Effective HR = HR operating model + HR technology strategy

Alight Solutions third edition of ‘State of HR Transformation Study 2020’ predicts ‘mature’ organizations with HR operating models and tech strategy complementing it will have full value of their initiatives:

The third edition of the `State of HR Transformation Study 2020’ done by Alight Solutions has found that organizations with a combination of HR operating model and complementing HR technology strategy are confident in their ability to adapt.

The study has defined 4 archetypes for evaluation purposes - Ad-hoc, which are organizations with limited/ no clarity on HR operating model, Defined, which are organizations that have either their HR operating model or HR technology strategy defined and established, Mature that are organizations that have their HR operating model complemented by HR technology strategy that have not realized the full value of their initiatives and Outliers, which are organizations that are a subset of Mature archetypes who are highly satisfied with their technology deployments that complement the HR operating model.

The study f ound that Mature archetypes (organizations which have clarity on HR operating model and HR technology) are almost 2 times more confident in their ability to adapt and 2.5 times more productive. Outlier archetypes have been found to be nearly 4 times more confident in their ability to adapt. “Outliers excel on all adaptability anchors, but notably break the trend by excelling the most on navigating to the future that is closely linked to the governance practices in HR,” says the study.

FUTURE IS PRESENT

The study with the theme `Adaptable HR’, conducted in the backdrop of the pandemic, highlights that what could have been a reality of the future has now become the present. “In fact, what the HR function might have planned for the future is something that it has to deliver now! Being Adaptable is no longer a choice, it is an imperative; it is the inevitable. It is critical that HR teams accelerate the change of their HR service delivery model and drive the shift needed in organizations to adapt to this new business model. The journey of transformation is continuous and it will only accelerate in this environment,” it says.

The study maintains that capability development in HR has remained a top focus for organizations along with the need for an integrated talent management process. This indicates two possible causes, it says, pointing out that (i) a lack of focus and follow-through in solving some of these problems; and (ii) HR is driving programs from a siloed focus without elevating the solution lens which could help solve multiple problems together. “The key differentiator for Mature archetypes,” says the study, “is the ability to close the gap on capability development in HR. They are able to do so by collaborating better within HR and with a focus to navigate to the future,” it explains.

SOME TOP PRIORITIES

• The study lists some of the top priorities for HR in the coming 12 to 24 months: Managerial effectiveness sees greater priority as compared to the past, this is a linked focus stemming from the need to drive employee experience and change for both of which managers are a critical pivot.

• Process integration and simplification remain a top priority as it ties in with the focus on employee experience and reducing transactional burden across stakeholders.

The study makes a bold statement that digital is key for HR to deliver on both employee experience and compliance and reveals that 75% of the participating organizations have a service delivery model that is either partially or completely established. “Increasingly, complementing technology and governance of the model will play a key role in establishing the effectiveness

of the model. Employee experience and compliance are the dominating service delivery design principles. This accentuates the role that platforms play in the realization of the service design. The service design is realized through omni-channels offered by platforms to deliver consumer grade experience while having in-built invisible lines of authority to drive control points in HR,” it states.

HIGH TOUCH, HIGH TECH

The study f i nds t hat technology satisfaction is on the rise as the buying behaviours both on platforms and deployment partners are changing. It elaborates:

Getting technology right is not a choice but an imperative in today’s world. Increasingly, organisations will use an optimized technology stack to balance both ` High Touch’ and `High Tech’ in the context of the users, business need and the aspiration of efficient operations

Percentage of respondents that are highly or somewhat satisfied with their HR technology has risen by almost 1.5 times as compared to 2017 Polarisation of evaluation parameters center around aspects of analytics, experience and total cost of ownership. The rise of the concept (as opposed to the common view of just looking at licensing and deployment fees) indicates improved maturity and this supports the shift to cloud Organizations need more than just implementation. The deployment partners of choice will be those that can help them realize the combination of HR domain, adoption, operational excellence and application management

ROBOTICS, COGNITIVE TECH

The study mentions that robotics and cognitive technologies are a huge opportunity to tap on but this r e q ui r e s r e a di nes s a nd maturit y within organizations. “Automation is increasingly becoming an essential add-on to the efficiency arsenal of HR services. While there is an overall increase, we also see caution in responses with percentage of Mature users going down. This reflects better thinking on internal readiness and adoption. Both of these are critical to the success of automation initiatives,” it says.

The study expects a sharp rise in the application of Robotic Process Aut o mati o n in contact centers, payroll and workforce administration. Recruiting and Analytics, on the other hand, see greater application of Natural Language Processing and Unstructured Data Conversion technologies.

“Mature archetypes with shared services are almost 2 times more advanced i n adopting robotic and cognitive technologies. This is indicative of the much-needed partnership between HR operations and technology to solve for efficiency and experience needs. This collaboration paves the way for organization readiness to drive greater adoption of such technologies,” says the study.

The study is based on data captured using a survey that saw participation by over 2200 respondents from 678 o r g a ni z a t i o ns i n Great e r Chi na, ASEAN, India and other countries. The industries covered include software and internet companies, banking and financial services, consumer products, energy, utilities and natural resources, automotive, engineering and construction and electronics, semi-conductors and computer equipment.