large system integrations or new technology implementations often cause frustration and lower productivity, not because of the technology – but because of the employee readiness for change. Any change to the day to day way employees work can lead to employee burnout if there has not been enough work done to manage the change.
HR and IT can work together more effectively in advance of any implementation, on the change management strategy. Working together to help explain the need for the change and to better set employee expectations through the process can minimize any negative impact on employee engagement.
Internal communication
Technical initiatives and IT departmental goals can become wrapped up in jargon that employees outside of the department don’t necessarily relate to. HR can collaborate with IT on internal communications that will help showcase the value of IT programs and updates to the entire organization and the importance of the productivity tools to the EVP.
The more the IT and HR worlds overlap, the easier it is to see that both functional areas have a common agenda. It provides growing opportunities for HR and IT to collaborate more often, to formulate joint strategies, and to share best practices and resources to improve the EVP.
There is tremendous opportunity to join forces on business strategy and move your organization forward.
