Where are we?
Sometime before the appearance of COVID-19, Human Resources areas faced an imminent need for digital transformation to accompany the technological evolution we are experiencing. Certainly, this demand was drastically accelerated by the need for remote work, a consequence of the pandemic we are living.
Up until the first months of 2020 the model was hybrid, with digital but mostly non-digital workload. This working model reflects several challenges in the sector that are transversal to almost all companies: lack of budget for investment in HR technology, high operational and repetitive workload. To a model that was working half-heartedly, an unchosen ingredient was added: the pandemic, and with it the need to accelerate the digitalisation of the area as a matter of urgency.
We live in a time when it is healthy and necessary to evaluate management practices in order to prepare organisations for the future.
McKinsey (2021) summarises three characteristics that make up the gene of companies prepared for the digital future: clarity in their values and what they stand for, operating with agility and simpleness, a strong capacity to learn and innovate. Undoubtedly, the adoption of technology works as a bridge to the realisation of these objectives and the preparation of a highly effective Human Resources area.
Employees as the focus
When corporate management prioritises the interests of its employees and, based on them, generates processes, solutions and platforms that accompany them, we are talking about an organisation with uthe employee at the centre. The trend of redefining the role of the employee is not new, it’s here to stay and impacts the life cycle within the company, we call this: employee experience. Some corporate actions accompany the mission of placing the employee at the centre:
The Employee Engagement Benchmark Study (Temkin, B. Licas, A. 2017) shows that 82% of employees in financially sound companies are highly engaged because of their employee experience. This indicator suggests that job satisfaction is directly linked to corporate performance. So, which are the actions that highly effective organisations are taking?
Develop people’s digital skills: despite productivity and the tools that are part of it, such as email or Microsoft Teams, but also those that prioritize exchange, collaboration and recreation.
Identify the points that require improvement: through the collection of feedback and ideas that can contribute to the operation and its improvement. Empowering employees to transcend complaints and be part of the change in a proactive way allows their commitment and experience to be enhanced.
Adopt dashboards and metrics that measure reality: through simple indicators that are shared with the organization, the results are made transparent to the entire organization and the vision is shared.
Transmitting the importance of employee experience: establishing itself at a strategic level as one of the practices with the greatest impact and promoting a work culture where feedback is more than welcome.
In all these activities the role of the leader is fundamental, as the leaderis the agent that motivates change.
Achieving results is possible
A people-centric, integrated technology adoption strategy can achieve great results. The different technological flavours and their adaptation to corporate challenges will be the basis for substantially improving the employee experience. Microsoft offers a series of platforms that, through their capabilities, make possible to meet the objectives set out above. Let’s take a look at these solutions together:
A platform designed for the employee’s lifecycle: it contemplates their journey from the moment they are hired and the transactions they go through during their career, until they leave. It is established as a solution:
+ Highly flexible: connectivity with other partners’ solutions and possibilities to extend it with Power Platform.
+ Connected operation: promoting employee self-management through the solution and Microsoft Teams.
+ Valuable information: gaining insights and information related to the workforce and ensuring compliance with policies.
This solution was released based on the consequences and impact of remote working on people. It is a hub built on Microsoft 365 and powered by Microsoft Teams focusing on employee experience that brings together ideas, knowledge, resources and information for the well-being, growth and engagement of people. The objectives are:
+ Knowledge management
+ Improve employee collaboration
+ Provide personalized learning paths
+ Boost productivity and well-being at the same time
The sky is the limit with its four streams, it enables the creativity of customised solutions according to the needs of particular areas without losing the agility and connectivity due to a shared ecosystem. Through the creation of applications, automations, dashboards or chatbots, business areas are freed from repetitive processes and are able to redirect their energy to where they provide the most value.
We can accompany you to achieve your corporate objectives in a scalable, simple and organic way through the combination of the aforementioned platforms and a team of leading professionals who know the challenges of your Human Resources area. We propose you to have a talk and evaluate together the possibilities of collaborating to continue accelerating your digital transformation in the right direction.
Reference
Microsoft. (2020). 2020 HR Trends Report. Strategic leaders keeping employees at the center of growth.
Kristine, D. Ina, S. (2017) Building business value with employee experience. MIT CISR
McKinsey & Company. (2021) The new possible: How HR can help build the organization of the future.
About the Author: Ana Inés Urrutia
