Leaders want greater focus on strategy and less admin; but HR urged not to lose its focus on conversation and collaboration
Almost three quarters of HR departments are planning to undertake a restructure over the next year, according to a new poll which suggests a need to increase strategic capability is the key driver for change.
A total of 74 per cent of the UK HR leaders surveyed by ServiceNow and Engage ESM said they would restructure to enable them to focus on strategy and transformational change. While HR directors believe they can make a significant contribution to their organisation’s overall business strategy, their teams are spending less than a third of their working hours on activities labelled ‘strategic’.
Ninety two per cent of those surveyed feel they are being held back by administrative and operational tasks that rely on detailed emails or telephone conversations to process enquiries and requests from employees.
“HR leaders have a clear desire to spend their time where they deliver the most benefit, such as mentoring, training or talent management,” said Jen Stroud, transformation consultant at ServiceNow. “A focus on technology investment will enable HR leaders to restructure existing operations to standardise HR processes and spend their time on meaningful interactions with employees.”
More than half of HR leaders will allocate extra budget to technology in the next 12 months, with 74 per cent saying it will help streamline HR processes, and 91 per cent recommending it as a means for improving responsiveness.
However, Laura Harrison, director of strategy at the CIPD, said that technology was only part of the answer, and that the profession must be careful to include managers and the wider workforce in implementing new processes, as well as not losing sight of the bigger picture.
“HR has always been a trusted and independent place where you can go to have a conversation,” she said. “That’s not a process, but a relationship. If HR is going to bring in technology so it can focus more on interacting with senior managers and on strategy, it must still keep its finger on the pulse of an organisation, and continue to be part of the social fabric of an organisation, and a trusted place where people can go and raise their concerns.
“And if you enable management or employee self-processes, there must always be a dialogue to ensure managers and employers are brought on that journey with you, because they might not want to be enabled in that way,” added Harrison.