Q&A with HR Tech Influencer Dan Staley

 

Dan Staley
Global HR Technology Leader, Oracle HCM Cloud
PwC

 

 

What area of the HR function will be most impacted by emerging technologies, and why?

Make no mistake, emerging technologies will impact every area of HR.  However, the talent acquisition function will continue to be impacted significantly.  Not only has the scarcity of talent and the shift towards a gig economy already forced the function to source and attract talent differently, but emerging technologies (AI, IoT, chatbots, RPA, gamification, etc.) are changing how candidates and employers find and communicate with each other, how candidates are vetted/screened, how interviews get conducted and hiring decisions made, and how new hires are on-boarded.

In acquiring and implementing new technologies, what’s the one or two most common mistakes HR organizations make?

While 69% of organizations list “software functionality” as their number one selection criteria for acquiring HR software (based on PwC’s HR Technology survey), many do not focus enough on their handful of non-negotiables. If there is a certain practice or policy that is very specific to your organization and it cannot be changed, make sure it takes center stage over the hundreds of common requirements that the vendors all handle in largely the same way.  When it comes to implementations — especially during migrations to cloud (SaaS) – leaders must be open and prepared for change.  The top cloud HR implementation challenge is the unwillingness of organizations to give up their antiquated, custom processes and policies and embrace (adapt to) the software as delivered.

Are there certain strategies that are more effective than others when it comes to getting your workforce to use new HR technologies being put in place?

“If you build it, they won’t necessarily come.” Adoption should be a critical focus for any HR implementation. It starts with strong and active executive sponsorship. Next, representatives from the impacted stakeholder/user groups should be included early in the implementation process to ensure that their voices are heard. Once these two important components are in place, an effective change management, training and communication plan is needed that regularly and clearly articulates the value of the new application and provides a feedback mechanism for the impacted users. Lastly, adding gamification components to the application is an effective way to reinforce desired user behaviors.

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